Horsetail is a H2O - loving plant that count stunning almost anywhere — as long as you take metre to control it .
Water plants do n’t get much easier to grow than horsetail . Horsetail bear a extensive chain of grime and even develop in fend water . This plant has subsist — and thrived — since prehistorical times . So , it ’s not surprising to learn that horsetail is ruffianly . The good newsworthiness is it adds unequalled structure and grain to water gardens with its blackness - telephone , bamboo - similar section empty stem . The unfit news is that horsetail is fabulously invasive , and it ’s tough to eradicate . It is also considered toxic to horses , so practice caution when planting it near areas where they roam .
That said , it ’s the visual interest that horsetail adds to the landscape — even in the wintertime — that makes it worth the sweat to control it .
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Where to Plant Horsetail
Horsetail will prosper in both full sunshine or partial shade and it can put up almost any type of soil . originate gallant horsetail alongside open - hugging water supply lily and water hyacinth . you may also set it in container and relish its attributes in a hold growing locating where it is less likely to displace nearby botany . Horsetail will provide a strong vertical stress in any of these localisation .
The evergreen perennial is particularly well suited to water garden , bog gardens , or bowl gardens . It is staring for covering a boggy sphere where nothing else works . It also count strike at the edge of stream and ponds . In the state of nature , it is often found in marshes , bog , flood plain , swampland , and other water - logged orbit .
Due to its aggressive ontogeny habit and ability to overtake other wildlife , horsetail is see trespassing nearly everywhere it is grown . If you choose to implant horsetail , study taking measures to check its growth . Even if implant it in a container , it ’s good to line the container with a sheet of okay mesh to foreclose the flora ’s rhizomes from escape the pot .
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How and When to Plant Horsetail
If you are growing horsetail from seeded player programme to start your seeds approximately six weeks before the last frost . seedling or greenhouse - develop horsetail plant can be placed in the ground or planted in containers out of doors in former springtime .
If you are plant horsetail in the dry land , you could confine its emergence by sinking a container in the soil ( as you would for bamboo ) . Before planting , set your container ( either above or below undercoat ) by lining it with a rag of fine interlock and filling it with sandy stain flux with gravel . Dig a hole just deep enough to accommodate the root of your works and keep the top of the root ball at least 1 inch below the rim of the container . satiate in the remaining filth and water profusely .
If you wish to plant your horsetail in water supply , spread a thick layer of crushed rock over the soil of a potted horsetail plant and deluge the container in your water garden . ensure the pot is secure and will not tip .
Horsetail Care Tips
Horsetail is a pretty , evergreen perennial that can flourish ( sometimes to a fault ) where other plants flush it . It also need very minuscule maintenance aside from a consistent supply of water .
Light
Horsetail grows beneficial in full sun if the land is systematically dampish but can easily grow in partial shadiness .
Soil and Water
Horsetail digest almost any type of soil but fly high best in sandy , gravelly , wet soil . It can produce in several inch of water system but does not tolerate being amply submerge .
Since sandy or gravelly soil promotes rapid emergence , when imbed in a container , comprise moxie or gravel into a traditional potting commixture . The more prolific and humus - rich the ground , the more lento horsetail grows .
Temperature and Humidity
Horsetail plant love humid environment and can flourish in a variety of temperature ( from -15 degrees to 100 degree Fahrenheit ) .
Fertilizer
Fertilization is not required unless you are growing horsetail in very misfortunate grunge . If you feel you need to fertilize , feed your plant in the give and summertime with a water - soluble fertilizer design for bog plants .
Pruning and Controlling
Prune horsetail on a regular basis to control its spread and check it at least once a month for rootstalk that spread beyond ( either under or over the border of ) the container . These rhizomes will typically appear in leaping , but in fluctuating weather , they can happen at any time . Snip away rogue rhizomes or any fruiting stanch to the ground and do not dispose of them in compost bins or near livestock .
Horsetail spread out rapidly when planted in the ground and will overtake nearby cultivated and uncivilised areas . It spread by clandestine rhizomes found up to 3 foot below the soil surface as well as spore that break open undetermined and germinate in the soil . The most responsible for way for most gardener to develop horsetail is to constitute it in a container , which will preclude the plant ’s rhizomes from spreading — but that wo n’t stop the spores . The spore of horsetail plants have “ peg ” that can uncurl and crawl when humidity levels change allow them to crawl or spring away .
Potting and Repotting
Like any container - grown plant life , horsetail that is grown in pot can become root word - bound if not tended . To avoid this , part your plant life every 3 to 4 days in the bounce or whenever it looks too crowded in its container . Dig up a colony of the plant and cut apart the rhizomes touch base the clumps . Horsetail is hard to kill , so do n’t worry about damaging the theme organisation . institute your division into separate container or dispose of unwanted sections by wrapping them in a plastic old bag and throwing them away . Do not discard horsetail in compost bins , yard debris bins , or in areas where livestock provender .
Pests and Problems
Horsetail is both pest and disease resistant . In fact , horsetail ( which has a high silica capacity ) is so effective at repelling disease , it is commonly harvested and steep in simmering water system to spray on other plants as a natural fungicide .
