Horse tail / Mares tail

phildig

Hello and thank you for reading this message.

Following the plant identification thread
https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/1026929/plant-identification-please/p2

…….the plan is to dig up the entire flowerbed and get rid of the earth with horse tail / mares tail in it. But, where can this be disposed of? The local council has not replied to me after asking them weeks ago. The weed is not listed as a regulated weed needing a licensed rubbish disposer to take it away. So does this mean that the bags of earth can be dumped at a local tip to go into landfill?

Thank you again for reading this message.

Purplerain

I don't think your plan will work, because the roots of horsetail go down so deep that you will never get to the end. By digging it up you will make the problem worse, as every broken root will regenerate and you will be spreading it around even more.  There are various threads on here about it if you type it into the search box.

phildig

Hello Purplerain,
Thank you for your reply.
Luckily the flowerbed is small and confined by concrete all around and underneath, depth about 0.75 metres. The earth can be dug out, then the concrete treated before refilling.

JennyJ

Are you sure the horsetail isn't coming up through the base of the bed? It's possible, particularly if there are drainage holes or gaps (and if there weren't it would become very soggy in wet weather). If so it will be back, sooner or later (sorry to be pessimistic but that stuff is tougher than a tough thing )

phildig

Hello JennyJ and thank you for your reply.
There's a possibility of that. But the property is only 15 years old and the flowerbed is surrounded by concrete and the front house wall. Also there doesn't seem to be too much, it's not spread across the whole flower bed.