It's a winter weed which is pretty. If you don't want it, you have to keep it
from going to seed and so yes, mowing is one way to go. You do not need to pull
it out, it is an annual weed. This is the window of putting down some corn
gluten meal as a pre-emergent. Take a look at www.dirtdoctor.com and look for
his advice on weeds or turf.


On Sat, 01 Feb 2003 18:40:50 GMT, "Datura" wrote:

Hi, everyone ..

I'm in Fort Worth, TX, the temperatures lately have been 30s at night, and
50-70 during the day. I'm trying to turn a lawn that was all weeds up until
two years ago into a bermuda lawn without resodding or using round-up.

So, I've got at least 70% bermuda after 2 years, but in the areas where its
thin, I've got lots of henbit (I think). It's a short leafy plant with a
purple flower.

I've just left the henbit hoping that it will die out on its own and that
this spring I can thicken up the bermuda and crowd it out so that it wont
come back next year. Is this a reasonable idea or should I be pulling this
stuff? It's all over the yard already, though.

Also, I'm wondering if I should mow it to try to keep it from spreading, and
alternatively, if there is any benefit in just leaving the henbit alone.
Does it thwart bugs, does it fix certain minerals into the soil, anything
like that?

Thanks in advance,
Datura