Maybe I shouldn't comment since I've been into the juice but...the horsetail's that I've seen don't need planted LOL...they are already there! I love watching the Kentucky Derby...Belmont Stakes...and that other Triple Crown race...they all have Horsetails!...Then when you bring all that out and about...the ladies have the big hats LOL...ok ok I'll behave...my horsetail rush is in a clay pot with potting soil and rocks holding down the landscape fabric so the dirt doesn't get into the pond...It's doing just fine..in about 8 inches of water.......Happy Ponding! Dave :-)

if u dont put rocks and fabric on top of the soil wont the dirt still stay down? or r u afraid of the fish stirring it up?

inferno-
last fall I bought two horsetail in pots. One I unpotted and washed dirt off roots and planted in rocks, the other I left in the pot. I put them together in a large mesh pot. I let them over winter in the pond. The one I have that is dirtless is doing better over all. Here is a picture.
RexAnne
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How to plant a horsetail? Answer: very carefully! Not sure where you're located, but they seem to thrive both in and out of the water here. I planted some in my gravel bog a few years ago and finally got rid of the last one this spring: litttle shoots were coming up all over OUTSIDE my gravel bog. The ones growing between large rocks were the hardest to get rid of.

I should have known better-- the person that I got them from has had them spread all over her back yard, even in dry shade under some evergreen trees located several feet from her pond.

Next time I would plant mine in a regular pot(not a basket) and watch them closely. Since RexAnne didn't have good luck with dirt though, you might try using gravel in the pot instead. Let us know what you decide to do and how things turn out!

Sherry

umm... if u plant it without dirt, do u just stick it into some gravel in ur pond? right now my horse tail is still in its original pot from the nursury that i just stuck into the water

yes, planting it directly in the gravel in my bog filter is what I did-- and why my horsetail quickly spread out of control. The pot from the nursery is most likely a little too small, so I would try and find something a little larger and just fill the pot with gravel instead of dirt. Many people on this forum also use dirt with some gravel on top to keep the soil from washing away. It seems every pond/ponder is different in what works/doesn't work!

Sherry

Why can't you tell him to sit down and then bury his tail? Stupid joke I know. I have one in a pot with gravel and put one on a marginal shelf and covered the roots with gravel.

I just planted mine in my Lotus Bog with Miracle Grow potting soil. It gets full sun and I don't think it likes that. This year it was shaded by the Lotus and the Primrose Creeper in the Skippy Filter, so it seems to be growing more. I may need to take it out of the Lotus Bog if it starts taking over. I also had planted corkscrew rush in there and had to take it out last year because it was getting toooooooooo big. I need to thin out the Lotus next summer and don't know how I am going to go about that. But I have all winter to figure that out. Glenda

i planted one in a 4 foot round pond some years ago and in 3 years there was NOTHING LEFT BUT HORSETAIL! when i tried to pull it out, the root system was the same shape as the water area (no room left for fish) and it weighed a TON! i had to hack it to pieces with a serrated knife to get rid of it. so like others have been telling you, watch closely to make sure it doesn't get loose. min

i dont have a gravel bottom on mine, so i dont think itll go wild... or will it? o.O

I bought a dwarf horsetail plant back in the spring this year. I rinsed the dirt off
the roots and planted it directly into the peagravel. I took a photo of how it looks
now (see below), and I don't think it has grown at all in the 4 months its been planted
.... so much for being invasive...
{{gwi:232095}}

Horsetail didn't grow for me either but it is invasive if it likes where it is. You need to cut off the spores that develop to keep it from planting itself everywhere (based on a post I remember from someone).

i just planted mine for like a week and i already noticed some growth, i just left it in the pot it came in cuz im too lazy to replant it :P

jcjcjcx....I think you may have your horsetail planted too deep. Horsetail prefers to just have its feet wet.:)

Maybe it just likes a warmer climate. I do have one pot of horsetail in my pond--leave it on the shelf for the winter and it's slow coming back in the spring and probably the slowest growing plant in the pond. Could be all that ice from my igloo.

They thrive here in zone 4 . They are the slow wakers, late to come back in spring. They like just damp feet and do well dry. Be warned they are INVASIVE as hell.
so place them with care and keep them in pots.

I love horsetail, especially Equisetum hyemale.

If I were to plant Horsetail in a pond, I'd plant it along the edge in a sturdy container. It doesn't need to be in the water directly - infact, I find it grows best if planted a little above the water level. Around here, Horsetail colonizes road-cuts, ditches, creek sides...anywhere with consistent moisture, excellent drainage, and a rich supply of decomposing matter.

Here are two shots of my containerized E. hyemale:
June '08
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And September '08
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Josh

Dwarf horsetail is slower growing. Mine has been very well behaved.
Horsetail is a noxious weed here. It grows in low pastures, fields, roadsides etc. all over. Mine is potted and hasn't grown fast but I know that it can be very invasive.

lefd05: Thanks for the tip about planting it shallower.
I had planted mine at a depth of 12". I can't find the garden tag that came with (I aways save them), but I could have swore that it was supposed to be okay at a foot deep, otherwise I probably won't have put it there.
I'll move it then, but not sure where as thats about the shallowest I have all around the pond. When is the best time to transplant it? Now in the fall, or should I wait until spring?

If you plant it in a pot you could turn another pot upside down to sit it on and make it shallower.

I have some planted in the rocks at the edge and some planted in regular and dry soil in the garden. The first year they are transplanted seems to be a slow year of growth but then they do better. My neighbor has his growing in dry shade and they are thick.

Help!
We have a Horsetail Rush plant but didn't know it was a pond plant so kept it in a planter and watered it as a normal plant. It's now become very brittle and light green/brown in colour.
Is it dead or now we are keeping it in water will it grow back?

i planted mine in a coco basket with 50/50 dirt and sand, place at base of waterfall and left it alone. 3 years later and it has spread across the fall and down the underwater cliff. i have been clipping and re-potting. and had to rebuild around it cuz it has embedded its self pretty good. here is the first and last years picture.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:232092}}