Most Wanted Weed List – Horsetail!

When it comes to horsetail the question is how do you get rid of something that:

• Survived the climatic changes that wiped dinosaurs off the map
• Can regenerate itself into several plants when cut into very short pieces
• Can tunnel 3 feet or more below the ground’s surface
• Was documented among the first organisms to re-establish itself after the volcanic explosion on the slopes of Mt.St. Helens!

Of all the weeding ordeals that a Guerrilla Gardener has to face, horsetail is the one weed that is going to make you feel like weeding is an exercise in futility. Herbicides aren’t much of a solution either. They are ineffective due to the fact that this dreaded perennial weed comes from rhizomes that have a deep rooting system and the herbicide uptake is very minimal because of the lack of leaf area. As a matter of fact, trying to get rid of it is scientifically proven to be a waste of time. Weed scientists (yes this is a real occupation!) in Quebec, Canada did a study on removing horsetail 16 times from a garden plot and it did not have any impact on re-growth. The following year the plot looked identical to the check plot! *
(Cloutier and Watson, 1985).

My experience with horsetail has not been any different!
If you pull it out, it grows back even faster and trying to dig it out is even worse, because every broken bit of root (rhizome) generates a new plant. Smothering them with bark mulch seems to work temporarily but it also creates a moist, airless, acidic environment with no nutritional value which eventually makes them act like they’re on steroids and they come back with a vengeance.

The same goes for black plastic and landscape fabric – they thrive in warm, dank, oxygen-starved conditions and they will soon be cutting through your so called “weed barrier” like a hot knife through butter. As for weed killers – no matter what you use, the top growth will fake you out by letting you think that you have killed it, but the part that is underground lurks waiting to spring up when you least expect it.

Master Gardeners will tell you that the only permanent way to get rid of horsetail is to improve the drainage, raise the pH (add lime), and increase the soil’s fertility (add compost). In the spring you will also need to chop off any of the pinkish-brown pointed spikes as soon as they appear because if left unchecked these weird looking alien pods will spew millions of spores that will become a gazillion new horsetail plants.

Then the following year, you will need to repeat all of the above steps again until you gradually see an improvement. Apparently this method can take up to five years, and it will work only if your neighbor’s horsetails aren’t leaving their spores in your yard. And since the neighbor’s dog is already leaving his spores in your yard, their horsetail will obviously think it’s OK to do so as well. As a Guerrilla Gardener this method of eradication seems to be tiring, overwhelming and entirely unnecessary.

So how do you get rid of horsetail?
Alan Titchmarsh, English gardener, broadcaster and novelist once said something like: “If you find horsetail in your garden, and you want a garden without horsetail, you will need to move your house!” Since this is not always practical, you might want to take the Guerrilla Garden “live and let live” approach.

Non-Rule #4 -Don’t fight with Mother Nature!

Here are a few ideas that will help you embrace and live with the horsetail in your garden….

1)     Use Horsetail in a planter or arrangement

Fill your vases!
Top floral designers have been know to use horsetail to make creative contemporary floral arrangements and here in the Pacific Northwest it grows wild and is free for the taking. If you can’t control it, make it work for you.

Even if you have no floral design skills what-so-ever a simple vase or mason jar of fresh clipped horsetail fronds will look great.
Plus having horsetail in your garden means that you will have a never ending supply so you might as well make some extra arrangements for yourself and a friend.
Having a fresh arrangement in every room can help you to live the illusion that you are living “the lifestyles of the rich and famous” instead of “the poor and unknown”…or so I have heard.

Use Horsetail to fill out your planters!
Horsetail when combined with coleus can be an inexpensive creative option for your shady deck or patio planters. It looks designer, makes a nice statement and doesn’t cost a thing!

2) Use Horsetail to create a Jurassic or Fairy Garden

It’s a fact-horsetail has been around since the time of dinosaurs. Add a few ferns, some fossils, and a dinosaur statue (or toy) and there you have it…..your new dinosaur theme garden! Horsetail also works as small trees in a woodland fairy garden. Small children seem to really get on board with these types of projects and will want to be involved.

3)     Convince a Master Gardener or a neigbor that you planted horsetail as a cash crop.

 Horsetail is apparently used as a supplement to treat and prevent osteoporosis. I checked it out at our local health food store and sure enough they sell horsetail supplements. I’m thinking someone has to grow this stuff, so if you have really large patches growing in your garden it is very plausible that it’s not a garden of weeds, it’s a crop!

4)     Make a horsetail pot scrubber or some horsetail tea.

Apparently, you can make environmentally friendly pot scrubbers by taking handfuls of five inch pieces and binding them in the middle with rubber bands. Also you can dry the fronds to make Horsetail Tea. “Someone” at work “Somewhere” mentioned that this would make an excellent Christmas gift for that pencil pusher who decided that employees are supposed to go without a raise for another year even though they, themselves took home a generous bonus. All I can say is we’re all on a budget and nothing is nicer than a homemade gift.

Just be aware I cannot recommend doing any of these things and I must insist that you read the Guerrilla Garden Adventures Disclaimer before deciding to taking action on any of these ideas. 

And finally…..

If you absolutely feel that you need to eradicate the horsetail in your garden, make sure you have some fun with it! Arm some of the local neighborhood kids with shovels, then educate them on the fact that horsetail can accumulate gold in its tissues. If they don’t believe you, then just have them google it.
Horsetail is really more of an indicator plant rather than as a commercial source of gold, but there’s no need to tell them that. Let them think you are sitting on a potential gold mine! To keep them coming back and clearing out the horsetail I suggest getting some rocks and spray painting them gold and burying them as evidence that the more horsetail they pull, the more gold comes to the surface.

Don’t think of it so much as free labor, but more like a Guerrilla Garden Adventures fun filled, educational project with children!

Happy Gardening!

Guerrilla Garden Adventures

Inspiring Garden Rebels everywhere to make the world a greener, happier and more creative place.