The dreaded air potato vine

[Walt]

About 10-12 years ago I made the big mistake of introducing the air potato vine to my property, thinking I could easily control it. Wrong!

My wife and I had some friends that lived in our sub division, and their entire back yard (all the trees) were covered with this vine. They thought it looked very cool. At the time I wasn't familiar with this vine in terms of how it spread.

I have a lightly wooded area on my property that I have crammed lots of tropicals and palms into to supplement the native stuff. In this area I had a dead tree. I got the foolish idea that I would plant an air potato at the base of the dead tree and then let the fast growing vine overtake the dead framework of the tree and make it appear living (or at leasth obscure the bare tree skeleton). I figured I would just trim back the vine if it started to get away from the dead tree. Little did I know that 100s of potatoes would be produced and they would fall and spread all around.

As the potatoes fell to the ground I would rake them up (I have pathways I like to keep relatively clean) and disposed of them in a low area where lots of slash pines grew and where I don't plant anything.

Well, the potatoes germinated and overtook the slash pine area. Moreover, the potatoes spread and are growing up here and there throughout my wooded area. About once a month I grow through the area and cut and remove enough of these vines to at least control them, but I leave the slash pine area alone. Come winter all the vines will die back. But with each spring even more vines start to grow due to the production and spread of more potatoes.

I've made my share of gardening mistakes over the years, but this was by far my biggest blunder!

[fastfeat]

Ouch!

Break out the Roundup.

[MattyB]

It looks cool! Will it hurt the trees?

[Walt]

Ouch!

Break out the Roundup.

I think I need a helicopter to fly over and drop some Agent Orange on it!

[Walt]

It looks cool! Will it hurt the trees?

It only hurts the trees if it overtakes the canopy and blocks out the sunlight and flow of fresh air.

The photo below is just part of the back yard of some friends of mine whose trees were totally covered in air potato vine. I took just one potato and planted it at the base of a dead tree on my property. The rest is history.

[fastfeat]

It looks cool! Will it hurt the trees?

Kills trees by smothering foliage, choking off photosynthesis. Plus, vine weight on dead trees can be problematic in storms.

[Walt]

In about a month or more this banana plant will have been overtaken by the air potato vine.

[redant]

So you have no game plan then, just let them go? I would be out there with a machete and roundup until the job was done.

[Walt]

So you have no game plan then, just let them go? I would be out there with a machete and roundup until the job was done.

These vines die back naturally every winter. They start to yellow and die even before the first frost or sub 32F degree nights. Mother nature will kill them back. The problem then is that you have one big ugly mess of dead leaves and vine stems attached to the trees. But by late spring the vine (at roots) will come back to life and start growing like crazy again. The vine is extremely fast growing, much fast than any exotic or native vine I have growing on my property.I also have blue sky vine growing up two slash pines. While they are relatively fast growing, they are slow pokes by air potato standards.

[fastfeat]

So you have no game plan then, just let them go? I would be out there with a machete and roundup until the job was done.

I agree. I know it's a lot of work, but letting it go unchecked is worse, IMHO.

I'd recommend cutting green, growing portions off tree trunks with a 'chete or saw (just leave the dead vines in the trees for now-- ugly, but not as problematic as dead trees will be), then spraying lower live growth with Roundup. This will at least reduce the number of resprouting rootstocks next spring. Of course, you'll still have new, young ones sprouting, but they'll be much easier to identify and eradicate.

Even if you can't afford to do the whole area at one time, pick an area and get started. If you don't, you'll soon find you'll have lost use of a good portion of your property. Vigilance!

[Walt]

So you have no game plan then, just let them go? I would be out there with a machete and roundup until the job was done.

I agree. I know it's a lot of work, but letting it go unchecked is worse, IMHO.

I'd recommend cutting green, growing portions off tree trunks with a 'chete or saw (just leave the dead vines in the trees for now-- ugly, but not as problematic as dead trees will be), then spraying lower live growth with Roundup. This will at least reduce the number of resprouting rootstocks next spring. Of course, you'll still have new, young ones sprouting, but they'll be much easier to identify and eradicate.

Even if you can't afford to do the whole area at one time, pick an area and get started. If you don't, you'll soon find you'll have lost use of a good portion of your property. Vigilance!

