Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Thursday - October 14, 2010
From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Propagation
Title: Why is my Horstail falling over in Austin?
Answered by: Leslie Uppinghouse
QUESTION:
I have a Horsetail plant. It was doing great but now, for the last few months, its not growing straight! Its falling over. Why?ANSWER:
There are nine varieties of Equisetum or Horsetail plant in our database. Let's use the species Equisetum hyemale as our example.
In the wild this plant would grow vertical until the height of the plant reached what weight it could hold upright. As these cylinders are hollow, at a certain point they are going to tip over. If protected from the wind, it can become quite tall. So your plant may have reached its maximum height. However the reason it is falling over is two-fold.
Horsetail reproduces a couple of ways. In the ground, through its rhizomes but it would also try and root at the joint or node of each stalk. In order to do this, it has to fold down and touch either water or ground.
In fact when you are trying to propagate new Horsetail, the easiest way to do this, is to break off a sprig of the reed like plant, make sure that the sprig has multiple sections and lay it on top of some water. New shoots would then pop up from each node along that sprig. This is how it naturally spreads in ponds, creeks and springs.
Equisetum is an interesting plant. It is a little like a fern. If you notice the reed is hollow and jointed with tiny leaves forming a sheath at each joint. Each joint holds spores and it is this action of bending and dropping the spores that helps propagate the plant. So our guess is that your plant is just trying to spread out a bit and our suggestion would be to let it do its thing.
From the Image Gallery
More Propagation Questions
Propagation bluebells by gathering seed
July 10, 2008 - Following up your suggestion on propagating Bluebells by seed..Is it possible that I can gather seed from the bluebells in my pasture? How does that work? Would I have to wait until the wildflowers a...
view the full question and answer
Making Ruellia nudiflora thicker in pot from Tucson AZ
June 25, 2012 - Can Ruellia Nudiflora be propagated in the same pot as the parent plant?
Can it be cut back to stimulate a denser plant?
I have plants in several pots and would like to 'thicken' the plant.
Tha...
view the full question and answer
Germination of golden dalea seeds
August 23, 2007 - I have collected some golden dalea seeds. I live west of Austin in caliche soil. How would one germinate these seeds? What time of year should I plant them? What kind of seed treatment? Should I scari...
view the full question and answer
Rooting house plants
April 22, 2010 - Hello Mr SP: I've had Philodendron house plants (many) for years now, because they're easy to grow & that's about my style. Years ago I tried to grow a new plant from a cutting off of one, but it...
view the full question and answer
Varieties of Ceanothus suitable for Illinois
September 07, 2012 - Ceanothus Velutinus is the smell of western Montana, my home, to me, and I have relocated to Illinois. I miss it so much that whenever I go home I bring back a jar of ceanothis leaves and keep th...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |