Mares tail (or whatever its called)

[Anita Plot]

I'm sure I saw, somewhere in this or last month's GYO a mention of something being the only thing that will kill this orrible weed.

Can I find it now??? Can I eckerslike

Anyone got any idea what it is???

[martini]

Hi Anita - I had loads of these and tried glyphosate but it didn't work and then I read somewhere on here that it's better if you crush the leaves or whatever they are first and then put the glyphosate on. That did work but I've also read somewhere else that you need to keep repeating the applications and it can take about 5 months!

[Alice]

Hello Anita, Mares tails and horses tails are the worst weeds ever. If you search on the vine you will find everything that has been said about them. Basically they are very primitive plants (said to be prehistoric) and they can survive just about anything. My experience says you can keep them under control but not actually get rid of them. Spray them with Glyphosate (Roundup) then spray them again and again and every time you see them spray them again. You get them under control but not rid of them. I know there is a school of thought that says crush them first but never worked out a way to do that. It just breaks them up and every bit roots. You could try wetting them with soapy water first as I think this does help the weedkiller to stick on. If they're growing out of paths and not where you want to grow something else, give them loads of salt. You can always just cut their heads off at ground level. Good luck with all that Anita.

[Wolfie]

My last garden was over-run with them. Every time I thought I'd killed one, 4 more came to its funeral I dug the whole garden and tried to lift every bit, but within weeks it was back with a vengance In the end, I laid lawn and used the mower.