The air potato vines thus far haven't killed any slash pine trees, as by the time they grow up to the lateral branches, winter comes and kills them back. As long as I can contain the vines in the slash pine tree area, I don't really mind them. It's the vines that escaped into my wooded area where I have lots of assorted tropicals planted that I don't want them. Each day I remove some of the vines in this area. I remove enough were I can keep them under control during the growing season. Once late fall is here they start dying back,and after the first frost, usually by late December, they are history -- until spring arrives.

And yes, in years past I would severe the vines at the base of the tree trunks, that would kill all of the climbing vine above that point, but of course, that would turn into an ugly mess.

[palmislandRandy]

I really hate vines. You should get a handle on this now or one spring it'll come back with a vengeance.

[KrisKupsch]

This vine we call Madiera Vine in Australia and is the worst environmental weed around. It grows prolifically from the tropics to Melbourne. Never plant it, it is a true menace.

[KrisKupsch]

Pardon me this is Dioscorea bulbifera and isnt as bad as Madiera Vine-at least around here.

[Jerry@TreeZoo]

Air Potato is a bad one but my nemesis is Possum Vine, Cissus sicyoides. It is just as fast as air potato, has a fruit that birds love to distribute and has the incredible ability to live after its roots are cut. If you cut its roots, the top does not die, it just sends aerial roots down to start a new root system. I have taken this vine, cut it out of a tree and wound it up like a rope, then hung it on a fence. A year later it is still green and ready to grow, if its roots have not already sunk into the earth.

[Walt]

The air potato vine is setting its crop:

[Alan_Tampa]

I sprayed round-up, I pulled up giant chunks. It took a lot of work to make a dent in mine. But, some.progress was made. I had nothing to do with it being in my yard. Only vine I have that gr ows at the same rate is passiflora.

Alan

[Walt]

I sprayed round-up, I pulled up giant chunks. It took a lot of work to make a dent in mine. But, some.progress was made. I had nothing to do with it being in my yard. Only vine I have that gr ows at the same rate is passiflora.

Alan

I have red passifora, and while it's fast, it's not near as invasive and fast as the air potato. At least for me. And then there's the wild muscadine grape vine that I'm also fighting.

[palmmermaid]

I didn't have air potato until the hurricanes of 2004-2005. Then I found it in noe spot in my garden. I have finally eliminated it but I must be vigilant. This is a very, very invasive vine. It should be attached and killed and removed. While the dead vines make be unsightly, the living ones are scarier. Almost as bad as the old world climbing ferns.

I have declard war on these invasive species. And that includes iguanas! Finally got rid of the ones living near me. Next one the list are the feral cats. Time for them to look out. Death and destruction is on the way.

We've cut down and hauled off about 30 australian pines and I can't even count the brazilian peppers we've killed. And all of these things are on the properties next to and across from us. I don't usually use round-up but every month my husband makes a round of the property with loppers and spray. He lops and sprays all of the above and any melalucca seedlings that have cropped up.

[Cindy Adair]

My husband planted air potato years ago in Virginia. He also planted bamboo. Both will be here forever I think. We also have ivy and kiwi vines that we planted that grow too well. I'm happy to enjoy looking at the gorgeous bamboo in Puerto Rico, but have none on our farm. Of course I have nothing against the kind that stays in one area. I like many tropical vines, but am really cautious about adding to the ones already on our farm in Puerto Rico! I grew up in the Southern U.S. where kudzu swallows trees! Invasives are scary.

[Walt]

I didn't have air potato until the hurricanes of 2004-2005. Then I found it in noe spot in my garden. I have finally eliminated it but I must be vigilant. This is a very, very invasive vine. It should be attached and killed and removed. While the dead vines make be unsightly, the living ones are scarier. Almost as bad as the old world climbing ferns.

I have declard war on these invasive species. And that includes iguanas! Finally got rid of the ones living near me. Next one the list are the feral cats. Time for them to look out. Death and destruction is on the way.

We've cut down and hauled off about 30 australian pines and I can't even count the brazilian peppers we've killed. And all of these things are on the properties next to and across from us. I don't usually use round-up but every month my husband makes a round of the property with loppers and spray. He lops and sprays all of the above and any melalucca seedlings that have cropped up.

