Mares/Horsetail weed

[Bryang]

Can any one suggest a way to eradicate this weed please ?

 

[Delgirl]

I have used Kurtail in the past but not a silver bullet. Seems to knock it back though.

 

[JamezF]

Fortunately I've never had to deal with it, but I imagine the environmentally friendly way is just to remove the shoots as soon as they appear. The rhizomes can only store a certain amount of energy and if they can't be replenished because the foliage is destroyed immediately it appears, they will eventually die. I've done this with bindweed, but it did take two or three years and you really need to try not to miss any.

Smothering it with black polythene might do the job after long enough, but it's hardly attractive, obviously. Perhaps black polythene with a thick mulch on top?

If all else fails then there's always glyphosate-based weedkiller. That kills almost anything green that it touches. I think generic versions are available on Amazon/Ebay.

James

 

[Bryang]

I'm asking on behalf of my Bro. He has 3 large plots on a large allotment association "field" He has been trying to get rid of the weed for 10 + years and has failed. He has dug out the plots to a depth of a metre and lined the sides with thick plastic. But it is still growing. Thanks James for your suggestions..

 

[Buzzo]

you need to turn the soil -at least 1 foot deep -and sit down and pull out its long black roots. let it come up again and repeat. in 2 years i was virtually free.

 

[JamezF]

I'm asking on behalf of my Bro. He has 3 large plots on a large allotment association "field" He has been trying to get rid of the weed for 10 + years and has failed. He has dug out the plots to a depth of a metre and lined the sides with thick plastic. But it is still growing. Thanks James for your suggestions..

Apparently the rhizomes can be as much as two metres deep.

James

 

[Dodge]

I have it at home. The roots go down easily 2 meters, really dense root system and they snap as soon as you tug. Nothing like bund weed where your can lift it out with a fork and seperdre from the earth with a few shakes.

I use Kurtail. One of the snags is that because it has a waxy foliage the systemic weed killer struggles to penetrative. Acid in the weedkiller does brown it off and kill the exposed growth though.

 

[enrico]

Give up. we lived with it for nine years and then moved. It is something I check for before buying a house. it is a prehistoric plant so trust me, it knows how to survive.

 

[Sutty]

You need a high concentration of glyphosate to kill it!
I have heard somewhere of people spraying waxy weeds with petrol before glyphosate to try to remove the wax and enhance uptake. No idea if it works!

 

[drex]

I trample it to bruise it and then spray with glyphosate with a drop of detergent in it. Still takes a couple of years and even then get the odd one appearing

 

[Curly green finger's]

You need a high concentration of glyphosate to kill it!
I have heard somewhere of people spraying waxy weeds with petrol before glyphosate to try to remove the wax and enhance uptake. No idea if it works!

Yes petrol does work I use a mix of petrol and herbicide together, main reason a lot of glyphosate based sprays you buy in the shops are sugar honey ice tea!