[kinnanscaping]

I have a client with outdated and overgrown beds all the way around the house. On the northwest corner, on a slope, the soil retains a lot of moisture (homeowner feels it is some sort of spring, but I feel otherwise). Growing throughout is bamboo. None of it is very large, and he says it didn't come up until some rains in August. The area is roughly 250 to 300 sq. ft. Definitely not the clumping kind but the rhizome kind. Any suggestions on how to eradicate this? I definitely don't want this stuff growing back up between $35 roses and crape myrtles that are planned for the area.

Thank you for your help.

[Nebraska]

It's probably some type of horsetail or scouring rush..

[kinnanscaping]

Ah, yes, it is in fact scouring rush. Thank you o wise sage, really. From what I have read elsewhere, there is little to do with it other than pull it as it arises. Is this true? Can it become very invasive? My plan was this...pull as much as was visible, roto-till, pre-emergent and THEN fabric on top of it all. I was thinking that it will still come up in around the bed, but I was hoping to really eliminate it in the area of previously mentioned roses, etc.

Thank you in advance for any further guidance.

[VoodooChile]

There are many Equisetum species and all are difficult to eradicate. Pulling the emergent shoots will set the plant back but nothing more. Tilling will chop the rhizomes into a million pieces exacerbating the problem a million-fold. Pre-emergent herbicide will do nothing to the Equisetum (which reproduces by spore) and any other established plant, but it will prevent germination of the thousands of new seeds that tilling brought to the soil surface where conditions are optimal-- warm and moist-- for germination. Fabric will suppress a majority of the new shoots, but many will find there way through the overlapping seams and still pop back up.

I would recommend renting a mini-ex and removing all soil from the site, (only a 300 s.f. right?). I would dig to a depth where no more Equisetum rhizomes are found, at minimum 1' or roughly 15 yards accounting for soil-expansion and over-dig. I would also dig out beyond the perimeter of the existing stand a few feet in case rhizomes have spread but not emerged. I would then lay fabric in the widest width available, 6' round here, with substantial overlap, say 2'. Staple the seams aggressively. Then amend with topsoil and compost, plant and mulch. If your plan calls for trees or deep rooting shrubs, dig a little deeper and skip the fabric. Include follow up maintenance in your bid so that any missed rhizomes are aggressively controlled.

I have seen several plantings completely ruined by half-baked attempts to deal with this "weed". In fact, one species of Equisetum, scouring rush, was used by the pioneers to clean dishes.

Equisetum dates from the time of the dinosaurs and will be around long after our addiction to fossil fuels, weed-free lawns and heavy-metal technologies have wiped our species out.

Good Luck!

[kinnanscaping]

Thank you for the detailed response, Voodoo. I have a couple of more thoughts: I have read elsewhere that the rhizomes can extend up to a quarter of a mile away, drawing water and nutrients from some source! If vigilance is paid to picking out the shoots as they surface, can it be managed enough to protect any new plantings? After posting my thought about roto-tilling, I quickly realized the stupidity in that. For clarification, if I do go the excavation route, are you suggesting laying the fabric at the minimum 1' depth and ammending above that? Should one also lay fabric in the typical fashion, at grade, then mulch on top of that? Lastly, if I have a skid loader, and the site is accessible, is there any better reason to rent a mini-ex instead of the skid loader to remove the soil?

Thank you again for your help.

[Nebraska]

Good Luck Kinnan! Offer no guarantee. It takes a long, long, long time to get rid of this stuff.....ask any local farmer in the area.

[kinnanscaping]

I appreciate the luck being sent my way, Nebraska.

For all those interested, I presented the homeowner with several different options, and he thought it best to deal with it as best as possible superficially. Meaning, pull it out, double fabric it and continue to pull when it comes up anywhere.

Phew, I am sure glad he still said yes to doing the job.