I do not have horsetail as a weed. I have seen it used in containers and find it really intriguing. I am in the process of remodeling our bathroom and want to incorporate plants. I am considering bringing some horsetail inside into a container of some sort (there is plenty growing in the roadside ditches). Is this just asking for trouble? My son tells me just getting the spore on your shoe and walking around can spread it. I don't want to introduce a noxious weed to my yard. Or...is there perhaps better behaved horsetail at the nursery? Or maybe I should stick with bamboo? Looking for a strong vertical mass.

Horsetail clearly prefers sun, in my yard, so I don't know how it would do inside. Really annoying noxious weed. I hate it. But I agree it is actually quite attractive! I think you might as well try. I would not worry too much about the invasive bit-If it is growing in your neighboring ditches, wouldn't zillions of spores already be wafting throughout your property? For strong vertical mass in bathroom, I think snakeplant is useful, I have a bunch of varieties, some more vertical than others. They are slow growers, so you might want to buy a sizable one.

Well, my tub is on back order until late May, so no rush on finish details. I thought I could get some small plants now, though, and get a head start on getting them established. I will also be pampering the little starts I got at our recent exchange. The bathroom is fairly large (7' x 15') with a 4' x 4' glass block inset on the north wall and a smaller east window, so it gets a fair amount of natural light, and of course plenty of humidity.

Mary, when we were doing a walk-about my yard, you asked about a little bulb with purply-blue star flowers - I think it may be glory-of-snow. It's a spring ephemeral and I forget when/where I even got it.


The other plant I was having a senior moment with is mountain bluet. I really like this plant, reseeds nicely (but pulls easily), reliably reblooms if cut back hard, and is a good filler between blooms.

Which horsetail are you talking about?

Equisetum hyemale is a very tall reed type.
Equisetum arvense is the type I see growing all over, but it's not very tall.

There is also a plant that Dan Hinkley sells which I want to like (it's a very good looking plant), but it just looks too much like the weedy one (arvense) for me to plant it in my yard

I will have to research which horsetail, and I do have a bit of worry about possibly introducing an invasive. Even though this would be an indoor plant, it is my understanding that horsetails are quite easily transported via their spores sticking to shoe bottoms, etc. I currently don't have any in my yard, or even on our property (that I know of) although it does grow in the roadside ditches. I could also do a bamboo of some sort. Looking for a strong vertical line.

How about "Lucky Bamboo" not really a bamboo, it is Dracaena sanderiana? That grows very upright, does not seem to require much light. You can even train it to grow in spirals or braids.

Some sansevieria would give this affect.

I am very fond of ZZ Plant (Zamioculcus zamifolii). It is not super tall, and is arching, but I really like the looks of it (gracefuly and architectural - although not super strongly upright) and it is not fussy...doesn't need to much light or attention.