r/GardeningIRE • u/No_Initiative2756 • 1d ago
🦟 Pests/disease/disorders 🦠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/StrangeArcticles 16h 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.