Difficult to control...should be kept in a pot, if possible...

Yes, it might very well take over the world... ;o)

It does take over our world here.....doesn't matter if it's droughty....they are well adapted to anything, including herbacides!

Vera

Great! Would any kind of underground barrier keep it in place? If so, how deep would it have to be?

Thanks

K

I've heard horror stories about this plant taking over gardens.

There's a recommendation here to keep it in a large nursery pot sunk in the garden to the rim ("large" is not clarified). If attempting this, I'd keep it at the fringe of the garden with a wide zone of bare soil around it, to make it easier to spot invasion.

I have horsetail in my yard growing as a weed. I've done research on this evil plant. It has been around since the dinasaurs (made many coal beds) and impossible to get rid of once it is introduced. It can take over an acre in a year. One website said to think of it as a submarine with a huge underground rhizome root system 3 ft under the surface. I have (had) a 20' x 50' pacasandra bed which it has completely taken over. I sprayed the entire area with roundup and everything died but the weed from hell. If any one knows how to get rid of this plant - PLEASE post suggestions!

I have a friend here who is known as the best gardener in our town: huge, gorgeous beds and borders. She told me a few years ago that she was going to plant equisetum in a small area all by itself so she "could keep an eye on it". The last time I saw her gardens, it had crept into nearly ever nook and cranny, and under the foundation of her house. She was near tears and ready to literally hire a bulldozer to come work it out. It's worse than Florida betony according to her (and boy, that's saying something). It's a cool plant but I wouldn't want it within a mile of my yard for any reason whatsoever. Maybe northern winters would keep it from going so rampageously, but I sure wouldn't advise you to risk it. Dig it out before it makes itself at home!

Grew it at one time, many years ago, in a thick plastic pot next to my pond. All of it died, at once. Don't know what I did wrong(or was it right?).
Rb

I cannot overemphasize how bad this plant is. All those other "invasives" pale compared to this. If it is at all possible to remove it now, do it ASAP. Next spring will probably be too late. Worse than gooseneck loosestrife, worse than chameleon plant, etc.

Simply EVIL!

Confine it, or it will rule your garden.

Like Razorback, I had it in a pot sunk near my pond and it flourished for several years and then went the way of the dodo bird one winter. I have heard of it taking over areas that have plenty of moisture though.

You people are scaring the c out of me! I will start digging tomorrow morning as soon as it gets light.

Rb - This plant did terrible for me too when I had it potted, but I guess I'll try again.

K

OK, let's have a bit of a reality check here :-) Horsetails are not "nice" plants and Equisetum hyemale does have an ability to become an aggressive spreader. But not all horsetails are created equal - the most common of the weedy horsetails and the one that tends to invade gardens (particularly here in the PNW) is Equisetum arvense or common horsetail. It will and does grow anywhere, under any kind of sun or shade situation, and in kind of soil or moisture conditions. It spreads both from a rhizomatous root system and from spores. And it is near impossible to eradicate completely. Equisetum hyemale can spread and if not contained (in much the same manner as one contains a running bamboo) it can be problematic, but requires much more specific conditions to become rampant. It prefers consistently moist conditions and seldom can be found at any distance away from standing water or streambanks. It does make a great pond plant. It is used frequently in container plantings as it makes a striking architectural, very vertical and evergreen centerpiece. And it is the only Equisetum that is commercially propagated and sold as a landscape plant.

Just like there are good and bad Polygonums (knotweeds) there are good and bad - OK, bad and not-so-bad - Equisetums.

Equisetum hyemale was discussed in this thread in the Minnesota Gardening forum, and it seems there are a number of gardeners there who've had experiences comparable to southern growers and who'd disagree with the "not-so-bad" designation. ;)

It's important to remember that plants can behave differently in various regions/climates, but if gardeners in your region have had severe problems with a plant, it should be taken as a warning.

gardengal & eric - Well, throughout this thread I was kind of wondering which horsetail folks were referring to. I've seen arvense in rural areas and that is ONE SCARY PLANT! I would never ever bring that one home.

