[chrissie B]

just in the last couple of days i have found three spear like plants growing next to the raspberrys they have a banded stem are long and thin around the top it looks like they have little short skirts on all in green i have a pic hope i can show it to you .
chrissie b

[chrissie B]

this is what i found at the bottom of the garden any one know what it is

[Yorkie]

(Have merged your piccie thread with the original question thread, hope you're Ok with that Chrissie).

I'm not entirely sure from the photo, which is quite small.  I don't think it looks like marestail, does it?  My hunch is that it's a flower plant of some description but my ID of these is woeful 

[mumofstig]

Looks like mare's tail to me, just before the fronds open out  

[Alastair-I]

Looks like mare's tail to me, just before the fronds open out  

That's my first thought as well, but very difficult to be certain with a very small photo.

[chrissie B]

sorry about the size i always have problems with it daughter took it with her phone as kev had the camera but hes back so will get him to take on , will google it and see tanks for the help.
chrissie b

[chrissie B]

just gave it a google and it is marestail and it say be careful how you dig it out as it spreads like mad , only got the 3spikes at the mo .
chrissie b

[Alastair-I]

Dig deep (twice as deep as you think) to get the root out, and keep an eye out for more shoots.

[Kleftiwallah]

I've got Mare's tails !   

You can use it the same way as another plant's leaves you boil up.  .  .  .  .The only good thing about it is the satisfying  TWANG it gives when you pull them out.       Cheers,   Tony.

[Goosegirl]

Definitely mare's tail.I'm goping to try a mix of salt and vinegar this year on mine - it is rife in my flower and sea shore beds. You have to bruise the thing before spraying it as the silica in the "leave fronds" resists weedkillers.

[catllar]

Useful tip for mare's tail that gets the better of you. You can use handfuls of it as a pot scrubber!

[flitwickone]

as has been said before that is a jurassic plant it has been on the planet for 60 million years and more      gently furtle it then a sharp tug you   should pull at least 5 inches out if you have the tug right

[N.WalesIdealist]

Don't bother digging it out, give it a very localized spray with some glyphosate (roundup) and it'll die down.  Just be very care you don't get it on your raspberries, but don't worry if it touches the soil, it breaks within a few hours.

[stentman]

"Never let it see a Sunday" is one thing to try but mares tail roots reach around the globe so it's highly likely to pop up where you least expect it. It's hard to kill, weedkillers sort the top bits and maybe a few feet of roots underground but the remaining miles of root will regenerate. As others have said it's been around for millions of years so it's life strategy is pretty much sorted. Mares tail ranks right up there with cockroachs as one of the great survivors.

[viettaclark]

I reckon dandelions and ants will be masters of the Universe but Mare's Tail will rule the world.