13 Common Weeds With Pink Flowers You Might Find In Your Garden

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I confess that I’ve got a bit of a soft spot for weeds with pink flowers! But if an unexpected pink weed appears in your yard or garden, it is worth figuring out if it is a friend or foe. Some weeds with pink flowers can benefit your garden, while others are highly invasive and may cause tremendous problems!

The first step of weed management is always identification! And while identifying weeds with pink flowers is trickier than it looks, we know a few tips to make it much less arduous. To help you out, we’ve penned a handy-dandy list of the most common weeds with pink flowers you can find in your yard or garden, both good and bad!

What Are These Weeds With Pink Flowers In My Garden?

Some of the most famous weeds with red flowers are red clover, crown vetch, herb Robert, fireweed, and field bindweed. But identifying weeds with pink flowers is more tricky than many novice gardeners think!

And after years of meticulously removing every weed in my garden, I finally realized that not all weeds are bad. Bare soil is unhealthy soil. So allowing a few of the right kinds of weeds to fill gaps will help keep your garden healthy. However, let the bad weeds get a foothold, and you could have a problem for years! (Or generations!)

Many weeds come and go without causing any issues. And some even help to restore soil health and attract beneficial predators. Weeds will also help to prevent soil erosion and reduce the impact of droughts.

However, not all gardeners enjoy weeds. And if we let nature do its thing, we’d be living in a jungle by now! Some weeds can choke flowering plants and vegetables, and others will creep into areas such as your carefully landscaped patio or decking. Some pink weeds are even on the invasive species list and should get reported if you come across them.

Identifying any weeds with pink flowers is the first step when controlling – and potentially eradicating them. Annual weeds are easy to manage by cutting them down before they go to seed. Perennial plants and those that spread by rhizomes can be more persistent, and each comes with its specialized technique for removal.

Many weeds have a beneficial role in your garden, helping restore the balance of nature. Leaving a wilder corner of helpful pink weeds can bring huge rewards in terms of biodiversity and beneficial predators. Some pink weeds also have medicinal properties, but as with all medicinal plants, ensure you are 100% certain of the ID first!

yellow butterfly visiting red clover flowers — Not all weeds with pink flowers are a nuisance. Many are beneficial! Some weeds, like dandelions, are edible and have medicinal purposes. Other pinkish weeds, like red clover and milkweed, attract pollinators that help envigorate your garden. Without bees and butterflies, much of our garden pollination would likely halt! However, we confess that not all weeds with pink flowers are worth saving. Let’s explore more of them, and we’ll decide which ones to keep – and which to pluck. Sound fair? Let’s continue!

13 Weeds With Pink Flowers You Might Find In Your Garden!

Do you feel overwhelmed by abundant weeds with pink flowers in your garden? Or maybe you’ve got a proliferation of pink weeds in your patio that you can’t eradicate? Then let’s look at some of the most common weeds with pink flowers that can appear in your garden. Both good and bad!

1. Red Clover (Trifolium pratense)

Clover weed with pink flowers - Survival Gardening — Red clover is one of our favorite weeds with pink flowers. Some gardeners consider it an invasive plant without any good use. But we disagree! Red clover is a perennial herbaceous legume that makes a lovely ground cover. It grows to around three feet tall, exhibits vigorous growth during spring, and dies back during the cold weather. Red clover makes an excellent forage, hay, or sillage crop. The plants can have purple, red, or pink flowers. And bees love them for their nectar and pollen. Legumes like red clover can also benefit your soil and help transform your dirt into precious, fertile organic matter.

Other names include – Wild clover and meadow trefoil.

Red clover is a biennial or perennial legume with pink or red flowers that bloom in the spring and summer. It is easy to identify by the iconic ‘three-leaf clover’ leaf shape. Despite the name, red clover produces pink or purple flowers.

This low-growing plant loves growing within pastures, fields, and other open areas, and it is frequently grown as a fodder crop. It prefers moist, well-drained soil with ample sun exposure. Red clover is hugely beneficial to pollinators, particularly various species of bumblebees.

However, once red clover establishes, it can be surprisingly tricky to control! It commonly colonizes grassy lawns. It spreads quickly due to its rhizome root system. If you are not a fan of red clover, it can be dug out with a hand trowel or smothered with weed-suppressing fabric.

2. Crown Vetch (Securigera varia)

Botanical illustration of Crown Vetch Securigera varia JPG - Survival Gardening — Crown vetch is another controversial weed with pink flowers. It’s somewhat similar to red clover in appearance. And it grows to around three feet tall with tiny-yet-showy pinkish flowers. Bees and other pollinators love them. But crown vetch is unsafe for other animals. Many homesteaders avoid it like the plague since it’s toxic to humans and horses. It’s also famous for growing in nearly any soil type and can survive in (almost) any natural habitat, so it has an expansive native range throughout the United States.

