Equisetum Rhizome Sets Price: $46 including shipping
Shipping: USPS medium size priority mailer
Description We are offering two species of equisetum -- Scouring Rush Horsetail (equisetum hyemale) and Field Horsetail (equisetum arvense). Both are evergreen perennials with vertical green stems that feature horizontal bands. Scouring Rush Horsetail has a form with vertical stalks with visually prominent bands reminiscent of bamboo. Field Horsetail has a lower, branched form with more foliage. Each package includes enough living rhizomes to establish two populations.
Equisetum reproduces through spores and rhizome division. Both of these species are native to North America, and according to my references, can be found in every US state except Hawaii. Equisetum is relatively easy to cultivate.
Many folk uses! Brush your teeth or scour your dishes!
Ordering Process We will dig and ship about once per week from April through November.
Packaging and Shipping The following photo portrays a typical order amount after the scouring rush rhizomes has been trimmed for shipping. By default, we will include both species. If you would like to request only one species, please reply immediately to the confirmation email to let us know. We will not ship this plant to California or Hawaii.
Return Policy We will not accept returns nor offer refunds. However if your horsetail arrives safely from USPS but is not viable, we will ship one replacement rhizome package for only the cost of shipping. We will only ship one replacement per customer or order.
$46.00
Live plants sale - Scouring Rush Horsetail and Field Horsetail, Appalachian edible and medicinals - US shipping
USPS Priority Mail shipping included
Live, sustainably-harvested plants from Central Appalachia
About Us Your purchase supports a small, independent farm in coalfields Appalachia. Mark is a theater artist and nonprofit administrator from the mountains of Eastern Kentucky, as well as the keeper of our Appalachian family farm and cemetery. Much of his professional work involves community-led food and agriculture programs.
Annie Jane is a certified community herbalist, a citizen ecologist, and home gardener with experience and knowledge in ecology, sustainability, and responsible wild harvesting practices.
Site Selection and Planting Sun Exposure: Filtered shade to full sun
Soil Type: Mesic/Moist to Wet
Field Horsetail, equisetum arvense, can be cultivated in somewhat drier areas than Scouring Rush. In this region they often grow together in wet areas. When they have ideal conditions, these species both spread aggressively, so please take this into consideration when selecting your planting site.
Field Horsetail can handle full sun when its rhizomes are established in relatively moist soil. When first planting it in sunny locations be careful it does not dry out before the rhizomes can access enough moisture.
In order to take the photograph that follows, I planted Field Horsetail and Scouring Rush in a boggy area where nothing much is growing. It's always damp, and often there is standing water or slowly flowing water. I placed the rhizomes in a section which does not ever fully dry out, and I used a bit of sandy soil from the environment to ensure that the rhizomes were covered. I expect this to be a good starting spot for both species.
According to Wikipedia, "equisetum hyemale grows in mesic (reliably moist) habitats, often in sandy or gravelly areas. It grows from between sea level to 2,530 metres (8,300 ft) in elevation. It is primarily found in wetlands, and in riparian zones of rivers and streams where it can withstand seasonal flooding.[2] It is also found around springs and seeps, and can indicate their presence when not flowing. Other habitats include moist forest and woodland openings, lake and pond shores, ditches, and marshes and swamps."
Also according to Wikipedia, "equisetum arvense grows in a wide range of conditions, in temperatures less than 5 °C (41 °F) to greater than 20 °C (68 °F) and in areas that receive annual rainfall as low as 100 mm (3.9 in) and as great as 2,000 mm (79 in). It commonly occurs in damp and open woodlands, pastures, arable lands, roadsides, disturbed areas, and near the edge of streams. It prefers neutral or slightly basic clay loams that are sandy or silty, especially where the water table is high, though it can occur occasionally on slightly acid soils."
Trace Oswald wrote:I'd pay $46 to get rid of it. I don't know how you kill the stuff.
LOL yes, it's not a genus to turn loose in the vegetable or herb garden. Can you dry out the soil, or aggressively cover the area to choke it out?
If you are growing horsetail for aesthetic or medicinal purposes, one ideal type of site is a self-contained moist area surrounded by drier soil. For example, My mother grew Scouring Rush Horsetail in her perennial flower beds along a pond. Uphill the soil was too dry for the rushes to spread, and downhill is the pond.
The new site I'm planting at our farm is similar, in that there is a boggy, leaky berm with relatively dry soil on all other sides.
I also have areas which are overtaken by tall non-native invasive grass, multiflora rose, japanese honeysuckle, and tree of heaven. In my list of things to try this year is to see if horsetail can be part of a "native invasive" blend that could help me reduce those other pests. To be continued!
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