Maybe hyemale really doesn't like my garden all that much. After three years in the ground, I've only found a stray stalk here and there. Granted it had migrated at least 10 feet from where it was originally planted, but if it were truly happy I would have thought it would be growing in thick stands.

I didn't take any chances. This morning I dug out every piece I could find. That was kind of an interesting experience. I expected to find very distinct runners or at least a root system that set it apart from other plants. Not so. It was very difficult to tell if I was digging out horsetail roots or just the roots of nearby perennials. At this point, I guess all I can do is watch carefully and dig out every single shoot I see the moment I see it. I would imagine horsetail can't be that different from other plants. If you prevent it from growing green stems, it can't make food and will eventually give up. I hope so.

Thanks for all the responses.

Kevin

Okay, how weird is this? I have never, ever heard of this plant in my life. I have been planning a garden that is in very wet conditions, even standing water, and had my plant list finalized. Just TEN MINUTES AGO, I was looking on a nursery's website for a plant, and came across this equisetum hyemale for the first time ever. It really caught my eye and I added it to my list of possibilities.

Thank goodness I decided to take a break and come check out the forums! I'll cross it off my list now.

:)
Dee

Dee

Live dangerous! I'm sure I could still fish some out of the trash for you. I was afraid to throw these in the compost. LOL

K

LOL, Kevin! Sorry, I'm not the adventurous type! That's why I'm afraid to plant anything that grows over 6 feet tall, lol!

I know what you mean about trash versus compost. I've got a few weeds I'm trying to control, and since I pretty much cold compost (small piles) I'm always afraid to put those weeds in the compost. They go in the garbage instead!

:)
Dee

I use other members of this genus in confined areas, and it is unique, and i love it. But in the open garden, nah.

I would use the wood horsetail in a open woodland garden as it is not that vigorus, but i can never find it...

I don't love it! but I've got it... in abundance. I deal with it. Pull it, smother it, sometimes poison it with great fear and loathing. There are worse things to worry about.

But it's actually a pretty cool plant. I'm sorry, you have to give the devil his due... it's one tough customer and I have a grudging respect for its ability to "improvise, adapt, and overcome".

As with anything, if you are willing to devote yourself to its eradication you'll succeed. I'm too lazy for that sort of slavish devotion, though.

Gardens West Magazine had a good article on getting rid of horsetail a few years back. I wasn't able to find the issue this evening, but it is recapped in an issue of Alaska master gardeners newsletter. (see page 4).

I'm doing battle with horsetail after I received 15 yards of contaminated planting mix from a local landscape supply place. Needless to say, I also did battle with the local landscape supply place.

Here is a link that might be useful: Newsletter: Horsetail Control

I mailordered Equisetum hyemale because, as Gardengal says, it does make a striking potted plant. I planted mine with the Houttuynia cordata "Chameleon" as groundcover in a large clay container sitting in a saucer usually kept filled with water. Both plants are "evergreen" here in winter and very attractive.

It's surprising how many folks ask for cuttings of the Chameleon...I always warn them to contain it but not sure they listen. Noone seems to admire the Equisetum but me...or at least they don't ask about it. I've had the dwarf form of Equisetum in the past (also by mailorder). I'm thinking I'd like to try it again, maybe as groundcover for the E.hyemale in another pot.

"Weedy" plants can be beautiful if corraled in the right location. I've also enjoyed using both plants for adding to flower arrangements. josh

It was a roadside weed here but the town eradicated it by repeated cutting and spraying with Roundup. They also eradicated tiger lilies, daylilies, dog tooth violets, spring anemones, bloodroot... What remains is rag weed and goldenrod.

oldroser, why would they try to erdicate a native plant by a roadside? Thats silly and pointless. The cure was worse than the disease!

I DISAGREE WITH SOME POSTS THAT HORSETAIL SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN EXTREMELY SERIOUSLY When our house was built there was a pesty weed (horsetail I now realize) that would come up every year through the junipers. I would pull off the tops and I didn't give it much thought. As with most new houses I had an acre of grass. I had 10 yards of both topsoil and mulch delivered and spent weeks planting a 2500 sq ft bed of pacasandra. It took a number of years for a piece of the horsetail to make its way to the pacsandra bed and then within 2 years it has spread throughout the entire bed. It is not killing the pacasandra BUT it looks horrible with the two totally intermingled.

