It’s also one of the most well-known purple flowering weeds. Henbit is an edible weed that takes its name from its popularity with chickens. There are many weeds with purple flowers, these are some of the ones you’re most likely to stumble across: Henbit (Lamium amplexicaule) Look for other alternatives in the garden.Dove’s-Foot Crane’s-Bill (Geranium molle) What Are The Weeds With Purple Flowers Called? Purple loosestrife may be beautiful in the garden, but the potential degradation of our wetlands because of this invasive plant is grand. If you are cutting them, the cut stems will just sprout new shoots and roots, creating even more of a problem. You can dig older plants, but must be sure to remove all the roots, as remaining roots will sprout. For young plants, just pull them, bag and destroy the plants. If you have existing plants, you need to control them. This will prevent millions of seeds from ripening and spreading." Repeat throughout the flowering season (late June - early September). Cut off flower heads, bag and destroy them.Rinse off equipment, gear, clothing and footwear used in infested areas before moving into uninfested areas.Be on the lookout for pioneering plants or isolated small colonies, especially in areas otherwise free of loosestrife.Even Lythrum varieties advertised not to make seeds can cross-breed with the invading loosestrife to make seeds. Ways to prevent further spread of loosestrife This is to prevent further spread of this invasive plant. This means that "it is illegal to propagate, sell, or transport these weeds in the Commonwealth" (PA Bureau of Plant Industry). The inclusion of loosestrife cultivars was added to the noxious weed list in November, 2000. How can we control this plant? Pennsylvania has declared loosestrife as a noxious weed. In Europe, Lythrum's native habitat, there are natural predators for this plant, keeping it in check, just as our native plant populations are kept in balance by natural predators here. This makes the plant even more prolific in our wetlands. Unfortunately, there are no natural predators, specifically insects, diseases and animals which attack the purple loosestrife. It not only reduces our native food supply and habitat for our wildlife, it also reduces water flow through areas, causing water quality to decline, increasing costs for dredging those waterways. As the waterways are taken over by this single plant species, less and less habitat is available for our native wildlife to nest, eat and breed. Unfortunately, this plant is not liked by birds, mammals, or waterfowl. It grows into dense plantings, reduces then eliminating wildlife. It prefers sun, but, like most invasive weeds, it adapts well in many soil types. Purple loosestrife is found along waterways, marshes and wetlands. It has now become a noxious weed across the US, particularly in the Northeast. It was used for medicinal purposes as well as a forage for bees and as an ornamental plant. Native to Europe, this loosestrife has been grown in the US as a garden plant. This invasive weed is misleading, as we typically think of pretty things as good. What they were seeing was purple loosestrife, Lythrum salicaria. Recently, some folks pulled into the local nursery, asking about the pretty pink flowering plants that were blooming along the fields and roadsides.They wanted to purchase some of those plants for their garden.
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