MADEIRA VINE
Anredera cordifolia
DESCRIPTION
Also known as Mignonette vine, Madeira vine is a perennial vine with twisting hairless creepers. It is an active climber and will quickly spread.
It has bright green, heart shaped alternate leaves with characteristic small ginger-like tubers which will hang from older stems. Small, creamy white, fragrant flowers will show on the spikes usually from January to April.
Infestations of Madeira vine are often dense and will smother native plants. This long-lived weed will dominate at medium to high canopy levels and the weight of the tubers has been known to topple small trees.
Spread is through the tubers and even when removing manually do a follow up check to make sure there are no tubers fragments left in trees.
DISTRIBUTION
Originally from South America the Madeira vine is a serious weed in NZ and is listed in the National Pest Plant Accord. Most councils consider it a Biosecurity risk and for instance Auckland council will remove it at their cost if found in a Total Control area.
Generally found in a number of North Island locations it is also an inhabitant of the Port Hills in Christchurch and the Kermadec Islands.
HABITAT
Madeira Vine is usually found in gardens, hedges, scrubland, waste land, forest margins and coastal gullies and has a tolerance for salt water. This salt water tolerance means that the tubers can even be spread by the sea. It prefers warm, moist climates and fertile soils.
MANUAL CONTROL
Pull out the roots and rake up any tubers. All the refuse can be placed in rubbish sacks or wrapped in plastic or tarpaulins and left to cook in the sun.
HERBICIDES TO CONTROL MADEIRA VINE
The ideal time to use chemical control methods is in the Spring and Autumn.
Cut stump herbicides to kill Madeira Vine
Cut the stems or stump and paint with:
- G-360 GLYPHOSATE – 100ml/litre of water or
- G-540 GLYPHOSATE – 66ml/litre or water
- Granny Herbicide – 45g/litre of water or
- MSF600 – 1g/litre (MSF600 will take some time for the results to be visible due to its mode of action.) or
- TRICLO Herbicide – 100ml/litre.
- Cut'n'Paste Glimax Professional – just paste 2-4mm layer of gel onto the cut stump. Being ready to use this is a simple and safe option
Spraying Herbicides to kill Madeira Vine
With a large area to control try and carefully cut back any parts of the weed covering desirable plants and carefully spray any remaining growth with a mixture of either of the following;
- MSF600 – 3g, G-360 GLYPHOSATE – 100ml (or of G-540 GLYPHOSATE – 66ml or Granny Herbicide – 45g) and Superwetter – 20ml in 10 litres of water.
- TRICLO Herbicide – 60ml + Superwetter – 20ml in 10 litres of water.
- clopyralid – 300g/L at 60ml + Superwetter – 20ml in 10 litres of water.
Note: clopyralid 300g/L requires an Certified Handler certificate to even purchase the product and should not be used in home garden. Clippings cannot be composted. Rainbow & Brown no longer sell this product for these reasons.
TRICLO Herbicide and clopyralid 300g/L are the best solution for ground level tubers.
