Equisetum seems very likely. If so, the usual weed killers will not work
because it is not a flowering plant.


"Janet Baraclough" wrote in message
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Hi - I am new to this forum and i am hoping that some of you experts can
help me out with this really tricky problem.

You are not in a forum. You are posting to an international, but
mostly American newsgroup.

We have a weed that grows out from under the block paves on the drive -
it is green and looks like little Christmas trees - or like the ends of
the branches of the Christmas tree. A sort of brown twig like centre
spine with green blades coming of in a herringbone style.

We have tried every make of weedkiller including the 'kills down to the
roots' kinds and it keeps coming back.

Can anyone tell us what it is plus if there is a way to get rid of it
once and for all - preferably without pulling the drive up :=)

It's called marestail, equisetum. It dates from the dinosaur age,
has black stringy roots 25 ft deep (so digging out is pointless) and is
*seriously* invasive.

Pulling off _every_ stem that appears in spring will help starve it
into submission.

Before poisoning it, you have to thrash the weeds with a stick or
something to thoroughly bruise them. Otherwise, the weedkiller won't
penetrate its hard waxy skin. That's partly why your efforts failed to
make any impression before.

You probably won't eradicate it completely if the huge root system is
alive and well in neighbouring gardens, so this is going to be a
longterm battle, but it's worth the effort to limit the spread and stop
it taking over the whole garden.

Janet.