Good on 'ya, LeGrand Smith, for pointing up the kudzu problem around town [”Sound the Trumpets, Grab Your Clippers,” Sept. 22 Xpress]. I live near UNCA and the giant ugliness that grows along Edgewood. I even took clippers in hand last year and cleared the vines away from two trees.
The kudzu kills smaller trees first, which creates a thicket of dead branches and thorns mixed in with the Asian Invasion. It’s tough going to wade in and get at the vines that are climbing up the taller trees. It can be done, and later, the plant has to start from ground level, making it easier to clip twice a year. Folks in town may be a bit too tolerant of everything green and growing.
Check out the street signs hidden by tree and vine growth, making it hard to navigate. There are other vines that also steal light, water and nutrients from trees when left unchecked.
— Larry Abbott
Asheville
