Horsetail

I have struggled to control my horsetail problem for years now. I know I'll never be rid of it. I'd just like to have less of it in my choicer beds. Oh, I'm aware of its massive underground root system, its silica content that makes sprays such as Roundup useless, and the hopelessness of any quick or lasting cure. The only thing that has checked it has been Casoron. I'm afraid to use that around perennials though. I read somewhere that repeated applications of compost will stop it. Someone else told me to cut off the tops of it without pulling on it. because pulling on it stimulates new growth. I notice it especially likes under the soaker hose.

This is my plan of attack. I ordered some compost (okay, 6 yards of compost, God help me) which hopefully will cut down the need for the soaker hose. I will cut off the heads of the little monsters before putting down the compost.

Any other suggestions? Honestly, it irritates me such much to have to cut them down when I could be doing other things in the garden. The stuff is not attractive to me in the least. Oh, I don't have anything edible in the garden, just ornamental plants.

I hate those too. Will be watching for a suggestion.

Drtdgr, this was discussed last year on PNW. I am not sure it had a thread of its own, however, but you might check. I am sure you will be getting feedback here as it is a very common pest in the wetter areas of our gardens.

I would suggest putting a thick layer of newspaper or cardboard over your beds before the compost. Make sure it over-laps by a few inches at every edge.

Sharon, I searched the topic and came up with nothing. Miss Willowwind, I love the Union area. I work sometimes at Harmony Hill, and wish I could see more of the gardens of the lovely homes by the shore of Hood Canal. I envy you living there. We helped build a trail for the Alderbrook Resort this spring. Bill Gates sure has a lot of security around his homes! I didn't know he had a tunnel under 106.

Well, getting back on topic, I have tried the cardboard with a leaf mulch over it. The horsetail simply redirected itself to the edges of the cardboard. It was in extremely poor soil though.

My theory is that if I improve the soil quality by adding more organic matter, it will improve drainage. I know horsetail thrives in compacted, wet, poor soil.

At Harmony Hill, they put down a weed barrier and piled wood chips thickly over it to suppress horsetail and other weeds. When they removed the cover about a year later, you could still see the horsetail at the surface just waiting for the sun. They were pale, but definitely alive.

Some of the oldest fossils are of Horsetail. Good luck. I'll be watching too.

i have heard
horsetail thrives in an acid ph
raising your ph should help to control it
it seems to like one corner of my property
i should check the ph to see why it doesn't move out of that one area

What strever said. It needs to dry out and live in a base soil. Eradication may take a few years.

http://www.swansonsnursery.com/PDF/1_GENERAL/Horsetails.pdf

That IS the best article I've read on eradicating horsetail. It confirms everything I've figured out fighting the stuff. And I have tried to dig it up and pull it. Thanks, Katie!

Welcome. Just know that you are not alone and that this plant is prehistoric. It's been perfecting its survival techniques for a long time.

Great article.

Knock on wood, I don't have horsetails. We were at a nursery the other day, though, which did have them, and my son wisely advised me to not even step on the buggers.

:-)

Thanks for the welcome ,Katie! I'm on vacation and have been trying to stuff in all my gardening chores into a week. It's been great to share with others that love gardening as much as I do.

You're in the right place!

You certainly are in the right spot and WELCOME.

I've been battling them for 20 years, at two different houses. Besides the the methods in that article, the one that works the best for me is to just crowd them out with other plants. A good dense wall of foliage in the typical PNW style seems to almost eliminate them, and the one oddball that hangs around doesn't matter way back under the other, bigger plants. :)
- Tom

My sympathies, Tom. I do plant densely, but use mostly perennials.

Six yards of Cedar Grove compost was delivered yesterday. I've read about complaints of the smell, but dismissed them as overly fastidious. They were not kidding. My yard and even the house smells like the city dump. My dog loves to eat it. Yuk. My sister, the clean freak, is coming Saturday for a week's stay.

Well, what are you going to do. At least the deer are staying away. Better get a shoveling.

The smell won't linger long.

