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Whats wrong with my Equisetum hyemale (Horsetail)?

3 years ago

I have horsetail plants in planter boxes outside my southern windows in Seattle. They did great for a while, but over the last two years, they haven't looked so good. As you can see in the first photo, most of them have gotten pretty yellow. Last Spring/Summer, I barely got any new growth. This Spring, I was excited to see lots of new stalks coming up. But as you can see in the second photo, the new stalks have started to turn white and die :( They are in regular pointing soil which I keep moist.

I can't find anything online to help me diagnose the problem because every source just talks about how resilient they are, how they can grow in pretty much any soil, in varying light conditions and moisture levels. The only difficulty I've read about people having with Horsetail is how to contain it. I'm not a plant novice and I have lots of healthy indoor and outdoor plants. I'm perplexed by this typically super hardy plant. Any insight would be much appreciated.

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Comments (4)

jentuke
3 years ago
I'm fairly new to this, but I use horsetail in my pond. They sit with the roots fully submerged in water, and the water occasionally is a couple of inches over the base of the plant. Is your horsetail getting enough light and water? Have you fertilized?
canaanjs09
Original Author
3 years ago
Hi there. Thanks for your comment! I do keep them moist and they're in a southern window so they get lots of direct light. After talking to some more experienced gardeners, I think the most likely problem is that they're root bound. I'm going to use an auger to dig holes in the soil and fill them with fresh soil and see if that helps
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Thanks, -R! I missed this post. In the early part of August, I went camping and left my yard in the care of a friend. He watered all the plants but this one...so I came home to a dried out container of Horsetail. The tops died, but new growth commenced immediately; and now the container is full again. I really enjoy these. Josh
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I CANT BELIEVE IT! I am a greenhouse/nursery student and this past quarter (last day was friday!) I took Beginning Floral Design as an elective...guess what? Horsetail is BIG in the floral industry! It is used quite a bit in floral arrangements...specifically in line design. E. arvense as well as E. hyemale are the two available to us, but there are 15 different species used :) I'm going to leave the patch of E. hyemale alone in my yard now...shoot maybe I could arrange for the school to buy it from me! I'm cheaper LOL! Vera
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Amy Ching
last year
I am also having similar problem. What worked for you? I'm guessing by now yours is fuller.
canaanjs09
Original Author
last year
I had to replace them all together I'm afraid. When I pulled them out, they came out in one thick mat, the shape of the planter box. I think the roots are just too vigorous for most planter boxes.

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