Country Roads

A drive on the country roads this week would show fields covered with beautiful purple flowers blooming ever so proudly. Now if you are a K-State fan, or a fan of the color purple, it would look pleasing to the eye, but if you are a farmer, this brilliant blooming purple flower is nothing more than a hated weed. This year, this weed is appearing in abundance.

Upon research, I learned this blooming purple weed could be either Purple Deadnettle or Henbit. After reading descriptions of both of these weeds, it seems most of what is seen in these parts is Henbit. Both of the purple blooming weeds are members of the mint family. What a name for a weed - Henbit. It seems it was appropriately named because the weed is edible and hens love to eat it.

Henbit is a fall annual, that begins to develop in the fall, forms its leaves over the winter and completes its development in the spring when it blooms. It dies in the late spring or early summer after it has set its seeds. It is best controlled in the fall with herbicide. Henbit has a fibrous root system and can grow to heights of 16”. Its choice growing places are where soil has been disturbed such as fields, gardens and areas around buildings.

For a couple of years, we fought Henbit along the edges of our farm yard driveway. We found the trouble was we were spraying the Henbit in the spring.Then we began spraying in the fall. Now it’s only found in spots around our out buildings and in our old garden spot. Knowing it can take over a yard, we try to keep it under control.

I do have a couple of fond memories of Henbit though. It was when my mother was alive and we were sitting in her living room visiting that I looked out the big living room window into my parents’ yard and noticed they had a healthy showing of the purple blooming Henbit. I told mother she and dad should do something about that Henbit before it took over their yard. She quickly said, “But it’s so pretty and it has such a wonderful purple flower!” My two sons must have thought they were pretty flowers too, as they were among the many blooming flowers they would pick and proudly bring to me as a lovely bouquet for their mother.