Living fossils in the garden
For great vertical interest year-round and a unique garden conversation piece, you can’t beat horsetails. They belong to the genus Equisetum, a family of prehistoric plants that staked a claim on Earth more than 100 million years before the dinosaur. The horsetail commonly called scouring rush (E. hyemale) has bright green, usually unbranched, hollow stems that are jointed, making it look a little like bamboo. The slender, upright stems, growing 3 to 6 feet tall, are the stars of the show, as the plant’s leaves are inconspicuous and it doesn’t produce flowers (like other ferns, it reproduces sexually via spores). In the garden, scouring rush can intertwine beautifully with other plants. But beware that it can be invasive, spreading by horizontal underground stems. When it finds optimal conditions, usually a moist spot in mostly sun, it can run rampant. You may wish to surround it with a barrier to keep its spread in check, place it in a site with average soil moisture, or use it in a planter. It can tolerate several inches of standing water and is a popular pond plant, but potted plants should be acclimated over several days by submerging them gradually into the water. Dwarf horsetails suitable for gardens include E. scripoides, which grows 6–8 inches, and E. diffusum, a 4-inch-tall darling. Sandy Mush Herb Nursery sells the horsetails mentioned here at its nursery in Leicester, as well as through the mail (www.sandymushherbs.com). Niche Gardens (www.nichegardens.com) is another North Carolina mail-order source.