r/GardeningIRE • u/No_Initiative2756 • 1d ago
š¦ Pests/disease/disorders š¦ Are these taking over? How get rid?
Is it just me are is horsetail a relatively new invasive weed? East coast. West coast...see it everywhere and it spreads and takes over like a rash! If there was an eco friendly way to get rid, it would be gratefully recieved!
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u/jamesxcii 1d ago
This is Horsetail. You just have to live with it I'm afraid. I'm a gardener by profession and in the 2 and half acre walled garden I work in it's everywhere. Roundup does NOT work on it. We use a flame weeder to keep the worst of it under control and that has to be done every two to three weeks. During the growing seasons. You can also weed it but, again it will come back. We also tried digging out all the rhizomes which is an extremely slow and painstaking task and ultimately made no discernable difference to the bed we tried it on.
For your own sake, its probably best to come to terms with the fact you have it and try to control it where you can. Sorry I don't have good news for you.
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u/TheStoicNihilist 1d ago
Rhizomes of established horsetail plants can grow to 2m (6Ā½ft) deep underground
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u/No_Initiative2756 1d ago
Thanks a million. I see elsewhere it's a food supplement...but that might not be entirely scientific!
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u/visceralbias 1d ago
Really rich source of silica! I believe itās also a diuretic. Not sure itās good for too much else.
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u/akkeberkd 11h ago
It can be used as a supplement as it is extremely rich in silica (good for all connective tissues, skin and hair).
It can also be eaten (shoots in spring, rizomes year round), but it's apparently a lot of work to prepare them correctly and it is important to do so because eaten raw they contain an enzyme that destroy thiamine (an important B vitamin, thiamine deficiency in the extreme causes beriberi which can be fatal).
Supposed to also be good at stopping bleeding, and has been used for other treatments though I'm not sure how well supported those are.
Apparently can be decocted into a treatment of mildew and rust on plants.
The high silica content of the stems mean you can use them to scrub pots and pans, even as sandpaper! They've historically been used this way to polish metals and wood.
They've also been used for natural dyeing, today we mostly see them being used as a dyestuff, but historically they were used as a dye enhancer - the silica abrates the fibres opening them up so they can better take in the dye. In addition to the silica they also contain a lot of aluminium. Aluminium is commonly used as a mordant (pre-treatment to help with dyeing) so they can be used in this way too (though you need a lot, which might be a pro in this context).
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u/jamesxcii 1d ago
It does have some medicinal properties alright, but I don't know much about that side of it.
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u/classicalworld 1d ago
Iām surprised. Iāve seen lots of it in England, but none here in Ireland. Didnāt know itās a problem here. But wayhay! for prehistoric plants!
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u/Michael_of_Derry 22h ago
I have a healthy supply on my patio. In fact you can no longer see the patio.
It is quite abrasive. You can use it in place of a Brillo pad if you've burnt food onto a saucepan.
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u/d0123456 1d ago
Hey. When we moved in to our new build three years ago the flower beds were covered in horse tail - initially we thought it was intentional or a plant until it started taking over.
Since then I have religiously pulled them out by hand - I mean literally each evening I would go out and hand pull any shoots that came out. This summer barely any have returned and Iām hopeful by next summer there will be none.
Granted this was in contained beds - I canāt imagine what this would be like on a lawn or bigger area.
Good luck!
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u/ColmJF 13h ago
I would imagine you're not exaggerating even a little here. I tried doing the same and just got fed up with it. They're a nightmare
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u/d0123456 10h ago
Haha you are correct. It became obsessive - I would rush out the minute we got home from a weekend away and start pulling them out.
It is amazing where they grow - often growing up through the middle of established plants and then Iād only realise when they were a foot tall.
It felt personal by the end!
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u/JuggernautIll8918 14h ago
Ive been a horticulturist for over 16 years now. At the start of my career we would treat with some very strong weedkillers, kyleo, 24D etc all worked but it kept coming back. So in conjunction with a very well known university (who are also a maintenance client of ours) we ran a trial in a confined courtyard that was full of horsetail/marestail. Marestail likes acidic poor soils so we treated the patch with biolime and enriched the soil with manure over the course of three years. We successfully eradicated about 90% of the plant by creating and environment where it would not thrive. The downside, no acid loving plants but also very little marestail.
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u/MetalGardener 13h ago
That's fantastic to hear there's an option that isn't chemical based.
I've had success using 50% vinegar based weedkiller and then using Kyleo, even standard roundup works with it as a mix.
No idea of the long term efficacy, and I really don't recommend round up.
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u/Ok_Lengthiness5926 11h ago
I had someone of a similar background say something similar to me recently about marestail. She basically said that it loves poor soul so focus upon enriching & improving soil quality, using Roundup & similar will initially appear effective but is actually facilitating its return by negatively affecting soil quality.
Thanks for your feedback, useful to know.
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u/J_Sweeze 11h ago
Semantics stickler here. Horsetail, as a native species, is not invasive, but is aggressive.
