December 27, 2016 – Henbit – My major winter weed of the South

          Taking a stroll around my property I see the dreaded winter weed is already running rampant.  Short of spraying the entire property with some sort of weed killer – I have my work cut out for me already.  I was aghast that the new garden I just put in around the water pump cover has a mat of henbit rosettes forming.

          Henbit, Lanium amplexicaule, is a nasty weed that can look lovely as shown in the pictures below. It is a hairy winter annual with greenish to purple, tender, square stems.  Often it will sprawl as it finds a moist, fertile location.

          It is an aggressive annual herb that loves the wet winter months here in the South.  Yesterday we had 68 degree temperature – that is like New England in June – of course Henbit wants to leap into growth – it loves it here in my yard.

          The sneaky weed looks like it dies off when you spray it with herbicide in the spring, but it is actually going dormant when it gets too hot. Since here in my area of North Carolina we are similar to the Mediterranean region – it is happy and growing all winter.  You think you’ve killed it off, but you haven’t if you are pulling it when it is already in bloom because each flower sets massive amounts of seed.  On a calm day, as you touch blooming Henbit you can actually see the seeds shoot out. 

           Henbit is derived from the observation that chickens like it.  It is a member of the mint family and is a valuable early season source of nectar and pollen for honeybees. 

          The square stems indicate it is related to the mint family, but henbit does not have a strong or distinctive mint scent.  Each flower produced a four-seeded fruit.  Just think – four seeds per flower and how many flowers – good gosh – of course I can’t get ahead of it.

          In order to eradicate it, you need to work now, through the early spring to pull every bit of it out BEFORE it flowers.

          Two interesting facts – I wasn’t aware of until I tried to locate information on how to control it are:

          At times of the year where there are not many pollinating insects, the flowers self-pollinate.

          Henbit can be consumed fresh or cooked as an edible herb and can be used in teas. The stem, flowers and leaves are edible and people say it tastes like raw kale.  It is very nutritious, high in iron, vitamins and fiber.

          I find that it grows extremely well along the edges of my raised brick flower and vegetable beds.  It likes the warmth and gets a jump start.  I have to be vigilant now as well as into February, March, and April.

          When you pull the weed, it has a mass of extensive fine roots.  I have been told that it will regrow from the roots as well. I haven’t found that confirmed in my research, but I actually believe it.  In the past, I’ve cut it off at the surface and a few weeks later notice it is back.

          To control it I pull it and toss it in my weed compost pile which is never re-introduced into my gardens as it is populated with too many seeds.

I have a choice of staying inside and perusing the 2017 seed catalogs coming in and dreaming, or gearing up for the outside and attacking the problem.  I chose the latter yesterday and the sun is showing promise of another nice winter gardening day . . . I will gear up again and head out to get this weed under some control.

Happy Winter Gardening to you!