Here are weeds with purple flowers, with tips on identifying and removing or controlling them.
Wild Violets
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These spring-blooming perennials are compact plants with lovely flowers.
Removal: Fall is the best time of year to try and kill off wild violet in your lawn.
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A typicalweed killerwill do the trick with this plant.
Creeping Charlie
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Thiscommon lawn weedis also known as ground ivy or gill-over-the-ground.
It is a vine-like perennial that grows up to 2 feet long.
Wild violets provide color in the septic drainfield and won’t cause harm.Jean-Paul Chatagnon / Getty Images
Two identifying features are its scalloped leaves and square stems.
The bluish-purple flowers are funnel-shaped and bloom from mid-spring to early summer.
Removal: This shallow-rooted weed spreads rapidly but can be eradicated with regular maintenance.
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Hand-pull and smother with cardboard and weed fabric in the fall and winter.
This perennial forms dense mats about 9 inches tall that can take over a garden or lawn.
Its invasive nature is especially problematic in warmer climates where it does not die back during the winter.
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Bugleweed has glossy, dark-green leaves and blue, violet, or purple flowers that grow in spikes.
It blooms in mid- to late spring.
Removal: Bugleweed is eradicated by hand-pulling or broadleaf herbicide system.
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For example, it is often seen climbing a chain-link fence in a neglected corner of a property.
It blooms throughout the summer.
Bittersweet nightshade is toxic to humans and pets.All parts of the plant have an unpleasant smell when crushed.
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Removal: Small infestations can be controlled by weeding and pulling by hand.
If manual control is not possible, use a herbicide.
It grows 2 to 5 feet tall, with lance-shaped, lobed leaves that have spines along their margins.
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Its flower buds form in clusters and are shaped like teardrops.
The spines and leaves are sharp and pointy.
Remove it by hoe or keep mowing it before it becomes well-rooted.
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Repeated herbicide applications for about two years are not unusual to remove it effectively.
Bull thistle is abiennial plantthat grows up to 6 feet tall.
Its leaves are prickly and sharp.
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Bull thistle blooms in summer and early fall.
Removal: To prevent the seeds from spreading, mow the plants repeatedly before they bloom and set seed.
To get rid of a heavy infestation, use a broad-spectrum herbicide such as glyphosate.
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The narrow leaves of this perennial are compound (with anywhere from five to twelve pairs of leaflets).
Removal: To eradicate, gently pull on the stem to remove it from the ground with its roots.
It is considered one of the worst invasive plants in North American wetlands.
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The magenta-purple flowers have five to seven petals and occur on spikey clusters.
The leaves are lance-shaped and opposite.
Use a commercial weed killer in the summer while the plant is flowering.
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It may take repeated treatments in consecutive years to fully eradicate this weed.
Unlike other plants, it does not topple over.
Tall verbena blooms from mid-summer until the first frost.
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Its umbrella-shaped or flat-topped clusters of light purple flowers attract butterflies.
Removal: Hand-pulling works for a few plants.
Larger populations should be treated with herbicide.
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That’s why many gardeners consider it a weed, despite it being a native plant.
All-heal reaches a height of 12 to 16 inches.
Removal: The entire root system needs to be removed to prevent all-heal from growing again.
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Creeping bellflower grows 1 to 3 feet fall and has an upright growth habit with branching stems.
The bell-shaped flowers are distinct, ranging in color from pale lavender to deep purple.
For infestations, use a herbicide during the plants active growth period.
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There are pros and cons to eradicating this weed from your landscape or lawn.
The heart-shaped leaves have a purple tinge and the flowers are a vibrant purplish-pink to purple.
Purple deadnettle has an exceptionally long bloom time from early spring to late fall.
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Common Burdock
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Common burdock is widespread in North America.
Removal: Due to the long taproot, effective removal requires the system of a herbicide.
Its height does not exceed 12 inches and it grows close to the ground.
Forget-me-not is an annual but it persists in the landscape by aggressively self-seeding.
The flowers often have a yellow center.
with a yellow center.
Removal: Hand-pull or dig up smaller populations before they form seeds.
Large infestations require the app of a broad-spectrum herbicide, also before seeds form.
You will still need to monitor for new plants the next year.
For large infestations, apply a broadleaf herbicide in the spring.
Purple loosestrife is usually considered the most invasive weed with purple flowers.
It depends on the location whether a weed is considered noxious or invasive.
Creeping Charlie invades turfgrass and prevents other plants from growing because it is allelopathic.
North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension.
North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension.
Creeping Charlie: Management and Value to Pollinators.
