EDITOR'S NOTE: Digital photo available on request from gsngltn@clemson.edu.

DATE:    9/14/00
WRITERS: Bob Polomski, (864) 656-2604, Clemson Extension 
         Consumer horticulturist
         Dr. David Bradshaw, (864) 656-4949, Clemson Extension  
         horticulturist   
EDITOR:  Giles Singleton, (864) 656-3876

Controlling kudzu, the green menace
  
     Q:  Kudzu from my neighbor's yard is starting to trespass 
onto my property. How can I control this green menace? It has 
already consumed many of my neighbor's trees.
     A.  In South Carolina, kudzu is a vine that loses its 
leaves in the fall. Considered to be the world's fastest 
growing vine, it can travel up to a foot a day -- 100 feet 
in a single season.
     It reproduces by seed and by spreading roots. The stems 
that radiate from its crown like the arms of an octopus also 
can produce roots along its length, further increasing its 
numbers. 
     The sight below ground can be more terrifying. Mature 
kudzu plants produce huge, underground, potato-like roots that 
can extend to depths of three to nine feet and weigh as much 
as 300 pounds.
     One approach to controlling kudzu is to repeatedly - year 
after year -- cut back or mow the top growth during the growing 
season to gradually starve the plant. You can compost the kudzu, 
which is rich in nitrogen. If it is coming into your yard anyway, 
why not take advantage of it?
     But all this cutting is a strenuous operation, so some 
folks have relied on goats to do the work for them. If you're in 
a subdivision, read your covenants carefully. Some neighborhood
associations frown on using of farm animals for kudzu control.
     If you consider using an herbicide to control kudzu, keep 
these two points in mind:  First, choose an herbicide that is 
labeled for controlling kudzu. Second, be sure to apply the 
herbicide at the right time of year, in late summer, when kudzu 
is actively growing and is most vulnerable to its effects.
     For example, a nonselective herbicide containing glyphosate, 
such as Roundup, should be applied now, when the kudzu is 
flowering, and through the fall until the first frost. Most 
other products that actually control kudzu can damage other 
plants in the landscape. An herbicide like Roundup must be
used repeatedly over several seasons to eradicate kudzu, but 
it can be applied without damaging desirable trees and shrubs.
     To completely rid your property of kudzu requires multiple
herbicide applications over a period of years, or cutting it 
back over several years.
     Other control methods are being studied by researchers, 
such as kudzu leaf-eating caterpillars and a fungus that 
completely kills the plant within a week of application.
     Please note: Every Tuesday from noon to 12:30 p.m., call 
in your questions to "Palmetto Gardening" a part of "Your Day,"
produced by Clemson University Radio productions and broadcast
statewide on the South Carolina Education Radio Network. Tune 
in to these S.C. radio stations: WLJK 89.1 Aiken; WJWJ 89.9 
Beaufort; WSCI 89.3 Charleston; WLTR 91.3 Columbia; WHMC
90.1 Conway; WEPR 90.1 Greenville; WNSC 88.9--Rock Hill; 
WRJA 88.1 Sumter.
               **********************************
     If you have questions or comments on gardening, write to 
PSA Media Relations, A-101 Poole Agricultural Center, Clemson
University, Clemson, S.C. 29634-0129. Check out other "Buds and 
Blooms" columns under News Releases at:
www.clemson.edu/psamedia and Clemson's Home & Garden Information
Center: (http://hgic.clemson.edu)
                              END