04/13/2025
Foraging in Your Yard #5:
Let's look at three purple-flowered plants commonly found in yards and how to identify and manage them based on your preferences.
Common Purple-Flowered Plants in Lawns
💜Henbit (Lamium amplexicaule)
Identification Features:
• Winter annual growing less than 12 inches tall
• Square stems with opposite, rounded leaves with scalloped edges
• Lower leaves have stalks; upper leaves wrap halfway around the stem
• Distinctive pinkish-purple, lipped flowers arranged in whorls where upper leaves meet the stem
• Fibrous root system that doesn't spread underground
Life Cycle: Henbit germinates in early fall or early spring and becomes most noticeable when it flowers in spring. This short-lived plant completes its life cycle before summer arrives.
Growing Conditions: Thrives in lawns that are mowed too short or improperly fertilized, where grass competition is minimal.
Management Options: For small infestations, hand pulling works well, especially when soil is moist. Maintaining a thick, healthy lawn through proper mowing height and fertilization creates natural competition that helps prevent henbit establishment.
💜Creeping Charlie (Glechoma hederacea)
Identification Features:
• Low-growing perennial that roots at nodes along stems
• Releases distinctive minty scent when crushed
• Square stems with opposite, kidney-shaped leaves (½ to 1½ inches across) with scalloped edges
• Purplish-blue lipped flowers growing in small clusters from leaf axils
• Aggressive spreading habit as stems root where they touch ground
Life Cycle: Unlike the annual plants on this list, Creeping Charlie (also called Ground Ivy) is a perennial that returns year after year, gradually expanding its territory.
Growing Conditions: Prefers damp, shady areas but adapts to full sun conditions. Often found along borders between lawn and garden beds or beneath trees.
Management Options: More challenging to control mechanically due to its creeping growth habit. Hand pulling may suppress small patches but rarely eliminates established areas. Focus on improving lawn density to prevent spreading.
💜Deadnettle (Lamium purpureum)
Identification Features:
• Winter annual noticeable in early spring when purple flowers bloom
• Square stems with opposite, triangular, pointed leaves
• Leaves often have purple coloring and crowd near the top of stems
• Pinkish-purple lipped flowers at the plant's top
• Fibrous root system that doesn't spread underground
Life Cycle: Similar to henbit, deadnettle germinates in fall or early spring, flowers in early spring, and dies out as temperatures warm.
Growing Conditions: Commonly found in lawns maintained at too-short mowing heights where grass competition is reduced.
Management Options: Hand pulling works effectively for young plants or small infestations, especially when soil is moist. As with other lawn weeds, maintaining proper mowing height and lawn density provides natural control.
Making Your Decision: W**d or Beneficial Plant?
These purple-flowering plants offer early-season nectar for bees and other pollinators when few other flowers are blooming. Some gardeners deliberately maintain patches in less visible areas of their yards to support local pollinators.
