OK, OK, keep it down south.
This message was edited May 30, 2005 9:20 AM
CLOSED: Kudzu
you can't be
Yes, I am--it's a beautiful plant... we don't have it up here, and, I'm thankful for that, but I would like to have some in a pot. I don't know the specifics on it, but I don't think it will overwinter here.... so I'll have to take a cutting and bring it in the house in the winter I guess.
great gosh nothing kills the stuff not even fire it just comes back from the roots.
please please read everything about it .
i cant believe anyone actually wants this stuff
It will overwinter here if It will in PA, I suppose. Yes, I'd really like to have some in a pot, contained...... if ya'll think it will get out of the pot and take over, then I guess I don't want it, but it is still a beautiful plant.
http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/map/pumol.htm
it will go everywhere and the seeds will go everywhere - one left in a yard can kill a big tree in one season, no joke. beautiful yes but not soemthing you want.
Tell you what I send you something not as invasive and a lot prettier, wild Muscadine (Scuppernong) vine. http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/59494/index.html
The one shown on this plantfile is a domesticated variety. The fruit of a wild one is about half the size.
Judy
I can send you some fo-ti which grows just like kudzo and will over winter as well. Its just as evasive in put in the ground. I'm pulling out chunks of it.
Daisy
yep - the fo-ti you sent me if filling spiling over everything. doing its job just got to keep on top of it...
Thanks for the offers guys, I really just did want a pot of Kudzu to grow on the deck, but I really don't want to chance it if ya'll think it will take over up here too. I appreciate the offers of other invasive vines.. LOL it's not the invasive I want, it's just the look/smell of the kudzu.....
Maybe someone will send me a box of blossoms later this summer?
Hey Melissa,
Kudzu is known as the vine that ate the south. Do a search for it and you'll see how it has invaded everything, can grow a foot a day, and can quickly consume trees and buildings--pulling them over. Birds and wind can carry the seeds and soon you'll have it everywhere. No one who has it wants it and the South has been trying to rid itself of it almost since it was introduced.
By the way, we visited with Carolyn last week and had a great time! She has beautiful gardens. And she was such a gracious hostess. My little sister went back and visited her yesterday too. Thank you for introducing us. She's so sweet and very gifted!!!
NancyAnn
Kudzu is all over the place down here and it just wont die. You bring that into your state and it gets out of that pot on your patio , well lets stay polite and just say you will probably need to leave your state. It is such an invasive plant that it carries stiff penalties for transporting across state lines. It wouldnt be good for you or the shipper to send that to you if you got caught. Still rubbing my eyes to see if I misread someones request for Kudzu - April Fools joke?
Heres the distribution list that the gov. puts out. It looks like its slowly creeping its way northward and acclimating (?) itself to the the weather. http://plants.usda.gov/cgi_bin/topics.cgi?earl=plant_profile.cgi&symbol=PUMOL
I'm curious about 1 county in CT.. CT?? doesnt it get really cold up there? I wonder if its a case of a pot bound plant that escaped its boundries?
Click on the states that it shows its in and it gives you a breakdown of counties that its been found in.
I am amazed that its gone that far. Washington? Pa? I really thought it was only a problem down south.
you got to give it credit - it really likes it here. Never know where or when it will be next do we??//
My father, right after World War 2, worked for the CCC and they planted kudzu all over the place, they thought they were doing a good thing, to fight erosion, who knew, that it would become such an invasive monster?
He is dead now, so he can't be punished. I think he felt guilty about it, whenever he saw a plant...
melissa,
love your edited post, lol
Gotta love the south and all the introduces fixes for problems that went bad. Auqautic plants to control pond and lake erosion - that got out of hand so they bring over asiatic carp to eat the plants. They decide to eat everything but. lol so they bring over large rat lookin things called nutriams (sp) to eat the water plants. That worked well, they ate and multiplied but nothing ate them so what do they do - lol they release a bunch of juvenile gators. Ok, the gators did the job but now they got large gators that are a problem. Love that good ol southern engineering. The south is crawling with introduced problems. We got fire ants - whole other story. Want some of those? lol
slgrowers,
I'm not sure it was Southern Engineering, maybe it's just Corp Of Engineering. ROTFLOL Melissa I too loved your edited post.
