Winter annual weeds chickweed (left) and henbit are obvious this time of year in the landscape. (C) Photo Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp
The recent spat of warm temperatures has teased out winter annual weeds in gardens, lawns and fields.
Winter annual weeds? How can that be?
These bloom in late winter or early spring, set seeds and drop them, where they soak up rays, sitting in the soil until cooler temperatures arrive. The seeds germinate in winter and grow as the temperatures rise. We bring even more of these seeds to the soil surface when we do fall cleanup.
Of all the weeds we might get in our gardens, these are the easiest to get rid of by hoeing or pulling them out. Basically, all we need to do is dislodge them from the soil and the weeds will die. You could also smother them with mulch. Some gardeners apply a pre-emergent herbicide in fall to keep winter annual weed seeds from sprouting.
Winter annual weed Persian speedwell or veronica. (C) Photo Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp
This time of year, we need to do something before they bloom, certainly before they set seed. If they are blooming or already gone to seed, remove the plants from flowerbeds, rather than just chopping them out. If left on the soil, the seeds may disperse for a new crop next year.
Some of these winter annual weeds are downright beautiful. Probably the prettiest is henbit (Lamium amplexicaule), which has purple-blue flowers along square stems with wrinkly, scalloped leaves. A vigorous self-sower, this weed is eye-catching in open fields in spring, but less so in our gardens.
Henbit is related to the garden-worthy perennial groundcover commonly called spotted dead nettle (L. maculatum), such as ‘White Nancy’. It also looks a lot like creeping Charlie (Glechoma hederacea), an aggressive perennial weed. Creeping Charlie also has blue flowers, square stems and rounded, scalloped leaves, but has a minty fragrance. Henbit smells a bit earthy, like a potato to me.
Another weed with blue flowers sometimes confused with henbit is Persian speedwell (Veronica persica). This weed scampers along the soil surface to get about 2 feet wide. It also has scalloped leaves, but they are thicker and are slightly pointed at the tips. The attractive four-petaled flowers are tiny and usually blue and white.
Chickweed, a winter annual. (C) Photo Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp
Last among the common winter annual weeds, is the white-flowering common chickweed (Stellaria media), another tiny-leafed plant that hugs the ground. Its tiny rounded leaves are shiny. It is shallow rooted, making it easy to pull.
These plants are growing rapidly now and they soon will be blooming. So, that makes this a good time to get rid of them.