Kudzu - The Vine That Ate the South

In 1876, the lush green leaves and fragrant purple flowers enchanted visitors to the Japanese Pavilion at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia and gardeners were eager to add this exotic Japanese vine to their collections.

Those who lived in the South quickly found that kudzu, given warmth and moisture, can grow as much as a foot a day. And cattle will eat it! An enterprise was born and "the miracle vine" was planted on farms as well as in gardens.

In the 1930s, the soil Conservation Service promoted kudzu for erosion control and farmers were paid to plant it.

It's estimated that around 7 millions acres of the Deep South are covered by kudzu. It can kill trees by keeping the sun from them. Pesticides can't destroy it -- one actually makes it grow faster. Goats can wipe it out -- for a while.

Kudzu is one of many introduced plants that, without natural enemies, can take over. Multiflora rose, bittersweet, and water hyacinth are some others.

We have the roses and the bittersweet on our farm -- but, thank heaven, no kudzu . . . yet.

It's just across the river . . . and growing.



(Here's a terrific site that tells even more of The Amazing Story of Kudzu)