We have our share of feral cats around here. Over the years my wife has adopted some, and it took a month or two before we gained their trust and let us touch them. One of them died many years ago. The one left is fat and lazy. She is good for killing rats, though. I used to shoot armadillos that ocassionally wreak havoc on my main yard (don't mind the semi-improved outer areas) but my wife made me stop. She's just that way. Of course, I love her for it. She and I both try to attract all the good wild critters, and we have lots of feeders and water saucers and bird baths, etc.

[Walt]

My husband planted air potato years ago in Virginia. He also planted bamboo. Both will be here forever I think. We also have ivy and kiwi vines that we planted that grow too well. I'm happy to enjoy looking at the gorgeous bamboo in Puerto Rico, but have none on our farm. Of course I have nothing against the kind that stays in one area. I like many tropical vines, but am really cautious about adding to the ones already on our farm in Puerto Rico! I grew up in the Southern U.S. where kudzu swallows trees! Invasives are scary.

By all means don't let that vine get started on your PR farm. On the other hand, some nice tropical bamboo would be nice. I have almost all the palm species I want (or at least that I can realistically grow) and have now taken an interest into growing more species of tropical bamboo. Up until last year I only had Bambusa oldhamii and B. membranacea (photos below). Last year I planted some B. chungii. This year I planted B. multiplex 'Alphonse Karr' and B. textilis 'gracilis'.

I bought a book on bamboo and will study up on the species to see what I want to get next year.

Above: Bambusa oldhami

Above: Bambusa membranacea clump

Above: Bambusa membranacea sending up new culms

[DoomsDave]

Wal, those are nice washies in the foreground of that second pic of the Bambusa mem-etc.

As for the vines, you have to start somewhere. Yank, and pull, and yank and pull, apply roundup on what's left and keep at it and at it and at it.

I have Ivy that I thought I was rid of . . . .

Vigilence was down, Ivy's back up. Vigilance back up again.

[Walt]

I sprayed round-up, I pulled up giant chunks. It took a lot of work to make a dent in mine. But, some.progress was made. I had nothing to do with it being in my yard. Only vine I have that gr ows at the same rate is passiflora.

Alan

I forgot to mention Thunbergia grandiflora. I have this vine growing up several slash pines. Normally, they will get mostly frozen back each winter, then reclimb the trunks with a vengeance. This past winter was relatively mild (after the lashing my garden took in January 2010 and again in December of 2010).

Many years ago I planted a blue sky vine at the base of a medium sized slash pine in my back yard, as my wife loves almost anything that flowers (and if it's fragrant, all the better). In a matter of years the vine grew up the slash pine and completely engulfed it to the point limbs were breaking and the tree was dying. This vine flowered like crazy, dropping flowers all over the place. No matter, as we were going to have a screened lanai installed and the tree had to go, as it would be too close to the lanai for my liking, so I had the tree cut down, leaving just a short stump.

When the contractor came to dig up the ground to install the lania slab, he couldn't believe the root system he encountered. It had to be the Thunbergia root system, as they were a soft root, but fairly large in diameter. No way were they slash pine roots, which are hard.

I dug out what thunbergia roots I could so I could replant them elsewhere, which they are now growing up other slash pines, like the one in the below photo (but few flowers). But I didn't get all of the root and a new vine started growing around the stump. I intalled a small trellis over the stump and today the vine has completely engulfed the trellis. I keep the vine in check when I mow around it.

Above photo of Thunbergia grandiflora (blue sky vine) growing up slash pine

[palmislandRandy]

Don't get me started on the damage that feral cats do to our native wildlife.

[Cindy Adair]

Nice bamboo! When/if we can afford to buy some additional land to add to our farm, bamboo (noninvasive types) would be definitely on the list. I have to run out of tropical palms that I like first. As to Thunbergia grandiflora, we enjoy it in a pot in Virginia, but have the yellow version (T. alata?) as a weed there already, so never plan to take any Thunbergias to PR. It's nice to have no ivy or poison ivy there that I know of.

