Learn to Recognize the 14 Most Common Purple‑Flowering Weeds and How to Eliminate Them
Purple flowering weeds are vibrant and ubiquitous throughout lawns, borders, and even patios. They infest lawns, beds, and spread between stones. To finally eliminate one of these pesky invaders, start by identifying it. This list presents the most common purple flowering weeds and offers species‑specific elimination guidance and lawn care recommendations to deter their proliferation.
1. Wild Violet
Bright-purple flowers rise above heart-shaped leaves in early spring. Wild violets (Viola sororia) form spreading clumps that return year after year.
Common in: Shady, damp lawns or beds—especially thin turf.
Control tips: Hand-pulling is rarely effective—tiny root fragments regrow. Thicken turf instead by fertilizing, mowing regularly, and seeding grass suitable for your conditions.
2. Ground Ivy (Creeping Charlie)
This invasive perennial has creeping stems, kidney-shaped leaves, and purple flowers in the spring. It quickly spreads by rooting along stems.
Common in: Moist shade, but it also tolerates sun in lawns and landscapes.
Control tips: Pull or dig after a rain, and repeat frequently to remove all roots. Use herbicides if needed—but the best defense is a dense lawn that crowds it out.
3. Henbit
Henbit (Lamium amplexicaule) is a winter annual that has pink-purple flowers on square purplish stems, with round leaves surrounding them. It germinates in fall, blooms in spring, and dies.
Common in: Bare soil, construction sites, weak lawns.
Control tips: Keep your lawn healthy—fertilize, mow, and seed turf that is suitable for your area to shade out henbit.
4. Purple Deadnettle
Similar to henbit, purple deadnettle (Lamium purpureum) has triangular leaves with a purple tint. It flowers on square stems and spreads quite aggressively.
Common in: Disturbed fall soil, open flower beds, thin turf.
Control tips: Pull it early and practice good turf management—fertilize, mow, and water to make grasses vigorous enough to shade it out.
5. Purple Loosestrife
5. Purple Loosestrife
A 5 ft tall branching perennial with purple summer-to-fall spikes of flowers. Once sold as an ornamental but now known to be invasive along waterways.
Common in: Wet areas—ditches, creek banks, wetlands.
Control tips: Hand-pull young plants and remove flower stalks to prevent seeding. Take care to remove the entire root system.
6. Canada Thistle
Prickly perennial 3–5 ft tall with grey-green spiny leaves and lavender flower heads. Heavy seed producer.
Common in: Virtually any soil in shade or sun.
Control tips: Digging is rarely effective—roots regenerate. Deadhead before bloom and treat with a strong non-selective herbicide as needed.
7. Common Burdock
Burdock (Arctium minus) is 3–5 ft tall with spiny flowers and large smooth leaves. Purple, gumdrop-shaped flowers bloom mid-summer.
Common in: Grassy areas and disturbed soil.
Control tips: Hand-pull young plants; dig large ones thoroughly. Remove flowerheads before seeds form if you can’t dig immediately.
8. Comfrey
Used as a food and medicinal plant, comfrey (Symphytum officinale) is an aggressive spreader. 1–3 ft tall with nodding purple flowers.
Common in: Full sun and poor, disturbed soil.
Control tips: Hand-pull young plants; dig older plants carefully, taking care to get all of the roots to prevent regrowth.
9. Bull Thistle
A biennial weed, bull thistle (Cirsium vulgare) forms leafy rosettes in year one, purple flowers in year two, then dies. It has more delicate foliage and bluer-green leaves than Canada thistle.
Common in: Rich, moist soils.
Control tips: Pull or hoe young plants; dig out mature ones, removing all roots. If delayed, cut budding flowers to prevent seeding.
10. Chicory
With light purple flowers and dandelion-like toothed leaves, chicory (Cichorium intybus) blooms mid-summer to fall and reaches 1–3 ft in height.
Common in: Poor, sandy lawn or roadside areas.
Control tips: Hand pull or hoe in beds. In lawns, thicken turf through mowing and fertilization so that grass crowds out chicory naturally.
11. Asiatic Dayflower
This ground-covering weed (Commelina communis) bears blue-purple, three-petaled flowers and creeps under mowers and through plants, flowering June–October.
Common in: Low-lying, moist areas.
Control suggestions: Hand-pull when seen. Fight heavy infestations by improving soil fertility and lawn care to favor turf.
12. Speedwell
Low-growing speedwell has rounded leaves and tiny bluish-purple flowers. It spreads by long stems just above the ground, evading mower blades.
Common in: Sandy, low-fertility soil in sun or shade.
Control suggestions: Hand-pull young plants entirely. Large infestations may utilize selective broadleaf herbicides during active growth. It will be smothered by dense, healthy turf.
13. Lespedeza (Japanese Clover)
Lespedeza is mat-forming with wiry stems and bears pale pink-purple flowers late in the summer, which has a tendency to outcompete thin turf.
Common in: Infertile, sunny spots, roadsides, and compacted soil.
Control suggestions: Hand pull in beds. In turf, increase fertility and mow appropriately—the weed doesn’t do well in good grass. Herbicides designed for lespedeza are effective if needed.
14. Heal‑All (Prunella vulgaris)
Puckered, hairy leaves and midsummer purple flowers that look like pineapples spread heal‑all into dense colonies that can engulf lawns.
Common in: Moist, shady, well-fertilized turf areas.
Control suggestions: Hand-pull in beds. In lawns, employ good turf management practices—avoid over-fertilizing, use proper grass species, and maintain a dense cover to shade out heal-all.