This summer I identified the weed & researched horsetail. It stayed put when surrounded by grass - it does not survive in a lawn. (the constant mowing and the extra lime). But a bed of pacasandra is perfect. Now the horsetail is spreading from the pacasandra to my perennial garden on the other side. AND I AM GOING FRANTIC. It is coming up everywhere. I am realizing that I am going to have to rip up 10 years of work, throw out every plant, either leave the area bare or reseed with grass, wait 3 years, and then hope it is gone and start over again.

I WISH SOMEONE WOULD HAVE WARNED ME TO GET RID OF THOSE COUPLE OF WEEDS IN THE JUNIPERS WHEN I HAD A CHANCE YEARS AGO. Maybe the cultivated varieties are safe but I wouldn't take a chance.

I've read it takes about 3 years of constantly cutting it to the ground (no sunlight/starve it) and adding extra lime to get rid of it. Also I've read if you step on the horsetail (bruise its protective coating) then sometimes roundup will work - I don't know if it kills the root system but hopefully if I keep killing the tops it would eventually die.

I'm still wondering which horsetail people are referring to - arvense or hyemale. They really look very different.

K

How do you feel about some nice lamium or a few beautiful purple violets?

Kevin - I realize many of us are talking about horsetail arvense, but if your horsetail showed up 10' away in 1 year I think you have something to worry about. Many websites do not recommend trying to dig up arvense. Any root piece that breaks off will develop into another plant. The submarine analogy one website used is very descriptive. It develops a huge underground root system (vertical and horizontal)and sends up periscopes here and there to see if there are favorable growing conditions (moist and slightly acidic) - if yes, you are in big trouble. Then it sends up the shoots with spores.

I have to add my story..

I had horsetail in my yard since 2003 when I saw it first. I ignored it then. In 2004 summer I tried pulling it out. 2005 the same however, it simply spread and spread over a 700 sq foot section of my yard.

Finally, after a lot of research and realizing the problem in my hand, I sprayed the area with very concentrated RU, ( higher than recommended ) this was sometime during July 2006. It was almost gone for the rest of the year, with occasional heads here and there which I kept spraying. This year the menace reappeared again but with a somewhat reduced number (25% lesser) and again I promptly dealt again with RU . This was during end of April when the seeds had just begun spreading. The rest of the year I have kept constant patrol with heads popping here and there. I have lost about a few perennials in the process last year but the yard the is looking much better. I am hoping next year the return of the menace will be lesser than this year. I have to admit this sounds like a cheap ghost movie but its true.

I have so far refrained from using any other chemicals that could inhibit seed germination - a technique many use. I have also learnt how to paintbrush the weeds that are very near perennials and ground covers this prevent more losses.
Also addition of lime did not help but this year I am planning to add gypsum in the wet areas because we have lots of rain.

I welcome any other new information.

lazygardener - In the spring I am going to have to spray the rest of my pacasandra bed with round up- I can't think of anyway to kill the horsetail without killing the pacasandra. What do you suggest I do then? Do you think I should leave the area only mulched and spray any thing that pops up for a few years. Or do you think I can and plant some bushes in the area. How does your paintbrushing the weeds work? Is it hard? I think I want to try that in the areas where I have perennials planted.

I love this plant, the hyemale especially, although I certainly respect its invasive qualities! This image was taken in Bear Valley, California, up around four to five thousand feet elevation.
{{gwi:268551}}
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And here are my equisetum the spring after I collected them. I've kept them well-contained in a new pot, and enjoy them on my deck rather than out in the yard.
{{gwi:268552}}

Josh

Thanks for that photo Josh. Gives a very good idea of what this plant is capable of. Shortly after starting this thread, I dug out every shoot in my garden. Nothing came back this fall, but we'll see what happens next spring.

