Hippuris vulgaris
Mare's tail
Common names: Common mare's tail
At a glance
- Light
- Full sun
- Pot size
- from 30 l
- Lifespan
- Perennial
- Flowering
- Jun–Jul
- Hardiness
- Hardy
- Origin
- Native to Germany
Photo: André Karwath aka Aka · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Source
Description
Mare's tail is a native wetland and aquatic plant that, with its loosely arranged, needle‑like leaves, resembles small fir twigs. Stiff, unbranched shoots rise up to 30 cm from the water, while soft, drooping leaves develop beneath the surface. From June to July inconspicuous, small flowers appear in the leaf axils. Hippuris vulgaris prefers nutrient‑rich shallow water up to 40 cm deep and is regarded as a reliable oxygen supplier for ponds and garden pond edges.
Care instructions
Plant mare's tail in baskets with loamy pond soil and place it in a water depth of 10 to 40 cm. It tolerates full sun to light shade and spreads rapidly via creeping rhizomes, so a late‑summer pruning is worthwhile to prevent overgrowth in the pond. It remains winter‑hardy even when the water freezes; retreating to frost‑free depths is only necessary in very shallow ponds. Divide the stems every two to three years in spring to maintain vigor, and regularly remove dead shoots to keep the water clear.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
FloweringJun–Jul
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
moist, nutrient-rich, loamy, clayey
Mare's tail roots in the muddy bottom of ponds and streams and wants permanently wet to flooded soil. A nutrient-rich, loamy to clayey base with a substrate layer of 10 to 20 cm gives the rhizomes a hold. It tolerates low-lime to neutral water well; waterlogged pots or baskets in the shallow-water zone are ideal.
Feeding
Light feeder
As a marsh and shallow-water plant, mare's tail draws its nutrients straight from the pond water and the bottom mud, so it needs no extra feeding. Water that is too rich in nutrients encourages algae rather than stronger shoots. If the nutrient supply in the pond is ever not enough, some well-rotted compost under the planting baskets helps.
Overwintering
Mare's tail is hardy and retreats into the rhizome in autumn as soon as the shoots turn brown. If the rootstock sits frost-free below the water surface, from about 30 cm depth, it comes through even severe winters without trouble. In shallow zones or small ponds it is worth moving the planting basket deeper before the first frost.
Propagation
Methods
- Division
- Cuttings
The easiest way is to divide the rootstock with a sharp knife in spring or early summer and plant the pieces individually in planting baskets. Tip cuttings about 10 to 15 cm long also root reliably if you push them straight into moist substrate or shallow water. The new plants root within a few weeks and then keep spreading on their own by underground runners.
For your garden
Grow Mare's tail yourself
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