One homeowner’s first spring in their new house came with a twist: a particularly hardy and stubborn plant that just won’t take no for an answer.
In a post to Reddit’s r/pnwgardening forum, the user said: “Sooo… horsetails — how do I get rid of them?” While they didn’t include any pictures from their yard, they went on to explain that despite pulling up some of them the previous summer, the fast-spreading plants are showing up everywhere along their border gardens.
Horsetail, or Equisetum arvense, is one of Earth’s oldest surviving plant species — it’s older than even the dinosaurs, dating back around 325 million years. While that might be fascinating from an evolutionary perspective, the plant can be a nightmare for gardeners. It spreads aggressively through underground rhizomes, making it nearly impossible to fully remove.
As this homeowner has learned, any small root fragment left behind can sprout a new horsetail plant. It can also outcompete native plants, meaning all your gardening efforts will be in vain if horsetail takes over.
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Experts say the best strategy is to work with the ecosystem rather than against it. That’s why replacing traditional lawns with native plants, clover, or buffalo grass can reduce maintenance, save water, and create healthier habitats for pollinators, which are essential for our food security. Plus, it makes it harder for invasive plants like horsetail to spread. Even partially upgrading your yard can offer these same benefits.
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Some Reddit users sympathized in the comments section, with one saying: “Horsetail is prehistoric. They’ve survived in the harshest conditions. If you have it in your yard, you’ve got it forever.”
However, another commenter was slightly more optimistic: “Horsetails are native and rhizomous and the rhizomes are deep so getting rid of them is a challenge. I’ve found that smothering them for a couple years does the job.”
Meanwhile, some commenters said they like horsetail, if only it weren’t for their tendency to outcompete other plants. “Am I the only one that likes horsetails? Dinosaur plants,” one asked, with the OP responding: “It’s just their spreading growth habit I’m not a fan of.”
Another commenter joked: “A few billion years from now the last cockroach will eat the last horsetail and the Earth’s living cycle will end.”
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