Eliminating Mealybug Infestations on Beach Morning Glory

Common Names: railroad vine, bayhops, beach morning-glory, seaside yam, goats foot, goats foot morning-glory, goats foot creeper

Origin: pantropical, including Florida and tropical and subtropical Americas, Africa, Asia, Australia and the Pacific Islands

Uses, Planting, and Maintenance Guidelines

Being native to dunes and beaches, railroad vine can tolerate intense heat, full sun, and poor soils, but it requires excellent drainage. It is used to stabilize beaches and dunes but may also be cultivated as an inland groundcover.

In south Florida, plant cuttings from March through October to form a groundcover on beaches, dunes, and landscapes. Railroad vine may be used on slopes up to 20°, and on steeper slopes if stable. Space small plants 2 to 3 feet apart, and 3 to 5 feet apart for larger plants. Plant with the top of the root ball slightly below the soils surface. Irrigate at the time of planting and for several weeks thereafter unless there is regular rainfall. Providing regular water and controlling weeds will speed establishment of new plantings. For faster and denser coverage, redirect errant stems back into the growing area. Dense coverage is possible in two to three years on moist well-drained soil.

If inundated with salt water even for a short time, the aboveground portion will die back but typically regrow from the roots. However, long periods of saltwater inundation may kill the entire plant. Strong offshore wind may temporarily damage plants on beaches and dunes, causing scorched leaves and stems.

Ornamental groundcover plantings of railroad vine generally do not last for more than eight years. Insects, diseases, and improper management may hasten their decline. In the worst of landscape conditions, railroad vine longevity may not exceed a year. For best growth as a groundcover, the soil must be free-draining and irrigation kept to a minimum once the plants are established. Provide plenty of space and avoid interplanting with other small, low-growing species. Otherwise, fast-growing railroad vine is likely to overgrow smaller plants and require frequent pruning to keep it in bounds. In the landscape, railroad vine can tolerate occasional pruning, which encourages more branching. It does not tolerate shade and is easily out-competed by large plants that exclude light. In the drier winter and spring months, the plants may appear scraggly, but they will quickly recover at the start of the rainy season.

Geographic Distribution and Habit

Railroad vine is one of the most widely distributed beach plants in the world. Its exact native range is obscure, but railroad vine is now found in subtropical and tropical zones worldwide, including the West Indies, the Americas, Africa, Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands. In the United States, it occurs along the Atlantic coast of Georgia and Florida, and along the Gulf coast from Florida to Texas. It is primarily found in coastal habitats, especially dunes and beaches, and is rarely found inland. The moving sand and salt spray make the beach environment a harsh one, and the plants that live there are specialized to colonize that environment.

This is a tap-rooted, herbaceous, creeping (rarely twining), perennial vine that produces a milky latex when broken. It grows rapidly and usually does not form a dense cover on Floridas beaches. The common name “railroad vine” refers to its tendency to form “tracks” of horizontal stems more than 100 feet long.

The stems are succulent, becoming tough and fibrous with age. Nodes are mostly 3 to 7 inches apart. Adventitious roots often form at the nodes, helping to anchor the vine. Stems are typically horizontal, but when the plant encounters something to climb upon, they may occasionally twine upward. Plants usually are between 6 to 16 inches in height.

The leaves are simple, alternately arranged, dark green, rather leathery, and glabrous (hairless). Leaf shape is quite variable in this species but is typically ovate (egg-shaped), orbicular (circular), or oblong (parallel-sided). The leaf base is truncate to shallowly cordate (heart-shaped), and the apex is usually notched to deeply cleft, but sometimes rounded or truncate. The epithet pes-caprae is Latin for “goats foot,” referring to the notched leaf apex (resembling the cloven hoof of a goat). The leaf blades are usually 3.0 to 4.75 inches long and 3.5 to 6.0 inches wide, and they are often folded upward from the midrib. The veins on the leaf blades are pinnate and finely reticulate (net-like), typically more visible on the leaf undersides than on the upper surface. The petioles (leaf stalks) vary in length ranging from 1 to 6 inches. On young leaves, the petioles are commonly reddish in color, becoming yellowish-green as they age. There is a pair of nectar-producing glands on the underside of each leaf blade at its juncture with the petiole. These nectaries are red on new leaves, turning black with age, and attract ants, which defend the plant against herbivorous insects.