Kevin

My pleasure, Kevin! I'm thrilled to share!
What one can't quite tell from the first image is the relative size of these rushes in the wild...some are five feet tall or so, roughly the height of a badminton net ;)

I have two stands now: one in a fully contained pot (for the deck), and another growing in a pot sunk in the yard. But, after reading the horror stories here, I might pull the yard-sunk pot out...we'll see.

Anyhow, congratulations on the removal. We'll keep our fingers crossed!

Josh

greenman28, thanks for the picture. Makes me want to get the plant...

Quite welcome, fledgeling!
These plants are striking - they look every bit as ancient as they are. They have a great texture, too. Of course, you'll want to take the necessary precautions to prevent invasion.

Josh

Well they survived the dinosaur era so evolutionarily speaking they must have something going on!

Gardengal48,

Actually, it is E. hyemale (Scouring Rush/Horsetail)that is propagated in the horticultural trade for the floral industry loved for its vertical/line design emphasis in arrangements. We have both in Eastern WA and around my place the E. hyemale can reach 4' tall during wetter spring in thick stands and our average rain fall here in 17". Very adaptable. They dry up in summer but them roots are there and prove it every spring.
I did 2 floral classes while completing my degree in Greenhouse/Nursery and these were VERY popular.
Just for giggles....Here I used it in this arrangement in class....horizontal design.
{{gwi:268553}}
{{gwi:268554}}
{{gwi:268556}}

Here is a link that might be useful: California Cut Flower Commision

Vera, unless I am misunderstanding your post, I believe that is what I said :-)) We are in agreement that Equisetum hymale is frequently sold and even considered desireable for horticultural purposes, but caution should be exercised when planting it directly into the landscape.

Howdy, folks!
Hope you don't mind me resurrecting this topic.

In the past week, two things have happened with my hyemale:

1) Deer, in their end o' the year search for food, have actually eaten my hyemale down to about a foot above ground.

2) The pot in which my deck hyemale are planted has now begun to crack/flake with the freezing weather....temp finally dropped down to 28°F this morning!
___________________________________________

So, I'm going to crack the cracked pot into a box, then I'm going to throw the equisetum clump into a large plastic container for the winter (which is how the clump spent last winter, incidentally).

My question: should I cut the remaining rushes down to soil level or just leave them? (I've observe them in all manner of color and height in the wild - but I don't know if the plant is drawing nutrients from the rush, or what's happening below the soil).

Thanks for any advice!

Josh

Please talk me out of using equisetaceae hyemale as a hedge to replace an awful chain link fence I've inherited at my new house. I saw this horsetail grass used in this manner (in Southern California) and it contemporary (for a prehistoric plant) and smart. It also is the right height for my southern exposure. Advice?

I have both kinds of horsetail growing naturally in my yard. The hyemale is a plant that used to grow on the beach of the house I grew up in. As kids we'd play house and pull apart the sections to use as green beans. I have a few of them growing in more or less natural areas of the yard and they don't really bother me. I can't kill them, but there are only a few of them.

Equisetum arvense, on the other hand is a plant from hell. I can relate to Pegnj and her pachysandra problem. I planted lots and lots of vinca minor as a groundcover and had horsetails popping up thick in it. I tried pulling it. No luck. I decided to dig up one section that was maybe five feet square or a little more. That just made it angry. It came back much thicker. The roots are a nightmare. They're just everywhere and are black so they match the dirt. I don't ever dig them anymore. I finally sprayed RoundUp on a huge bed of vinca minor because it looked horrible. I've been knocking it down with RoundUp, but it keeps coming back. In other beds of vinca where it's not as thick, I carefully pull the tops off when they get above the vinca. After about the second time I pull them in a summer, they don't come back (at least not higher than the vinca).

When we first build our house and had the driveway paved, one or two pushed up through the asphalt. That's a tough plant.

The hyemale planted in a container in the yard are pushing up spears,
about two inches long right now. They're incredibly thick!

Josh

I'm a gardener in CT and had the unfortunate experience of taking a job infested with this evil, evil plant. There is absolutely NO way to get rid of it short of a bulldozer. Roundup will make you think your hitting it but a week or so later it's all back. In my opinion this plant is so invasive it should be illegal.