Unless kudzu turns out to be the biofuel of the future, this seed ad certainly goes in the "If We Only Knew Then..." hall of fame.
The stuff is making its way north. I can't believe it has recently been found in Marblehead, Massachusetts!!!! That is north of me. Eek.
Following is an example of use of the vine in 1882ish.
For a fuller history of how it came to be here, go to Wikipedia. "The kudzu plant was introduced to the United States in 1876 at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. Kudzu was introduced to the Southeast in 1883 at the New Orleans Exposition."
"Known as “the vine that ate the South”, kudzu, an invasive, fast-growing vine, is pervasive in the southern US. The vine is of particular concern because it smothers and kills nearby vegetation including trees. So far, frigid winter temperatures have prevented the widespread expansion of kudzu into northern latitudes. But that could all change.
“Kudzu is not very tolerant of winter frosts,” says Bradley. “What if it’s two degrees warmer? Twenty to thirty years from now, if we get enough warm winters, what happens to the New England forest?”
Climate models based on current climate trends predict an increasing range of risk for kudzu (http://www.springerlink.com/content/dm78817510323m04/fulltext.pdf). In one hundred years, according to the models, kudzu and other invasive plants may have a stranglehold on the beloved New England forests." Go to this U.S. Fish and Wildlife site to view a very nice animated graphic showing land area in jeopardy!
"The planting of kudzu in the 1930s by the U.S. Department of Agriculture demonstrates what mistakes can be made if we do not examine the consequences of quick solutions. Kudzu is found
throughout the eastern states and is moving northward. Like all plants, it has the ability to continue to adapt. It is now found in Northern Illinois. The key reason it is not being controlled in southern states is the prohibitive cost of controlling millions of infested acres. Our only hope is to contain it and stop it on sight!" The Minnesota Native Plant Society Newsletter
Mr. Olmsted's company:
1912 GARDEN SPOT SEED&GIFT CATALOG, LANCASTER PA
Following is an example of use of the vine in 1882ish.
First picture is BEFORE kudzu.
Here is the home after kudzu!
I like the last sentence in the 1891 description above.
"Known as “the vine that ate the South”, kudzu, an invasive, fast-growing vine, is pervasive in the southern US. The vine is of particular concern because it smothers and kills nearby vegetation including trees. So far, frigid winter temperatures have prevented the widespread expansion of kudzu into northern latitudes. But that could all change.
“Kudzu is not very tolerant of winter frosts,” says Bradley. “What if it’s two degrees warmer? Twenty to thirty years from now, if we get enough warm winters, what happens to the New England forest?”
Climate models based on current climate trends predict an increasing range of risk for kudzu (http://www.springerlink.com/content/dm78817510323m04/fulltext.pdf). In one hundred years, according to the models, kudzu and other invasive plants may have a stranglehold on the beloved New England forests." Go to this U.S. Fish and Wildlife site to view a very nice animated graphic showing land area in jeopardy!
throughout the eastern states and is moving northward. Like all plants, it has the ability to continue to adapt. It is now found in Northern Illinois. The key reason it is not being controlled in southern states is the prohibitive cost of controlling millions of infested acres. Our only hope is to contain it and stop it on sight!" The Minnesota Native Plant Society Newsletter
A paper by Kenneth W. Cote, Nursery Inspector, Indiana DNR, Division of Entomology and Plant Pathology in 2005 does a great job explaining the problem with photos and facts.
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