[Walt]

Well, I see Webshots deleted all my previously posted photos in this thread (and probably all my online albums). I know they were changing their name to Smlle last month and also going to charge a fee for membership. I contacted Webshots by email back in October about the change. They told me Smile would not be supporting videos and was more for just online photo storage. Well, that didn't interest me at all. Since all my online albums had videos -- and planned on updating many of the videos -- I will just expand my Photobucket account and also perhaps get a second online photo-video hosting account,

Anyway, I just wanted to post this recent photo of my dying air potato vines. These vines die off every fall-winter, regardless of frost or cold (which I've had neither so far). I'm in the process of clearing and cleaning up some more of my heretofore overgrown areas of my property. Some of this area will include where the potato vines are growing. I plan on irradicating as much of the vine as I can.

[Laisla87]

It is an attractive vine, at least if it can be controlled. I grow some yams (underground ones) and they look the same, but with far less vigor. They remind me of Philodendron scandens, actually

[Walt]

It is an attractive vine, at least if it can be controlled. I grow some yams (underground ones) and they look the same, but with far less vigor. They remind me of Philodendron scandens, actually

Years ago I had a cluster of red bay trees (Persea borbonia) that was covered with Philodendron scandens. The vines grew all the way to the tops of the trees, ran out of tree, and then grew (dropped) all the way back down to the ground, from that point running and creating ground cover. I wish I had a good representative photo of them now but all I could find were the two photos below.

Here in the US southeast the laurel wilt disease was introduced and it has virtually killed off many species of trees in the Persea genus, including all my red bay trees. I had the trees taken down -- and the Philodendren scandens with it. Since then I've started some up another tree but it hasn't grown nearly as agressive as the ones I had on my former red bay trees.

[Laisla87]

It is an attractive vine, at least if it can be controlled. I grow some yams (underground ones) and they look the same, but with far less vigor. They remind me of Philodendron scandens, actually

Years ago I had a cluster of red bay trees (Persea borbonia) that was covered with Philodendron scandens. The vines grew all the way to the tops of the trees, ran out of tree, and then grew (dropped) all the way back down to the ground, from that point running and creating ground cover. I wish I had a good representative photo of them now but all I could find were the two photos below.

Here in the US southeast the laurel wilt disease was introduced and it has virtually killed off many species of trees in the Persea genus, including all my red bay trees. I had the trees taken down -- and the Philodendren scandens with it. Since then I've started some up another tree but it hasn't grown nearly as agressive as the ones I had on my former red bay trees.

Beautiful photos

Scanden is a very versatile and cool-tolerant vine which should be grown more. I don't often see it anymore, although in the 80s no self-respecting office would be without them. They are far more cold tolerant than Scindapsus, as I have seen P. scandens colonise walls of houses here some 33 degrees south in a temperate climate.

[Walt]

Well, about 99% of my air potato vines are completely dead now. I took the below photo yesterday (1-11-13). Today I stripped as much dead vine from the tree trunks they were climbing, but most of the dead vine still remains.

I don't plan on letting the vines grow up the trees this coming spring. I've been cleaning out around the base of the trees, as I was using this area to dump leaves and pine needles over the past years. Once cleaned I will be about to drive through it with my lawn tractor and also string trim any vines that might try and regrow up the trunks. Air potatoes were everywhere! When I yanked on the climbing vines, potatoes fell like apples of a tree. I raked up as many as possible and burned them. I will now plant pothos vines, monstera species, arrow head, philodendron, etc. at the base of the trees, as these vines won't get out of control like air potato.

[Walt]

The dreaded air potato vine is growing again. Some of the buried potatoes or rhizomes have already sent up the beginnings of new vines up to two feet long already. However, I whacked them all off at ground level with my riding mower. Yes, they will re emerge but I will keep mowing them down or cutting them down with my string trimmer.

Today I gathered up about eight 3-gallon buckets of potatoes. Some of them had already started sinking down roots. I'm going to burn the potatoes up in my burn pile. I don't plan on letting the area these air potato vines where growing last year regrow the same this year.

[Than]

Reviving an old thread. I am curious about scindapsus. I have seen it being used as ground cover at Thompson House in Bangkok (if you haven't visited yet, do it!) and it looked very nice. I wonder if there is any scindapsus species that is more cold tolerant and can perhaps take light frost? Anyone has experience with this genus?