equisetum invasion

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colordiva Amherst, MA Jun 01, 2015

Equisetum has invaded all my gardens. A couple of years ago, unknowingly, I spread a truckload of mulch throughout my gardens and it apparently was loaded with the spores. Now, the sprouting plumes are literally everywhere. The threadlike roots are impossible to remove; they snap, and double my trouble. Infiltration into ground covers and many other plants is prolific, hideous, and perplexing. I have put down lime, but, so far, the horsetail is completely unaffected by this. Garden center advice was to paint each plume individually with liquid Bonide----an endless, daunting task. Suggestions????

Post #10085411
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Pistil Lake Stevens, WA(Zone 8a) Jun 01, 2015

The only thing I find that works is persistent weeding-if I patrol every 2-3 weeks and pull or cut off each sprout, eventually thy give up and die. The sprouts get tinier and tinier, weaker and weaker. It takes more than one year!

Post #10085617
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colordiva Amherst, MA Jun 21, 2015

Thanks for your reply. For several weeks, I have removed a few hundred sprouts every day, as a morning ritual. Makes a huge fluffy wad, which I stuff into bags with the garbage. They still spring up everywhere. Alas. I've decided to rip out the large, equisetum-infested beds of thyme that have long been our front-of-the-house groundcover, as the beds are beyond recovery. I'll cover the soil there with black plastic, then a layer of mulch. Maybe next year, I'll replant thyme. It's abundant and beautiful, except not so great at keeping certain weeds away! The equisetum ---- horrendous. Am trying to think of it as a mere setback. Again, thank you for your suggestion.

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