[judepd]

Hi,

Can anyone help me to identify this unusual ugly weed? I just bought a new house and its prolific in one part of the guy. Also what's best to kill it? I used roundup but it seems to have multiplied since.

Thanks,

Peter

[Sive]

Oh dear, it looks like horsetail.

[medieval knievel]

it's very resistant to weedkiller as it doesn't have leafy surfaces for the weedkiller to work its way in.

http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/forums/showthread.php?p=293822

[judepd]

Thanks. Its horsetail alright. Great to know its name at last but depressing to find out how resistent it is. Its growing on a gravel path so its look like I will have to dig that up and either discard all the gravel or soak in vinegar.

[judepd]

Just read the worse thing to do is to try digging it up so I'm going to cut the heads and spray ammonium sulphate or glyphosate on the cut heads and keep repeating for years. I'll also soak the sandy/gravel in vinegar and possibly cover the whole are in black plastic.


I like this article as it gives hope http://www.ehow.com/how_7530031_remove-horsetail.html

[Silver surfer]

It is also called Horse tail..Equisetum.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equisetum

Every time you take the head off,instead of one stalk you will get 5-6 from the cut end.

You will, I fear just have to live with it.

Or as it said on the radio years ago on Gardeners question time... Move house!

[Greengage]

I agree with silver surfer of all the weeds you could get this is the worse,
If it was brought in and you catch it early you have a chance, Roundup is the only thing regular application, If it gets established you have lost the battle, Sell and run like hell. Now having said all that I have lived wit it in the past for a long time it will not survive in lawns but veg plots and herbaceous borders no chance unless you convert everything into a lawn and cut cut cut eventually it will starve itself.
Concrete or tarmac will not stop this blighter.

[Anonany]

As others have said, it's the very devil but -- given time and effort -- Roundup will eventually see it off.

The suggestion I came across was to really bruise it (to break up the waxy coating) before applying the weedkiller. My solution was to lay the stems and leaves over a rock and beat the living daylights out of them with another rock prior to each application. It took quite a while -- 5-6 years perhaps ? -- with at least three applications per year ... but I did eventually get rid of it some ten years or so ago !

The real trick ? Wait until someone/something has really annoyed you ... then take out all your pent up aggression on the horse tail !

[Matt]

Hi Judepd
You could use a weed -wand burner I have had one for a few years and find it very good I have eradicated bindweed in most of my garden with it and am working the last area now with glyphosate and a sponge in my raised beds might be worth a try