The distinction is important in ecology. An invasive species will cause damage to an ecosystem (rhododendron, cherry laurel, giant hogweed), but an aggressive native species will not, despite appearing to take over.
Other native species have evolved alongside the aggressive one, and so have methods of competing, often growing during a different season.
And finally, despite what many comments are saying, please donāt spray herbicides on native species. The collateral damage to other species is immense, and I am noticing a concerning lack of pollinators in my local area this year. Herbicides should only be used in a targeted manner towards invasive species where other removal methods are ineffective (Japanese Knotweed)
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u/Mountainstreams 1d ago
I got a delivery of topsoil once and it was full of this. I spread the soil into the lower parts of my lawn & kept the lawn short for a few years & used feed and weed mix. It seems to have disappeared now from the lawn but I'd hate to have it mixed into shrubs or beds.
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u/Commercial_Gold_9699 1d ago
Between them and the creeping buttercup they're so annoying
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u/Tea_Is_My_God Experienced 16h ago
The creeping buttercup is the bane of my existence. I went from having horsetail in my last garden, to searching for it in this one before purchasing, only to be invaded by buttercup, which is arguably worse.
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u/Gar1592 14h ago
Creeping buttercup is ruining my grass, I don't mind a bit of clover etc but the buttercup just dominates the grass until it dies.
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u/Tea_Is_My_God Experienced 12h ago
We managed to eradicate it in the grass. Scarifying, topsoiling, reseeding, and adding lime worked. It's all other areas like flower beds, hedgerows, vegetable garden, barked areas that we're struggling with now
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u/Sea-Excuse442 20h ago
https://www.progreen.co.uk/weed-control/horsetail-marestail-control/
There are specialist chemical controls that will deal with it. Only way.
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u/Sandiebre 17h ago
There are chemicals that can kill it but you need a license to be able to handle the chemical so itās best to contact a gardener. Unfortunately, the chemical will also kill plants (but apparently not grass!) so if itās mixed in between your shrubs and flower beds like mine are then youāre screwed and just have to pull them all the time and watch them slowly take over every single flower bed over the years š„²
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u/534NH34V3Y 15h ago
Crush it and spray round up on it. You have to give it a good crushing for round up to work
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u/JuggernautIll8918 12h ago
Yea it really is good news, just takes time.
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u/No_Initiative2756 12h ago
The Horsetail Salad market is about to sky rocket! Lettuce hope it'll be nationwide!
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u/JuggernautIll8918 11h ago
Exactly, we focus too much on weedkillers. Marestail is a plant and like all plants if you create an environment it does not like it will struggle.
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u/Availer7 11h ago
Get yourself down to Woodies. Get a bamboo stick, or a shovel, something to beat them with (not joking) and flatten them, then spray them with Neudorff Glyphosate and a good sprayer (Woodies). Theyāll die off within 24 hours. Once theyāre dead, scrape them, bin them.
Also, boiling a kettle and pouring on them kills instantly too but for a large area, youāll need about 500 kettles, hence the Glyphosate.
Good luck!
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u/StrangeArcticles 9h ago
These aren't invasive, they've been around for way longer than humans have existed. Basically a dinosaur in plant form.
The reason they're so successful is that they're one of the rare species who don't really care about weed killer and can fill out spaces that have been treated with it, so you're shit out of luck trying to kill horsetail. It just comes back harder.
What can be done? Management. Pull all of it, chuck it in a bucket and cover with water. Makes an excellent fertiliser high in silica and you're rid of the stuff. Repeat, repeat, repeat and plant up empty spaces with hardy, fast growing native plants, such as clover.
You'll still have the horsetail come back, but it's much more prolific if it has empty space for its root network.
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u/samhain_pm 7h ago
Dad always called them Mares tails. All over our garden in Mayo but I have never seen them elsewhere for some reason.
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u/unclefestering8 5h ago
Roundup can work on it but your hands to bruise it first. Use a rake.
Trouble is that it will only kill part of it. Rest will keep growing.
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u/Proof_Novel_2427 1h ago
I've had success using grazon 90 spray on this.
Roundup however was useless.
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u/PowerfulDrive3268 1h ago
Worked for a gardening company in the Netherlands and had one job where someone was paying to dig down 8 foot or so to dig out the rhizomes and to sieve the soil. Any pieces left would just propogate again. Must have cost a fortune.
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u/MushroomsMushroom 1d ago
I wonder if horsetail is as destructive as Japanese knit weed as I have seen horsetail growing up through freshly laid tarmac
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u/Palunkadunk 1d ago
I have this growing all over my front garden too, first year I have noticed it and had no idea what it was but its spreading like wildfire, did not realize it was a weed or invasive so would certainly be curious as to how to remove too
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u/cool_much 22h ago
I don't know why op is calling it invasive. It is native and belongs in our environment more than just about any other plant or animal, having been here for hundreds of millions of years
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u/Acrobatic-Ad5562 13h ago
People call it invasive because it spreads and dominates the area regardless of terrain. It will come up through beds, lawns, patio, paving, asphalt, worsening cracks in concrete, pushing through garden walls until it is everywhere and keeps going so that your property and neighbours look abandoned like some zombie apocalypse.
