Horsetail

[xwordmad]

Does anyone have a miracle cure to get rid of horse tail? Thanks.

[logman]

"Round up" is said to do it, but horse tail seems to be on par with ground elder and couch grass, so it may need more than one application. Best of luck..

[snook]

If this is the weed that I think you're talking about, it's virtually impossible to get rid of, at least in my experience. It tends to break when you pull it, so there's always bits of it left in the ground, and it sends roots almost impossibly deep, so no matter what you do or what you think you've achieved, it always seems to come back. It's a strange looking plant, and apparently hasn't changed much since the carboniferous period (?). If this is correct, then it's because it's a damn good survivor and so doesn't have much incentive to develop any further.

No, I have no idea how to get rid of it, short of dousing the entire area with the strongest weedkiller you can find, turning the ground over after a week or two, repeating the application, and then maybe one more time. But if you think it's gone for good after that, I wouldn't hold your breath. Sooner or later, it'll be back!

[andyjevs]

A very strong dose of roundup...probably up to 5 times as strong as the normal mix should do it if you persivere over a year or two. Mine took ages but i got there in the end as i did with ground elder....but even after 7 years, i occasionally get one of those re-appear.

[hopalong]

A while back i heard a tip on the radio how to get rid of horse tail. Go down to the stem hold tighly and pull but not right out. It seems that kills them and stops them reappearing.

[gucciman]

horsetail is virtually impossible to get rid of completely. its roots go down several feet into the ground and from what ive researched on the net the plant that grows in your garden could be the same plant growing in a garden a mile away i.e it spreads underground all over the neighbourhood, like fungus does.

ive also read that it is pretty resistant to most weedkillers cos it has a waxy coating on the stems, apparently the only chance you have is to scrape the stem with a knife and then spray the weedkiller on.

my approach to dealing with it is to simply dig up the stem everytime one pops up so the leaves cant develop, the plant then cannot collect light to produce food, this weakens the plant and stops it growing so prolifically.

[alasdair260]

just my tuppence worth as i had a garden full of this weed.......i grassed it all and have not seen any since

cheers