How to grow horsetail
How to grow horsetail
To know how to grow equisetum (Equisetum L., 1753) we must know that it is a genus of vascular Pteridophytes belonging to the family Equisetaceae, commonly known by the name of horse tails and which are among the oldest organisms on earth. They are rustic aquatic plants suitable for the borders of ponds, ponds and cultivable in a simple way in pot as a houseplant. It is important to know that the horsetail is endowed with a strong rhizomatous root, over 20 cm long, of a marble color with a tuft of dark adventitious or secondary roots. These fertile rhizomes with buds give rise to stoloniferous subterranean stems and aerial stems. The stems of the equisetum are cylindrical, rigid, upright or flexible (depending on the species) and of a beautiful dark green, are hollow and grooved lengthwise as in the bamboo and present at a distance of 3 -10 cm of the rings or nodes of cream color or blackish.
The height of the epigean twigs varies from 20 to 60 cm. Horsetail has thin, lanceolate leaves that often end with pointed, brown-colored tips. Horsetail has no flowers but spikes containing sporangia and spores.
For the choice of position consider that even if it is plants that grow in shady places do not disdain light and sunny areas. They tolerate the low temperatures quite well but they can not stand the cold winds. In breeding as a houseplant should be placed in bright places with pots full of water. To know how to grow the horsetail you have to start from the type of soil; this is better than it is soft clay, very moist with acidic or neutral pH. Horsetails are able to colonize uncultivated lands as well, becoming pests. The plants of horsetail are very demanding of water and therefore should be watered regularly and abundantly. In the apartment it is good to keep the saucers always full of water. In open field does not require special fertilization while in the apartment we can fertilize with specific fertilizers for aquatic plants or, better, if you want to do it yourself, using coffee grounds previously dissolved in water.
The reproduction of the horsetail naturally propagates through spores or, in the spring period, through the division of the rhizome. The spores, once dispersed, germinate giving life to new plants forming new rhizomatous roots and new stems. Another system, to have new plants similar to the mother, is to discover the root system and with sharp and disinfected shears, divide it into several parts. Each of these portions, having well-developed roots and at least one stem, are then placed to root at about 10 cm of depth.
In any case, the best period for planting the plants is autumn or spring. The plant of horsetail does not need pruning but in the spring period the tufts are still cleaned by severing the old ones and those damaged by the cold (especially for aesthetic reasons in apartment plants). From the health point of view it is a plant very resistant to the attacks of aphids and cochineals and fungal diseases such as oidium.
Horsetails (especially L’Equisetum arvensis), are used for the high content of silicon to revitalize weakened plants. From the equisetum an excellent insecticide and fungicide is obtained which is non-polluting and non-toxic for useful insects.