Learn the most common weeds with purple flowers and lawn maintenance tips to eradicate them.
Bob Stefko
Eye-catching weeds with purple flowers are at home all over the yard.
They pop up in landscape beds and vegetable gardens.
Credit:Bob Stefko
They ramble in the lawn and creep between the stones in a patio.
The first step to sending one of theseaggressive garden weedspacking is to identify it.
This list includes some of the most common weeds with purple flowers tohelp you identifyyour local invader.
Credit:Denny Schrock
Wild Violet
Denny Schrock
Bright-eyed purple flowers rise above the heart-shaped foliage of this spring flowering weed.
A clump-forming plant, wild violet (Viola sororia) grows in small patches that expand year after year.
Commonly Found:Wild violet grows in moist, shady sites including lawns and landscape beds.
Credit:Denny Schrock
It can become especially prolific in shaded, thin turf grass.
Control Tips:Wild violet is difficult to eradicate.
Ground Ivy
This vigorousperennial weedhas long slender stems and kidney-shaped leaves.
Credit:Denny Schrock
Alsoknown as creeping Charlie, ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea) produces purple flowers in spring.
The aggressive weed gains ground by forming roots along the above-ground stems.
In a season or two ground ivy can take over a big swath of ground.
Credit:Ali Majdfar / Getty Images
Control Tips:In small areas ground ivy can be controlled by pulling or digging.
This is easiest after a soaking rain.
Repeated removal is necessary because ground ivy will regrow from the tiniest root left behind in the soil.
Credit: Kim Cornelison
Herbicides can be effective although some populations of ground ivy are tolerant ofpopular chemicals.
The best defense against ground ivy is a healthy lawn than can out-compete the ground ivy.
Rounded leaves encircle the stem of thiswinter annual.
Credit:Rob Cardillo
It becomes aggressive in lawns when the turf grass is struggling to survive.
Withproper fertilizationand mowing, a well-suited grass species for the growing conditions will out-compete henbit.
Deadnettle has purple tinged foliage whereas henbits foliage is consistently green.
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Deadnettle has 4-sided stems, purple flowers in spring, and a sprawling growth habit.
Commonly Found:Purple deadnettle is mainly found in soil that is disturbed in fall when it germinates.
It can invade thin lawns andopen flower beds.
Credit:Marty Baldwin
Control Tips:Hand-pulling, along with good lawn management are the best ways to control purple deadnettle.
Hand pull stands of purple deadnettle as soon as it is noticed in landscape beds.
It has spikes of purple flowers in summer and fall.
Credit:David Liebman
It is particularly invasive near waterways.
Hand-pull the weeds as soon as they are noticed, being careful to remove the entire root system.
After removing the flowers, hand-pull the plants.
Canada Thistle
Rob Cardillo
This prickly perennial is easy to spot.
Its large, toothed foliage is gray-green and covered with spines.
Lavender flowers bloom in mid-summer on top of 3- to 5-foot-tall stems.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense) produces abundant seeds in late summer and fall.
Commonly Found:These weeds with purple flowers grow just about anywhere.
They take root in lean or rich soil and in sun or shade.
Credit:Bob Stefko
Control Tips:Canada thistle is nearly impossible to eradicate by digging or pulling.
Small root fragments remaining in the soil will regrow.
A strong, non-selective herbicide is effective.
Credit:Bob Stefko
Limit the spread of Canada thistle by clipping off flower clusters before they mature and set seed.
It often grows 3 to 5 feet tall and the purple gumdrop-shaped flowers debut from mid-summer through fall.
Commonly Found:Burdock is often found in grassy areas and disturbed soil, such as construction sites.
Credit:Scott Little
Control Tips:Pull burdock by hand when plants are small.
Dig up large plants, being careful to remove all the tough taproot.
It grows 1 to 3 feet tall and has oval leaves and noddingpurple flowersin summer.
Commonly Found:Comfrey commonly grows in full sun and disturbed, lean soil.
Bull Thistle
David Liebman
Bull thistle (Cirsium vulgare) is a biennial weed.
It germinates in spring and forms a cluster of leaves the first year of growth.
It produces purple flowers and seeds in year two before dying.
Commonly Found:Bull thistle thrives in rich, moist soil.
Control Tips:Hand-pulling and hoeing are effective for small plants.
Dig up mature plants, removing all parts of the root system.
Chicory
This airy plant with light purple flowers is frequently spotted on the roadside.
Perennial chicory (Cichorium intybus) has toothed leaveslike those of a dandelion.
It blooms from mid-summer through fall and stands 1 to 3 feet tall.
Commonly Found:Chicory grows well in grassy areas and lean, sandy soil.
Control Tips:Hand pulling and hoeing are the best methods for controlling chicory in landscape beds.
This problematic weed in gardens and lawns hugs the ground, evadingmower bladesand crawling under plant foliage.
It blooms June through October.
Commonly Found:Asiatic dayflower grows in consistently moist soil and is frequently found in boggy, low-lying areas.
Control Tips:Hand pull Asiatic dayflower as soon as it is noticed.
Speedwells long stems hug the ground, avoiding mower blades and expanding across large swaths of soil.
Commonly Found:Speedwell grows best in light, sandy soil that has minimal nutrients.
It grows in sun or shade.
Control Tips:Hand pulling speedwell when it is young can be effective in small infestations.
Be sure to remove all plant parts to prevent it from growing back.
Its pinkish purple flowers appear in late summer.
Because lespedeza grows so close to the ground it usually avoids mower blades.
Commonly Found:Lespedeza makes its home in full sun and areas with sandy, lean soil.
Control Tips:Hand pulling is a great way to get rid of lespedeza when it invades landscape beds.
Mow andwater appropriately for the turf species.
Finally, use herbicides specially formulated for lespedeza as a last resort.
In early to mid-summer, it sends up stems with tiny pineapple-shaped, purple flowers.
Commonly Found:These weeds with purple flowers thrive in moist, shaded, well fertilized environments.
Control Tips:Hand pull heal-all in landscape beds.
When it infests the lawn, the best control is good turf management practices.
