Rough Horsetail, Scouring Rush

Equisetum hyemale

Rough Horsetail is a non-blooming evergreen perennial found in moist woods and hills sides.  The stiff and hollow plant stems grow rigidly upright and are bamboo-like with its stem nodes being marked with whorls of toothed scale-like leaves.  A cone-like fruiting head appears at the tip of the stems containing spores.  Rought Horsetail is an aggressive spreader.  Prefers part sun and moist soils.  

MAINTENANCE NEEDS: Low Maintenance.  Very aggressive spreader- if preemptive measures such as soil barriers are not taken before planting Rough Horsetail is extremely hard to remove.  It can grow in standing water.

LANDSCAPE USES:  Accents or Group Plantings, Borders, Woodland Garden, Native Gardens, Pond Edges, Water Gardens, and Containers.

COMPANION PLANTS: Cardinal Flower, Blue Flag, Swamp Milkweed

IMAGES: Thayne Tuason, Equisetum hyemale along Columbia River at Spanish Castle 1, CC BY-SA 4.0, (2) Photo by David J. Stang, Epimedium x youngianum Niveum 1zz, CC BY-SA 4.0, (3) Consultaplantas, Equisetum hyemale 1c, CC BY-SA 4.0, (4) KENPEI, Equisetum hyemale5, CC BY-SA 3.0

*As plants have ranges in appearance they may not appear as the images shown.