I had to laugh about the smell of Cedar Grove. If the wind blows just right I can smell that compost brewing, more so on hot days

I would try ash out of a wood stove. It kills everything in concentration. Even in your acid soils. Be careful that it doesn't travel in water. Very alkaline. I use it for killing grass, many weeds, and the only problem is that it can hang out for a year or more.

Soferdig, I appreciate your comment. DH has been dumping ash from the wood stove next to our beautiful Azalea in the side yard. Then this spring he found half of the shrub withered. He was wondering why. I gathered the ashed was the culprit. Now I know for sure. alkalinity for they Azalea needs acidity-- the other end of the spectrum.
drtdgr, sorry you're having such problem with your catails. Anything with tails...is quite rambunctious. Such as Lizardtail I've....though I tollerate them. Good lucks.

The smell has subsided somewhat. At least my eyes don't water any more. Thanks, Miss Willowwind, for the encouragement. Soferdig, I like the idea of the ashes. Don't have personal access to a fireplace, as mine is gas. But I'm sure I can ask the people I work for some.

As I was cutting all of the horsetail yesterday, I was surprised at how little volume they took up in my weed bucket. They just look big, with their Christmas tree shape. Considering I've filled up 4 city yard waste cans with my other garden clean up, I started wondering why I take the horsetail so seriously.

Then I remembered. Because it is so persistent. Duh.

It was nice to see the garden so closely, as I covered it foot by foot. My son commented "Do you plan where you plant things?" This took me aback, as I usually consider plant placement seriously. I asked him what he meant. He said "Well, these grasses are the same kind and they're planted together, but the rest is kinda random."

I think he's kinda right. The bones of the garden, my Japanese maples, rhododendrons, and viburnum, have worked well as a screen and centerpieces for perennials. The rest, well.

I go to plant exchanges, and get plants with no labels. I order plants I've never seen before, because wow they look gorgeous. It is a mishmash, but it's my mishmash, and I'm happy to see them return each year.

You are not alone with your mish-mash. There are a lot of us like that. One of everything.

I figure I have to try out just one of a type of plant before I know how it will work out for me. Sharing around plants that grow and prosper is fun andsatisfying. Mish-mash, yeah, that's my style. A more picturesque name for it would be cottage gardening.

Oh, I like that, cottage gardening! I'll have to tell my son that.

I call mine a specimen garden . . .

Mine's just a big mess. ^_^

This is mine. The garden of Oh like that!

My Edgewortha that I have had for years is having a hard time leafing out. Feeling that I will be pruning some dead wood out of this guy. Only a few bloosoms next to the greenhouse this spring. Missed those yellow blossoms on the many trips to the geenhouse this winter.

This would have been a nasty spring or Edgworthia. Daphne family plants like heat! I've killed it twice and won't try it again. Even in a regular spring, it just doesn't get hot enough here.

Glad there's still hope for yours. There's nothing like that smell.

I have had to make some kind of peace with horsetails since I live near a stream and a good deal of my yard is boggy........damp for sure...but the flock seems to like it!

That's a good place for it. Very pretty.

I saw horsetail for sale at the nursery today...is that legal??

Yikes. I've seen it in floral arrangements at the Seattle Garden Show, but to put it in the ground on purpose? How horrifying.

Legal or not, I say we storm that nursery with pitchforks & torches.

Funny!

There is a level of soil that TOO BAD even foir horsetail. My neighbor had lots, but I didn't.

Then i started imprivng my soil, and now I have lots of horsetail.

I like the idea that if I keep improving the soil, other things may out-compete the Horsetail.

Certainly I'm taking it as a clue that I can use more lime and mulch.

Corey

grrrnthumb
I like your way of thinking.... too funny.

I had a small patch of it when I lived up north, but because most of the area stayed underwater during the fall/winter/spring it stayed a small patch. It never grew very tall either, so don't know if the water kept it that way or not. But I know when there is a plant that just won't die how frustrating it can be.

Here is to a futher with no horsetail in it!!!!!!

Jan