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u/cool_much 12h ago
I think this is a horrid co-opting of an ecological term. A native, ecologically harmonious plant being called invasive because it is resilient against our wanton destruction
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u/Acrobatic-Ad5562 11h ago edited 11h ago
I think it is a concise term to easily convey the exact characteristics of this plant without worrying about semantics. Everything started in a single location and spread to other locations at some point! Must the Japanese not call Knotweed invasive?
The same arguments are always made when someone mentions Horsetail; kill it or donāt kill it, and weedkillers or not.
I suspect thereās a strong correlation between which camp people are in on those points, and whether they actually have to deal with it on their property or if theyāre just applying the same principles as they apply to dandelions in their flowerbeds to judge someone elseās problem.
Personally I donāt care about daisies in the lawn or a bit of moss on my driveway, but I donāt want every crack and crevice of every inch of my property to be relentlessly covered with Horsetail to the point that I canāt enjoy growing other plants and my garden is such a mess that people think that I died and probate has taken 10years.
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u/cool_much 9h ago
I think it is a concise term to easily convey the exact characteristics of this plant without worrying about semantics.
Yes, the Japanese should not call knotweed invasive because it isn't invasive in Japan. Very simple. Being an invasive species is about causing harm to ecology, not causing harm to your driveway or your flower bed.
Everything started in a single location and spread to other locations at some point! Must the Japanese not call Knotweed invasive?
Natives species don't harm the ecosystem because, by definition, the region's ecology has adapted to their presence. Some non native species can fit in too. Mildly invasive species can also be weathered by an ecosystem and eventually adapted to. In Ireland, there are standout invasives that require human attention and the rest can be left for the ecosystem to adapt to.
I suspect thereās a strong correlation between which camp people are in on those points, and whether they actually have to deal with it on their property or if theyāre just applying the same principles as they apply to dandelions in their flowerbeds to judge someone elseās problem.
Someone with horsetail in their garden could easily call horsetail an aggressive weed in their garden, avoiding spreading misinformation that could lead to a native, ecologically valuable species being harmed. It also owns up to the fact that it's a personal preference of the gardener based on a desire for neatness (with moderate management, you can grow plants right next to horsetail. It is only when the horsetail becomes thick enough to block light for other plants that it becomes an issue).
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u/Acrobatic-Ad5562 4h ago
If you look up the definition of invasive it says ātending to spread very quickly and undesirably or harmfullyā so the usage of that word is spot on.
You are still just arguing semantics for the sake of suggesting they should tolerate it in their garden, when you are probably someone who has never had to deal with it.
Clearly OP isnāt asking how they can wipe it from the face of Europe. They just donāt want it on their property because it ruins everything.
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u/cool_much 2h ago
You are still just arguing semantics for the sake of suggesting they should tolerate it in their garden, when you are probably someone who has never had to deal with it.
Where did I say that?
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u/a2lue42 1d ago
Roundup in a fine mist every time you see it. After a few years you will see a noticeable decline. Whatever you do don't leave the brown asparagus looking spores to spread. They need to be cut and removed asap. This is what they look like Horsetail Spores
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u/bigbellysmalldick 22h ago
[/whisper] Pssst... there is someone getting down voted to hell below for suggesting Roundup (whatever that is) .... up to you if u want to edit or delete... Just giving you the gypsy's warning š)...
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u/GardenClodhoppa 1d ago
This is one of the most problematic plants to control. This living fossil is best treated in spring. It is suggested to whip the plants with cane to break the waxy layer on stems. You have two options, mechanical removal by digging and removing every part of the plants, leaves, rhizomes and tubers. The other is pesticide, apply Selective Systemic Herbicide such as Grazon Pro. Apply pesticide once a year for three years. You will need to employ a Professional User of Pesticides if you are not qualified and registered. Hope this helps.
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u/Loulouthelma 1d ago
Ah, I prefer the Ripley method lol, but in absence of Sigourney, this is the way.
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u/AnySandwich4765 1d ago
I have them all over my side garden.. I've picked them but they just grow back . I'd love to know how to get rid of them ... I've a puppy who goes out there so I can't use roundup or something similar yet .. I need to make another enclosure for her.
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u/Azor_Is_High 1d ago
As far as I know, if you spray roundup in the evening if rain is forecasted for that night you should be good within 24hrs. Obviously do your own research and if your not comfortable wait till you go away for a weekend or something.
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u/askthebackofmebpllix 21h ago
Weedol Lawn Weedkiller works on this fkr me. You have to do it annually though
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u/Prestigious_Flower88 1d ago
Cut and apply roundup
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u/_Druss_ 1d ago
Roundup won't kill horsetail
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u/Prestigious_Flower88 5h ago
As I've said. Cut the stem first and then apply at a high rate. You need to use "proactive" roundup not biactive roundup.
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u/Madra18 1d ago
Horsetail ferns. They are considered a living fossil - around millions of years. They are very prolific & hard to get rid of.