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Help - weed extermination assistance needed!

martin_hardingmartin_harding Posts: 26
in Plants
Hi all, 

The back of my garden is currently under siege from this persistent little bugger: 




Can anyone out there tell me: 

a) What the devil this thing is
b) How the devil do I get rid of it once and for all? 

Any assistance would be grand! 

Cheers, 

Martin
«1

Posts

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Yep ... persistent little bu$$er is a good description.

    To answer your questions ... 

    a) it's Horsetail https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=257 

    b) you won't ....... or if you do, let me know how .......... I'll patent the method and make millions  ;)

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • martin_hardingmartin_harding Posts: 26
    Dovefromabove said:
    Yep ... persistent little bu$$er is a good description.

    To answer your questions ... 

    a) it's Horsetail https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=257 

    b) you won't ....... or if you do, let me know how .......... I'll patent the method and make millions  ;)
    Reveal a trade secret?  Heh, not likely 😜 - in all seriousness, thanks for the advice, it's good to know what you're dealing with. 
  • josusa47josusa47 Posts: 3,530
    Most weeds can be controlled but few can be eliminated.  Annual weeds will always blow in on the wind and seeds get dropped by birds.   Horsetail is one of the hardest to control because its foliage is armour plated - it used to be used for scouring pans - and it's roots reach Australia.  You can use glyphosate weedkiller but you need to bruise the foliage before applying otherwise the plant just shrugs it off.  And it will need repeated applications.  The organic method is to keep on, and on, and on pulling it as soon as it appears, and it will eventually weaken.  And either burn it or put it in the landfill bin, not the green waste bag.  Never mind, think of all the money you can save on pot scourers.
  • madpenguinmadpenguin Posts: 2,543
    edited May 2018
    I had horsetail in my garden when I first moved in about 16 years ago.
    It poked its nose up everywhere.Over a couple of years I treated it with glyphosate whenever I saw it,bruising the foliage first.
    Not seen it for several years now,so you can get rid of it but you must be as persistent as the blighter itself!
    “Every day is ordinary, until it isn't.” - Bernard Cornwell-Death of Kings
  • martin_hardingmartin_harding Posts: 26
    I was wondering whether Agent Orange would make a dent in this stuff... 

    Tongue firmly in cheek, you understand... 😂
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    I have read that horsetail doesn't like limey soil ... I've no experience of this ... except in so far as we garden on chalk and there's no horsetail here (fingers crossed)  :)

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • martin_hardingmartin_harding Posts: 26
    Hi guys, yet more on this ongoing saga ...

    Everywhere I look, the act of 'bruising' the foliage is mentioned - what does this actually entail?  Some sites have said to use a plastic rake to do it, others said to trample it underfoot prior to spraying with weedkiller.

    Help!
  • plant pauperplant pauper Posts: 6,904
    The weed has a very resistant waxy coating so tramp it or bash it to break the surface. That way your Agent Orange weapon of choice can be absorbed into the plant.
  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601
    My soil is clay with lumps of chalk and flint. We have lots of horsetail but I dislike weedkillers so I just pull it out by hand. Every time I walk past a piece, out it comes. I would say I have reduced it by about 90%
  • RubyLeafRubyLeaf Posts: 260
    Anything's better than having knotweed though, right? :)
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