Other names include – Crownvetch or purple crown vetch.

Crown vetch is a perennial weed with clusters of pink or white flowers that bloom in the summer. A member of the legume family, the plants grow long trailing stems up to 6 feet in length, with 15 – 25 pairs of small oblong leaflets on each leaf. The pink flowers grow in clusters and have multiple small lobed petals.

This weed frequently colonizes disturbed soil in sunny spots and has a long taproot, making it tricky to eradicate. The horizontal root system can also spread 10 feet, producing new plants as they stretch.

It is important to note many states consider crown vetch as a noxious garden plant. In other words – landowners are strongly encouraged to control these invasive weeds on their properties.

3. Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum)

fox geranium weed with beautiful pink and white flowers — We consider ourselves tolerant gardeners at Outdoor Happens. We seldom cut down wild violet, red, or white clover. But Herb Robert is a different story! Herb Robert is a stinky perennial weed with pink flowers that grow to around one foot high. Herb Robert is a resilient weed that flourishes anywhere – deep in the forest, on the outrange of your pasture, and can invade your flower or rock garden. Luckily – Herb Robert has a shallow root system. So, minor infestations can get hand-pulled without fuss, should you wish. Or you can chop them down and cover them with a thick mulch layer. (In fairness, bees and butterflies also love visiting Herb Robert flowers. So – they do serve some purpose.)

Other names include – Red Robin, death-come-quickly, stinking Bob, and Squinter-pip.

Herb Robert is a summer annual or biennial weed with small pink or purple flowers that bloom in late spring or summer. It has lobed leaves and produces long, narrow, twisted seed pods. Herb Robert is commonly found in forests, fields, and other shady areas and prefers moist soil with partial shade.

In some states, Herb Robert is listed as a noxious weed, as it can crowd out native species in a forest environment. It is easy to remove by hand-pulling. We advise yanking it before the plant sets seed. And seed heads should get burned to reduce the risk of spreading more weed seeds the following season.

In its native environment, Herb Robert provides a food source for beneficial insects such as bees, hoverflies, and moths. However, this garden weed should not be encouraged in non-native areas of North America, as it can be detrimental to native plant life.

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4. Fireweed (Chamerion angustifolium)

willowherb weed blooming with bright pink flowers — Fireweed or bomb weed is a vibrant herbaceous perennial weed with pink flowers and red stems. It has a reputation for attracting pollinators like bees, moths, and butterflies. Unfortunately, it has a tremendously broad-reaching root system and spreads in the wind. For those reasons, some gardeners complain about its invasive nature. (Fireweed also gets its name because of its reputation for taking over deforested areas such as avalanches, burned forests, or oil spill sites.)

Other names include – Willow herb, great willowherb, rosebay willowherb, and bomb weed.

There is no doubt about it. Fireweed is a beautiful plant! It is a common sight on burned and disturbed land, sending up tall spikes of striking pink flowers from spring to late summer. The smooth stems feature a spiral arrangement of thin green leaves, and the plant can grow up to 8 feet tall.

However, while this perennial herb may look spectacular, just one fireweed plant can spread into dense growth clusters via its extensive root system. Interestingly, fireweed is commonly encouraged after extensive wildfires. It grows fast and helps prevent soil erosion. The fast growth rate creates an excellent habitat for wildlife.

Removing mature plants such as fireweed can be time-consuming – especially when reviving an old piece of land. Individual plants can get pulled out, but make sure to wear gloves! The sap can be an irritant. Post-emergent herbicides can work to eradicate large areas of fireweed, but these chemicals may also harm other vegetation.

Read More!

5. Field Bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis)

pink white and yellow bindweed flowers blooming — Field bindweed is a hardy perennial native to Asia and Europe with a ludicrously-robust root system. (Bindweed root systems can extend 20 feet below ground!) It’s also a weed with pink to white flowers with climbing vines reaching six feet tall. Field bindweed has many positive attributes – it resembles morning glory, and the flowers are showy and pleasant. The problem is that once field bindweed establishes, it’s tricky to eradicate. And it easily outcompetes and overshadows other native crops. Worse yet, their seeds can remain viable for a long time, resting underneath soil for 50 years! (Manual field bindweed management can seem like a slow-motion nightmare.)

Other names include – Field morning glory, morning glory, and Devil’s Guts.

Anyone who has ever dealt with bindweed in their garden will be familiar with the persistent nature of this plant! Bindweed is a perennial vine that can grow up to 10 feet long, with an extensive deep root system that can regrow from just a tiny piece of the primary root. Bindweed flowers are pink or white trumpet-shaped blooms located along the vining stems.

Bindweed commonly grows in agricultural fields, gardens, and disturbed areas. It prefers well-drained soils with ample sun exposure. Dig out the fibrous roots by hand to eradicate bindweed without using herbicides.