Flowers may be produced year-round but are most abundant during the warmer months (from spring to fall), and less common in winter. Each flower lasts only one day, opening at sunrise and closing by early afternoon on sunny days. On cloudy days, flowers often open and close later. Railroad vine is an obligate out-crosser, meaning the flowers are self-incompatible (self-pollinated flowers result in very few or no fruit). Insects attracted to the large nectaries of the showy flowers assist in cross-pollination. The primary pollinators are bees, but butterflies, moths, flies, beetles, wasps, and ants may also visit the flowers.

Flowers are borne in one-to-several-flowered cymes in the leaf axils. They are upright and funnel-shaped, consisting of five fused petals, often with notches along the edges at the juncture between adjacent petals. Flower color varies from pale pink to lavender to reddish purple (very rarely white), typically with a darker rose-purple throat radiating as bands up the midline of each petal, which serves as a nectar guide for pollinating insects. Corollas usually measure about 1.5 to 2.5 inches long and wide, and are borne on pedicels 1 to 2 inches long. The sepals are leathery, hairless, and unequal—the outer two shorter and ovate to elliptic and the inner three longer, almost circular in shape, with a rounded apex ended in a very small abrupt point (mucro).

The fruit are ovoid to flattened-globose, dehiscent capsules, usually measuring 0.5 to 0.75 inches long and wide. Capsules are borne on elongated pedicels with a persistent calyx. They are green and smooth when immature splitting into four valves at maturity. Opened capsules are leathery, brown on the exterior, and beige on the inside, becoming more brittle and gray with age. Each valve holds a single seed, which is rounded to trigonous (three-sided), covered with dense, velvety hairs, and 0.25 to 0.35 inches long. The seeds, sometimes referred to as seabeans or drift seeds, are adapted for dispersal on ocean currents and are sometimes collected after washing up on beaches.

Railroad vine is propagated by stem cuttings, seed, and tissue culture. Cuttings are generally faster and easier, and they have a higher transplant survival rate than plants produced from seed. Cuttings should be planted directly into a well-drained substrate with at least one node buried. Cuttings usually root within 7 to 10 days when grown under mist. To avoid rotting, cuttings should be removed from the mist to harden off as soon as they are rooted and may be transplanted to individual pots when roots are sufficiently developed. Gardeners can place cuttings to root in pots or directly into the ground and hand-water them until roots are well-developed. Seeds must be abraded or scarified before they will germinate. In the wild in Florida, seeds germinate much of the year except in winter.

How to Get Rid of Mealybugs – Part 1 of Logee’s “Pest Prevention” Series

FAQ

What is the fastest way to get rid of mealybugs?

What is the best homemade spray for mealybugs?

What is the best killer for mealybugs?

Will Dawn dish soap kill mealybugs?

How do you get rid of mealybugs on a plant?

Mix into 1 quart of water and steep for 1 hour. Step 2: Strain through a cheesecloth and add 1 tablespoon of liquid dish soap. Mix well. Step 3: Spray the solution on the plant parts where mealybugs are present, including the underside of the leaves. Step 4: Repeat as needed after a few days if you detect more mealybugs.

Why does my houseplant have mealybugs?

Small numbers of mealybugs may be missed on houseplants because they wedge themselves into plant crevices and at the base of stems. Once the population ramps up, you’ll see the pests themselves, or you may notice that the plant’s leaves are yellowing and sections of the plant are beginning to die.

Are mealybugs hard to get rid of?

A light mealybug infestation is easy to get rid of, but heavy infestations can be more difficult. Light infestation: Light mealybug infestations are when you detect a few mealybugs and their white, cottony egg masses on the plant.

What is a light mealybug infestation?

Light infestation: Light mealybug infestations are when you detect a few mealybugs and their white, cottony egg masses on the plant. The earlier you take action to get rid of the mealybugs, the less likely it will turn into a heavy infestation that will affect the plant’s health.