PlantFiles: Rough Horsetail, Scouring Rush, Winter Scouring Rush, Common Scouring Rush, Dutch Rush
Equisetum hyemale

I have found this growing near one section of a nearby creek for years and while it is numerous there, it doesn't seem to be choking anything else out. I do not see it in very many places elsewhere and it doesn't seem to be a problem here. I like the way it looks too.

Planted this near our creek in Western Arkansas. In three years has spread only a foot or two, probably due to being flooded, then being dry, then being flooded and covered by six inches of river-gravel, then being dry, and so on and so on. I find it to be a charming green spot along the creek in winter, and well-behaved so far.

I wouldn't plant this in the ground, because of its reputation for invasiveness, but it looks great in a container, either in the pond or in dappled shade where it won't dry out too much. My daughter's sax teacher told me it's also known as reed rush because it is used to clean and refine saxophone or clarinet reeds. (By the way, the reeds themselves are made from Arundo donax, which also makes a very striking garden plant.)

My horsehair rush is great. I have at the top of my pod in my wier and it has grown all summer long. My water is no more than 14 inches deep. Behind it I have some elephant ears that have pushed some reeds over to lay flat. Those limbs are now growing new sprouts upward.....it looks very nice and very natural and best of all seems very heat tolerant.
Mine is partial shade and partial sun.

This is a great plant. I had planted it in the ground nearly five years ago not near any water and it does great. Yes, it does spread, but due to it being very thin, it does not crowd out other plants or take over. I suggest this plant for someone who wants a "primitive" or "living fossil" addition to their garden. I have gotten many compliments on this plant due to its exotic look.

Equisetum hyemale does well here in zone 9b, where it is planted against the wall of our house amoung some larger ferns. Needs to be contained, otherwise once established it will spread. Can get fairly high (6 feet +).

Native to North America, South America (El Salvador, Guatemala), Europe, and Asia.

Sometimes seen in nurseries locally.

These plants are geat additions to the Japanese garden or to highlight ultra modern architecture. The verticle, jointed stems are reminiscent of leafless bamboo. They are very hardy and therfore perfect for year-round containers. These are showing up all around town where people want to add a little chic. These plants are great for extremely restricted areas of as little as a few inches, such as may exist between a sidewalk and a wall. If stems become damaged it may be best to prune to just above ground level. Pruning higher on the stem will joint into multiple new stems and may make your plant top-heavy. Although some people are successfully growing horsetails in water they will also grow in heavy dry soils.

I frist saw Horsetail in the San Joaquin Valley in California. I was attracted by its "prehistoric" look (and origin) and the intersting history of use as a scrubbing utensil and furnature polising.

After I moved to Vermont, I discovered a stand of it in a drainage ditch near Burlington. I dug up a small clump and planted it in my garden (in a container in the ground to prevent the invasive spread and to provide it with more moisture). Later, I found a smaller version (Dwarf Horsetail - Equisetum scirpoides) and added that to my landscape as well.

Both have "behaved" themselves and provide an interesting focal point in the garden. I get a lot of compliements on them and many questions.

Zone 8a-b...I pulled up 5 stalks from a pond area, left them in the back of the truck all night, planted them the next day in several pots to see if they would take. They were watered once a week for three weeks and babies formed! I have repotted them into a larger pot, moved them to a more shaded area to see if they will tolerate the shade before transplanting them to the ground around my Zen Garden.

I don't find it invasive in my yard, but I don't live near a pond. I do enjoy using it in floral designs because it is possible to run a wire through the stem and bend or fold with accuracy. It may also used in natural arrangements.

I also like it because it is somewhat of an oddity, being a "fern ally," it is botanically one of the non-flowering plants.

WARNING!!!! Saying this plant is invasive is a major inderstatement.

Feel free to plant it in a containter to your heart's desire. It actually can be quite attractive in the right setting. However, DO NOT let it get loose in your yard. The plant spreads like a weed and will take over any garden or lawn. Once it is in the ground, there is no way to control it. Horsetail spreads from a single underground rhizome. In otherwords, all the plants are connected. You cannot pull it out by the roots because they go down in the ground as far as 3 feet! The root system goes straight down and then spreads horizontally. I've seen infestations where plants as far as 50 feet apart were connected underground. Additionally, when the plant is broken (from attempting to pull it out) it then splits and branches out from that spot.

Horse Tail grows all over near the river by my house. I have found an old pagen recipe that says that if you make a tea out of it, strain VERY WELL, and cool, you can use it as an eye wash to help cure symptoms of pink eye!

The common name "Scouring Rush" refers to one of its many uses, as sections can be bundled together to form a pot scrubber; the sharp silica crystals it contains contribute to its scouring ability, but also make it toxic to livestock and humans if ingested.

Another use for Equisetum hyemale is as a toy - either a whistle or using its sections to snap apart and back together, a la Tinker Toys.)

A favorite of dragon flies, especially if planted near a pond or stream, but once established in a moist environment, it can be invasive.

Bulrush is a vigorous pond rush, that grows well in sun or shade, and is hardy throughout most of the country. It can quickly outgrow it's pot if the conditions are right. Its nice to use to add height to a pond or patio tub. In garden centers it's also referred to as Dutch Rush and Horsetails. Set it's pot at or slightly above the water line. It can also be grown in boggy areas.