The Marestail Lily? It will never be ok, but I just live with it and pull it up as and when it appears....it seems to be best done in the damp It seems yo be in every garden near me so I've just come to the conclusion it's here to stay.
Someone on another thread (or it might be earlier on this one) suggested putting a piece of tubing (I imagine a foot of drainpipe would work well) round the horsetail and spraying inside that. Whether it will actually kill the stuff I couldn't say.
Me too Zoomer, I'm just pulling it up the best I can and if it's too close to the veg just snapping the top off.....it's all I can do really until the end of veggie season and then I will be digging the plot over again and trying to get up more roots. On the bright side, every year it is getting better and less problematic
I find marestail less of a problem than bindweed. I still dig up both by their roots when they appear. Bindweed is now receeding and when weak there's a pest which leaves holes in it's leaves...
I grow mainly in narrow beds and they get a good weeding before being covered with cardboard, muck and then plastic for the winter. Marestail still grows but if dug up when it appears doesn't seem to rob the soil of nutrients preventing veg/fruit from growing where as bindweed will wrap it's vine around them...
Ok, my first post. We have this all over our lawn and garden, so I was going to come here looking for advice...but instead I will share the research I have done so far. First, they are not called marestails when they are on land, they are called horsetails. They are two different types of plants. None of the suggestions above will work. Sorry folks, but that was not the best advice. The roots go far deeper than any herbicide will be able to reach. Glyphosate won't work. Glyphosate actually encourages field horsetail by eliminating competing plants. Horsetails love poor drainage, low oxygen, and acidic soil. You need to improve your soil by applying lime. After AT LEAST two weeks, apply horse manure. Then some nice compost. I've tried killing them with industrial grade vinegar (20%) but, like anything applied to them, it will only kill the tops and do nothing for the roots (which can go as far down as 7 meters...or over to Japan). Also, it acidifies the soil. Covering any parts of your garden with membrane or plastic will just make the roots really happy without the oxygen and horsetails will pop out everywhere along the sides. Don't do it. That's what the previous owner did here. You lift up the sheet of plastic and it is nothing but horsetail roots under there. They don't like shade so you can crowd some of them out with taller plants. From March to May you must be very vigilant and pull out any female (asparagus looking) horsetails as soon as possible as they spread thousands of spores everywhere. Do not till as it will make things worse. Every bit of root will regenerate into a new plant. We need to realise that they may never, ever fully go away. They take a lot of silicone from your soil so you can compost them after drying them out in order the replace the silicone. Try to improve your drainage by sloping the land away from your property and adding some ditches for the water to flow down. Whew. So, that is what I know. Some simply say it is best to pull out what you can and then just deal with them. The roots go so far down that they don't compete too much with plants for nutrients (allegedly) and the best thing to do is encourage them to move along by improving the soil. Very hard to do if your neighbour has them.
I'm sorry but you're wrong about Glyphosate not working on Horse tail weeds. I've used it it in recent weeks to kill off the plant in a new plot I've cultivated. The way glyphosate works is that the plant takes up the chemical into it's roots. killing them, so it doesn't matter how deep the roots are.
Admittedly, several applications of glyphosate will often be needed to eradicate these weeds, particularly with larger plants or severe infestations, but it does work. The RHS website states that it might take several years to eradicate it in the case of severe infestations.
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The Marestail Lily? It will never be ok, but I just live with it and pull it up as and when it appears....it seems to be best done in the damp
It seems yo be in every garden near me so I've just come to the conclusion it's here to stay.
Bumped up for joem
Bump up for Keith!
Marestail is now coming up in between veggies I'm growing, won't it be difficult to spray without it affecting the veg.
Someone on another thread (or it might be earlier on this one) suggested putting a piece of tubing (I imagine a foot of drainpipe would work well) round the horsetail and spraying inside that. Whether it will actually kill the stuff I couldn't say.
Me too Zoomer, I'm just pulling it up the best I can and if it's too close to the veg just snapping the top off.....it's all I can do really until the end of veggie season and then I will be digging the plot over again and trying to get up more roots. On the bright side, every year it is getting better and less problematic
Back in 2014 many of us were fighting the marestail/horsetail problem. Several members were testing resolve 24, white vinegar, lime and manure.
2 years on what are the results. Any success?
P.S. RHS Harlow Carr in Harogate have the problem and haven't resolved it
Two years on I have a much bigger plot now. ..
I find marestail less of a problem than bindweed. I still dig up both by their roots when they appear. Bindweed is now receeding and when weak there's a pest which leaves holes in it's leaves...
I grow mainly in narrow beds and they get a good weeding before being covered with cardboard, muck and then plastic for the winter. Marestail still grows but if dug up when it appears doesn't seem to rob the soil of nutrients preventing veg/fruit from growing where as bindweed will wrap it's vine around them...
I'm sorry but you're wrong about Glyphosate not working on Horse tail weeds. I've used it it in recent weeks to kill off the plant in a new plot I've cultivated. The way glyphosate works is that the plant takes up the chemical into it's roots. killing them, so it doesn't matter how deep the roots are.
Admittedly, several applications of glyphosate will often be needed to eradicate these weeds, particularly with larger plants or severe infestations, but it does work. The RHS website states that it might take several years to eradicate it in the case of severe infestations.