Controlling horsetail (mare's tail to some people), can be tricky. Homes all over the country can succumb to this incredibly invasive, deep rooted perennial garden weed and it's an issue that needs to be addressed to protect your plants.
We're here to help you with that. In this blog we will first take a look at what this horsetail weed is, before walking you through the various ways that you can control horsetail mare's tail, including a chemical control method. By the end, you'll know everything you need to treat horsetail weed.
What is horsetail?
Horsetail is a weed, and a particularly invasive one at that. Its root system will go deep, meaning it is hard to remove, and it grows really quickly. Hard to remove and fast-spreading is not a good combination for a weed! As we mentioned above, it goes by a variety of different names - mare's tail, bottle brush, horse tail. We'll stick with horsetail for the rest of this piece.
Horsetail is instantly recognisable - it is an upright weed, with fir tree-like stems that combine to form a dense carpet of foliage. It is a light brown colour in spring, and appears in the summer in a dark green colour. They can grow up to 60cm tall, and use their rhizomes (stems that form underground) to spread. They can grow everywhere - patios, paving, walls, waste ground, garden beds. It gets everywhere. It's a problem for landscapers, gardeners and homeowners - it can even creep into neighbouring gardens.
These creeping rhizomes can be up to 2 meters below the soil surface, which makes them incredibly hard to remove. If they are near other plants, this becomes nearly impossible without having to dig up your entire bed.
This is why horsetail is such a problem. So let's have a look at what you can do about it.
How to get rid of horsetail weed
Non-chemical solution
As we alluded to in the above section - it's hard to remove horsetail by hand. It can be done, and if you would rather not use a chemical solution, you may be able to do it, but you should know going in that it will be difficult to completely solve the problem by hand.
You'll be able to remove the stems near the surface, but cutting is generally ineffective - it will just grow back straight away. So you're going to need to dig, and you're going to need to dig deep. You'll need to get to the bottom of the roots, and remove it all.
A word of caution is required here - removing the horsetail by hand has the potential to make the problem worse. Any root fragment can develop into a new plant, so if you leave any behind, or accidentally drop some stem fragments elsewhere in your garden, you may find that the problem comes back, or even spread further around your garden.
However, if you are careful with the broken root fragment, and dispose of it sensibly, this is the best natural control method.
Chemical solution
The most effective way to kill horsetail (mare's tail) is with chemicals. With all of the drawbacks of using a non-chemical solution, using an effective weedkiller is the best method for killing horsetail, to ensure that the problem goes away for good.
Easier said than done, you might say, but using a quality weed killer is much less labour-intensive than it is to dig out the complete root system by hand. You just need to know what to use, and that's where we can help. We stock a range of weed killers that would be suitable for the job:
Gallup 360
This is a non-selective weed killer that will take care of annual and perennial grasses, as well as broad-leaved weeds. Like the other products we'll look at today, this is a professional weed killer, that is designed to be diluted in water before use. This is a great solution to a horsetail problem.
Rosate 360
Rostate 360 is a non-hazardous weed-killer - ideal for the more invasive weeds like horse tail. Again, it is one you dilute, and one 20 litre bottle will be enough to cover 10,000m ².
Monsanto - Roundup ProVantage
Roundup ProVantage is designed to target the most stubborn weeds and grasses, like Japanese knotweed - which give you an indication of how effective this one is. With 480g of glyphosate, this is a very powerful weed killer.
Monsanto - Amenity 360
This is a great option if you want to be able to grow on the patch after you've got rid of the horsetail - after two weeks the formula would have been broken down in the soil and it will be fine to sow or plant something new there.
Top tips for spraying weed killer to treat horsetail/mare's tail
The best time of year to use a weed killer is between March and October, on a dry day with little wind. Use weed killer you can trust, and always follow the instructions. Be prepared to reapply as fully killing horse tail more than one go to.
Conclusion
If you have a horsetail (mare's tail/bottle brush) problem, you need to spend a bit of time taking care of it, otherwise it can get out of hand. We have a wide range of weed killers available to help you control horsetail/mare's tail - and if you have any questions at all, our team of experts would be more than happy to help you out.