How to Propagate Horsetail
Horsetail propagates easily on its own , so the best direction to create new horsetail plants is through division . The good meter to do this is spring , but any time between early give and previous autumn will also form . Just dig up the plant life and cut away a portion of the rhizomatous root clump . you could replant the new division immediately in a standardized container or another location .
It is deserving noting that newly imbed horsetail may take a year or two to acclimate before it lead off to thrive . Do n’t be tempted to add additional plant . Horsetail is live to flourish in some of the problematic experimental condition . Once the plant establishes itself , it will likely fill whatever space you have provide for it to grow ( and sometimes well beyond that space ) .
Types of Horsetail
Common Horsetail
One of the most prevalent varieties of horsetail , Equisetum arvenseis also recognise as field horsetail or common horsetail . It is native to the northerly cerebral hemisphere and grow angry in nearly all mood . This type of horsetail produce from tuber - stomach rhizomes and is dimorphic — entail it grows both unbranched , productive , spore - producing stem and branched , sterile stems . It typically grows up to 2 feet magniloquent with good shoots that resemble bottle brushes .
Water Horsetail
Often receive in the standing water of lakes , marshes , and ponds , Equisetum fluviatile , is often call water horsetail , river horsetail , or swamp horsetail . It is a spreading perennial with heavyset , hollow , bamboo - like stems that boast whorls of lightlessness - tilted leaves at each lymph node . piddle horsetail multiply both by spores and rhizomes and grows 2 to 3 feet grandiloquent in moist to cockeyed grime .
Scouring Horsetail
With its tall , cylindrical , bamboo - like prow , Equisetum hyemalespreads aggressively through creeping rhizomes . Also know as scouring horsetail or scour rush , this herbaceous repeated variety dense colonies that can develop up to 4 foot grandiloquent . Due to its impenetrable growth habit , it sour well as a container - bound secrecy blind for patio , deck , and water garden . It can be grown in hardiness zone 4 through 9 and fares well in medium to sozzled grease with full sun or partial shade . The stems have a high silica content and were once used by other Americans to brush up tidy sum ( hence its common name , scour horsetail ) .
Giant Horsetail
Giant Horsetail ( Equisetumgiganteum ) is native to Central and South America and — with a emergence habit of 6 to 15 feet in meridian — is one of the tallest known horsetail varieties . It is second only to the Mexican Giant Horsetail ( Equisetum myriochaetum ) , which can reach heights of 16 to 24 foot . It is hardy in warm mood and produces narrow shoot that may not surpass an inch or two in diameter .
Companion Plants for Horsetail
Marsh Marigold
If you are look for a fellow traveller plant to horsetail for a boggy landscape painting , marsh marigoldcan supply a welcoming splash of spring color . Also known as cowslip , marsh marigolds love moist , slowly - draining soil and can often be found growing near the marshes , wet meadows , and swamps of North Carolina , Nebraska , and Tennessee . They are hardy in Zones 3 - 7 and can be found as far north as Newfoundland and Alaska .
Corkscrew Rush
Corkscrew spate ( Juncus effusus ) is an adaptable plant that thrives in various growing conditions , including dry and soused soil . It grows anywhere from 8 to 36 inch tall depending on the cultivar and is often found growing at the edges of ( or slightly in ) marshes .
Papyrus
Papyrus ( Cyperus papyrus ) is an easy - to - grow water - jazz plant that is aboriginal to areas of Africa . It broadcast out grassy spray of leaves that jut out from the stem like a pyrotechnic exhibit . It is well-off to manage for and easy to divide as the leafy clusters form plantlets that you may separate and grow individually . Grow papyrus in a leaden pot so that the stem rise up above the water surface in a pond or grow it in moist soil at the water ’s edge . Papyrus is hardy in Zones 9 and 10 .
Frequently Asked Questions
Keep an eye on your horsetail plants ( even if they are container - develop ) and snip off any explorative rootstalk or staunch before they manage to take antecedent . If your horsetail start to grow in property you do not want it to develop , try out to take away the unpaid worker as betimes as potential by digging them up and disposing of them .
To speak an area of established growth , you could deter horsetail by changing the cultural conditions . It is a dumb process but will eventually work if you are persevering about remotion and reclamation . Horsetail expand in tight dirt and full sun , so shade the area , dry out out the soil , and do what you may to meliorate the filth . If necessary , put in aFrench drainpipe . you could also use chemical weed cause of death or comprise dolomite lime and fertilizer into the soil to increase its pH level .
Horsetail works are intrepid in most climates and do n’t require much ( if any ) special forethought to survive the winter months . Make certain your plant are still getting circumstances of water late into the fall and — if you survive in a particularly cold part — add a heavy level of mulch ( 6 to 8 inches ) around the foundation of the works to protect it from winter hurt . If you are interested about a deep halt , you could bring your potted horsetail into an unheated service department or shed , but verify it stays moist . In the spring , remove the mulch and move the flora back outside into the sun .
Credit: John Noltner
flush Rush . ASPCA Toxic and Non - Toxic Plants
Field Horsetail . ASPCA Toxic and Non - Toxic Plants
Integrated pest management prescription horsetail - scour rushing . Maine.gov- Thurston County Environmental Health Division
Credit: Denny Schrock
Credit: Lynn Karlin
