Henbit: The Purple Flower Weed

Ok we’ll admit it, a little bunch of henbits are irresistible when brought by a well-meaning child saying, “I love you. Look what I picked just for you!”  But seeing this weed in the yard is a constant reminder of how tall and “pretty” weeds can grow!

Henbit is a winter annual weed that we can count on coming up every year, earlier than dandelion. You can identify them by the square stems and pink and purple flowers and they can grow up to 16 inches tall. Their leaves are dark green and have scalloped edges.

Henbit tends to pop up in early March, so chances are if you don’t see it by now, you won’t. But if you already have them, the best control is to just yank em up. If you have a lot, we recommend treating with a post-emergent herbicide. You can also simply wait until temps rise and they will die as they are winter annuals.

To prevent them from coming up at all, we recommend  mulching and applying a pre-emergent treatment in the spring.