Judy
HEY NOW!!! It was NOT the US Army Corps of Engineers! I work for them... ~ Suzi :)
Well Suzi who was it that made all those decisions??? It's up to you to find out, since you have an IN!!! lol lol
Actually Suzi - the scuttlebut is that years ago when all this was done it was a joint effort between the corp of engineers and the TVA - yes the Tennessee Valley Authority manages land in MS - go figure. All of this was done over 20 years ago but it is a real problem to this day. We have Kudzu all over the place - we have 6' gators in recreational lakes that shouldnt be there - we have large rat lookin things that should be in Africa - we have huge carp that eat all the natural auquatic plants that should be in China - we have water lettuce and other exotic water plants that blanket over ponds and lakes. All of this from purposely introduced species. Then to boot, we also have Brazillian fire ants that came up through Texas from an accidental introduction with nursery plants from Brazil. We have killer bees coming up through Texas and Louisianna and god knows what else. Fire ants are a major pain in the @$& here. They sting like crazy and build big mounds in the yard over-night and have no natural enemies here to keep them in check. Introduced species and feral animals are the most destructive things on this planet. I hope everyone is careful to not spread the wealth ;-) lol that is why I was floored when I saw someone asking for Kudzu. Leave it to a Yankee to want a noxious weed that can devour an entire state ;-)~ j/k unless you see it in action you just have no idea. It really is an attractive plant but it simply will not die. We have Kudzu "caves" down here where there used to be forest. The trees are dead now, covered over by a blanket of Kudzu, but people cut and chop "caves" between the dead trees that are still supporting the kudzu 20+ feet off the ground. I will try to get pictures and post on here so you can see why us southerners reacted so harshly to that request.
Here come some photo's - remember - those used to be trees - that used to be a forest. Imagine a vine that carpets the ground 4 foot deep and also rises 20 foot high on another carpet supported by the dead trees underneath (the trees it killed).
another
Pretty plant huh? remember - this used to be a forest about 2 years ago - thats how fast it does its work.
last one
on a quite night you can hear the kudzu grow.
You are very right about how invasive it is, but I don't think it's fair to be so abrupt to Melissa_Ohio. She is a very nice lady and if a person is not from the Southern part of the country you don't know how horrible it is. You have enlightened everyone, for that we say Thank You.
Judy
does it actually flower?? i have never seen flowers on it here. all i see is it crossing the road on its own feet. hehe
Judy - just in case you missed me being facetious and joking around let me point it out cause I was not trying to be abrupt at all - I went out of my way to be sure that even in print I got across the fact that I was JOKING - here ya go again since ya missed it. I definately do not want my intentions misread.
"lol that is why I was floored when I saw someone asking for Kudzu. Leave it to a Yankee to want a noxious weed that can devour an entire state ;-)~ j/k unless you see it in action you just have no idea. It really is an attractive plant but it simply will not die."
Hope that clears that up.
Sorry I don't know what those characters mean, but I take your word for it that you were joking.
imzadi - good point. I dont think I have ever seen a bloom on Kudzu either. I have heard on more than one occasion that Kudzu blooms are striking but have never seen one. Perhaps its because the Kudzu grows over the bloom so fast you never see it. lol
If only i could get my passie to grow like that, lol
No problem Judy - I guess I just figure everyone with a computer knows what emotes mean. This might be another fun offshoot of this thread since I am sure there are some out there that I don’t know about. To start it off, here are the ones in that post I gave kidding Melissa for her request.
lol = laugh out loud
j/k = just kidding
;-)~ = Smiley face with a facetious wink, sticking out tongue.
Really meant no harm but I did want to make it clear this is a plant not to be trifled with and I think that is important.
LMAO = Laughing my "butt" off
ROTFL = Rolling on the floor laughing
Yes, I understand now why you said that. It looks an awful lot like the P Oak + P Ivy from next door on the attack! Have had it already this yr. Still have to take out the side hedges to put in some kind of fencing, which means it is imminent again!
As for deliberately bringing in something to kill off or keep down the growth of another, I have heard about the idiots! We used to live in TX and saw one of the nutria that they brought in too, at the duck pond at Cen TX College.
Gee! Maybe I should quit the darn Corps... LOL, IF I get the job I just put in for, will quit the Corps - for the promotion!! Later ~ Suzi :)
shoot i dont care who brought it in lets just give it back. LOL
this stuff makes most plants look nice. i complain about my blackberries wild ones that is but even those look nice compared to kudzu.
okay off to find a pic of kudzu blooms on the net. will not go look in the wild it might grab me and not let go. yall hear me yelling but never find me. hehe
found this on the web
7 million acres it covers so far
http://www.cptr.ua.edu/kudzu/
http://mountainstewards.org/latesummer/html/Kudzu%20Flower.htm
This is the photo you are looking for - looks really cool but just keep thinking - I hate this stuff, I hate this stuff, I hate this stuff, , , , , , ,
i hate the stuff too. flower is pretty but the plant is deadly. takes over to quick.
geez never heard of it....... guess Id like to keep that way! By the way Melissa your apple tree looks mighty fine this year! As do the coneflower..... Luv G
neat links and yes, it is a pretty flower - but I think a baby deer might think a tigers stripes are pretty too - just before...........;-)
Read the info in that link. Scientist used many herbicides to try and kill Kudzu - found that most had no effect and one actually made it grow better. lol Kudzu uses herbicide for fertilizer - now thats a plant!