6. Himalayan Balsam (Impatiens glandulifera)

pretty pink impatiens glandulifera flowers blooming — Here’s a colorful weed with pink flowers that will make you look twice. Himalayan balsam! It’s an annual herbaceous weed that prefers growing in moist soil. It reaches about six feet tall with bright magenta, pink, white, or blue flowers. It loves growing along riverbanks and swamps – and their seeds can also spread via the water. Himalayan balsam also bears a disreputable prominence for negatively impacting water flow, soil erosion, and flooding.

Other names include – Ornamental jewelweed, touch-me-not, Indian jewelweed, and policeman’s helmet.

Another invasive species is Himalayan balsam, a summer annual with large pink or white flowers. It has deeply lobed green leaves and produces explosive seed capsules. These seed capsules are famous for propelling seeds several feet away. It commonly grows along streams, rivers, and other wet habitats. And it prefers moist soils with partial shade.

Growing smooth, hollow stems up to 6 feet tall, Himalayan balsam is incredibly vigorous and will crowd out native plant life. Where this plant has gets introduced, teams of volunteers spend many hours pulling them out, hoping to slow the spread of this invasive plant.

7. Garden Valerian (Valeriana officinalis)

blooming kitten plant with purple pink and white flowers — We love valerian root for helping us relax and sleep soundly at night! But not all gardeners share our optimism. Garden valerian is a fragrant perennial herb with beautiful purple to pink-speckled flowers. It grows four feet tall alongside highways, forest openings, and near wetlands or meadows. Unfortunately, valerian, like many other weeds with pink flowers on our list, can outcompete native shrubs and potentially disrupt local plantlife ecology.

Other names include – Common Valerian, garden heliotrope, and all-heal.

You may be surprised to see this commonly-grown ornamental plant on a list of weeds, but it self-seeds so prolifically that many consider it an invasive species! Featuring clusters of tiny pink flowers on tall branched stems, these plants provide a valuable food source for many beneficial insects.

However, in zones where Valerian is not native, such as the US, gardeners are actively discouraged from planting it. It can spread easily from your yard into wild areas, quickly becoming naturalized and jeopardizing the balance of the local ecosystem.

8. Redstem Filaree (Erodium cicutarium)

pink and purple field of filaree flowers blooming — Do you notice a fernlike winter annual weed with pink flowers taking over your lawn, side garden, or flower bed? Then there’s a good chance you have redstem filaree! They’re famous for developing near lawns, homesteads, pastures, orchards, and alongside highways. It’s easy to hand-pull these weeds if they take over your yard. However, it’s almost a shame. Their pinkish-purple flowers are pleasant. And their fruiting stems resemble intricate green flowers for a time. (If you decide to manage them – ensure to pull the entire root system – merely chopping them down will not work. They’ll grow back!)

Other names include – Common stork’s-bill, redstem stork’s bill, cranesbill, herons-bill, and Pinweed.

Redstem filaree is an annual winter weed with small pink flowers that bloom in the spring. It forms a low-growing rosette of fern-like leaves and produces long, slender seed pods that resemble bird beaks. It grows in various habitats, including fields and pastures, and commonly takes root in cultivated lawns and flower beds.

As redstem filaree is an annual, hand-pulling the plants before flowering can help to keep it under control. The entire plant needs to be removed, including the deep taproot. Cutting or mowing the plant will not keep it under control, as it can effortlessly regrow.

9. Hairy Bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta)

pinkish purple hairy bittercress flowers — Hairy bittercress (or lamb’s cress) is a broadleaf weed with white to pinkish-white flowers. It’s also a tasty and edible mustard-family member. Some homesteaders love eating them in soups or salads, as the leaves and greens taste like pepper. However, it also has a reputation for blasting seeds when you try to remove its flowers. So if you pull hairy bittercress weeds – pull them before they flower – otherwise, their tiny seeds will burst – and spread everywhere.

Other names include – Flick weed, hoary bittercress, lamb’s cress, land cress, shot weed, and spring cress.

Hairy bittercress is a winter annual broadleaf plant that produces small pink or white flowers in the spring. It has small, toothed leaves and makes long, narrow seed pods. A member of the mustard family, the leaves of hairy bittercress are edible and have a mild peppery taste.

Although regarded as a weed, hairy bittercress can be a valuable early source of food for pollinating insects in the early spring. However, this plant thrives on poor-quality soil and will quickly colonize sparse lawns or bare flower beds.

To keep hairy bittercress under control, ensure that the seed heads get cut and burned before they reach maturity. Each plant can produce up to 1,000 seeds, spreading them several feet in all directions! Frequent mowing and hand weeding prevent this plant species from taking over your land.

