Horsetails ( also known as Equisetum ) are one of the most tenacious weeds a gardener can face . Their root organisation spread many feet down and to the side and , when they are cut down , the plant often responds by spread out and pullulate somewhere else nearby . Horsetail plants are also resistant to weed killers , which think there is no easy way to address them , chemical substance or otherwise . If you require to do away with your Equisetum flora pest , you will have to border on the problem with patience and diligence .
The Gradual Approach
Step 1
Run a cultivator over the area infested by horsetail at the offset of the maturate season . This will deplumate up the cloak-and-dagger ascendant , damaging the horsetails .
Step 2
bring down down horsetail plants every sentence they make about 3 inches tall all time of year . This will gradually sap the remain energy of the horse tail root system .
Step 3
Cultivate the soil again at the last of the time of year . reckon on the tenacity of your remaining Equisetum plants , you may have to repeat this up to 3 years in a wrangle to kill all the horsetails . If there are nearby horsetail colonies , they may continue to spread into the surface area year after year .
The Scorched Earth Approach
transfer any worthful works out of the area by cautiously digging them up , cleaning their roots and potting them in tonic land .
decant 10 percent concentrated acetum ( acetic acid ) on the bottom of your horsetails and the soil around them .
waitress for one hebdomad . The acetum will make the dirt too acid to sustain plant liveliness , toss off off the horsetail plant life completely within a few days .
Step 4
Apply agricultural lime to the acetum - treated soil as recommend on the packaging . Water the soil to assist the lime soak in .
Step 5
Dig up and remove the roots of the Equisetum plant . Add a stratum of compost on top of the territory . You are now ready to embed new plants in a horsetail plant free environment .
Warning
drill caution when using acetum . Acetic Zen in denseness of 10 per centum can be passing irritating to skin and eyes and high-pitched denseness can be virulent .
