Common Chickweed

The annual deep purple bloom of Purple Deadnettle and Henbit in Ohio farm fields and a purple haze rising over lawns may conjure a nostalgic pop culture smash-up. These non-native showy weeds belong to the mint family, Lamiaceae, as evidenced by their square stems which is a family trait.

Common Chickweed (Stellaria media) is a European winter annual that is now found world-wide. Winter annuals are sneaky weeds. They produce seeds in the spring then plants fade away prior to the summer season; out of sight, out of mind. The seeds dodge spring applied preemergent herbicide bullets because they do not germinate until the fall. The resulting plants grow below our radar throughout the fall, winter, and early spring when we pay little attention to what's going on in our lawns and landscapes.