Nick Maclaren wrote:
In article ,
Martin wrote:
While were away on holiday, the local authority sprayed the
pavement
outside our house, where mare's tail was rampant.
The stuff was brown when we got back and it hasn't reappeared. Not
bad for a local authority that has/had a policy of not using
herbicides.

Please tell us what happens next year :-)

I reckon I've had a fair bit of success at controlling Equisetum.
Certainly you won't get rid of it at one go. But persistant treatment
*each* year does have a debillitating effect and pushes its foothold
away from your 'pretty bits'.
I use a regular herbicide, at normal recommended strength, to which
has been added a surficant (washing up liquid - this helps the liquid
to thoroughly wet the plant), from a hand sprayer. Allow the plant to
die back and leave the blackened foliage until it shrivels up and goes
brittle - ie, give the herbicide time to do its work. Repeat as and
when new stems appear.
I have an area of meadow which is infested, and tolerated.
I have a garden where it is not tolerated and it is now less trouble
than Hairy Bitter-cress or Nipplewort.
Why these last two haven't taken over the world I do not know!
Although they are easy to weed out, they seem to hide behind other
plants and pop their seeds when no one is looking.

--
ned

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last update 29.09.2004