Photo courtesy of Jil Swearingen, USDI National Park Service, Bugwood.org
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FEATURED WEED
Purple Deadnettle
Lamium purpureum
Identification tips
With square stems and purple-red flowers, this winter annual closely resembles henbit. Opposite leaves with pointed tips often have a purple tinge. Leaves grow on short or long petioles depending on where the leaf is located on the plant – unlike henbit, where leaves lack petioles. Purple-red flowers grow in clusters of three to six in the upper leaves. Deadnettle, a member of the mint family, reproduces by seed.
CONTROL TIPS
Purple deadnettle germinates in the fall, survives through winter and flowers in the spring. It thrives in thin turf and moist, shady sites. Dense, lush turf is the best way to reduce spread and encroachment of winter annuals. Properly mow, fertilize and water in spring and summer to minimize thin turf areas. Apply a postemergence herbicide containing 2,4-D, fluroxypyr or dicamba, like GameOn® specialty herbicide to control purple deadnettle in commercial and industrial turf settings. For residential areas, apply Dimension® or Crew™ specialty herbicides prior to germination in the fall.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Visit the Weed Watch Digital Edition.
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