10. Creeping Charlie (Glechoma hederacea)

deep pink glechoma hederacea ground ivy growing in the lawn — Creeping Charlie is a mint-smelling creeping perennial weed with pink flowers and bright green leaves. It gets around six inches to a foot high and loves flourishing in the shade – under trees, shrubs, bushes, and in areas of your yard where nothing else grows. We’ve seen Charlie ground ivy take over entire lawns – and it’s easy to confuse with clover. Since it’s low growing and blankets a large area – it’s tremendously difficult to remove by hand. (Mowing the Creeping Charlie down to a few inches and overseeding with robust turf can help manage, mitigate, and outcompete it, if necessary.)

Other names include – Ground ivy, gill-on-the-ground, and creeping Jenny.

Creeping Charlie is a perennial herb with small pink or blue flowers that bloom in the spring. It has round, scalloped leaves and creeping stems that root at the nodes. It prefers moist, well-drained soils with partial shade and flourishes in lawns and shady gardens.

Creeping Charlie can be tricky to remove from lawns, as each plant needs to be dug out by hand, taking care to remove the bulbous root system. It dislikes dry soil conditions, so pruning away overhanging foliage can discourage this invasive weed from colonizing your garden and encourage more desirable plants.

11. Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)

common milk weed butterfly flower with pink and white flowers — Common milkweed is a pollinator-attracting perennial weed with pink flowers. They’re perfect ornamental plants for decorating rock or butterfly gardens. They’re famous for being excellent nectar sources for butterflies and bees. But – milkweed is not healthy for other animals – and humans! The sap can ooze onto the bark, fruits, leaves, roots, stems, and seeds – making them potentially poisonous if eaten by humans, horses, sheep, cats, and other animals. So whatever you do – don’t eat milkweed – or share them with your farmyard friends or pets.

Other names include – Butterfly flower, silkweed, silky swallow-wort, and Virginia silkweed.

The jury is out on whether common milkweed is a desirable garden plant or a weed. So you’ll have to make up your mind on this one! Native to much of the US and Canada, common milkweed is famous for being the primary food source for monarch butterfly caterpillars. And butterflies aren’t the only ones – over 400 other insect species love feasting on milkweed.

Common milkweed grows up to 5 feet tall, with large thick leaves in pairs and clusters of tiny pink flowers. It is winter hardy and can tolerate most soil conditions. But it prefers recently disturbed ground. Each parent plant spreads underground through an extensive root system and also via the dispersal of seeds.

Common milkweed is hugely beneficial to some insect species. However, we don’t advise growing it in a small garden or yard. It can spread via the lateral roots and is often tremendously difficult to remove without post-emergent herbicides.

12. Spotted Spurge (Euphorbia maculata)

spotted spurge flowers with pinkish stem and tiny pink flowers — Spotted spurge is a low-growing broadleaf plant that thrives in nearly any area. We’ve seen spotted spurge alongside roads, in meadows, in pastures, within the forest, and in the middle of nowhere. It can also try competing with your lawn and garden. The stems are maroon to red, and the plant produces tiny, tightly-packed, pink flowers. Like milkweed, spotted spurge has a toxic sap that’s poisonous to your sheep. Don’t let your animals eat it!

Other names include – Spotted euphorbia, spotted sandmat, milk-purslane, and prostrate spurge.

While spotted spurge is undoubtedly a weed, you have to admire its hardiness and tenacity! Forming a low-growing rosette of oval leaves, these plants will reside in the tiniest of cracks in your patio or pathways.

Spotted spurge is an annual plant that produces small pink or white flower heads in the summer. It is a common lawn weed and prefers well-drained soils with ample sun exposure. A single plant can grow up to 36 inches wide, forming a mat of tiny leaves and delicate pink flowers.

13. Dwarf Mallow (Malva neglecta)

common mallow weed with a pretty pink flower — Dwarf mallow is a Malvaceae family member – like okra, hibiscus, and cotton. Dwarf mallow spreads by dropping seeds that sprout in autumn into a vigorous taproot and an alarmingly-robust underground root system. The flowers are usually white with purple or pink-speckled petals. If you wish to manage your dwarf mallow weeds, pull them by hand as soon as possible. Their taproot develops quickly. And they are much trickier to eradicate once they start dropping their hard-shelled seeds.

Other names include – Buttonweed, cheese plant, cheeseweed, common mallow, and mallow.

Dwarf mallow will quickly colonize any area where the soil has been disturbed. It is considered an invasive weed. And, although it is an annual, you can find it growing all year round. The light pink blooms feature five petals, each with a toothed margin.

Mallow is commonly confused with geranium weed, but the heart-shaped leaves are not as deeply lobed. The plants spread only by seed. But these seeds can remain dormant in the soil for many years until the optimum growing conditions occur. The best way to keep mallow under control is to remove the plants before they set seed.

Conclusion

Thanks so much for reading our pink weed flower guide!

We hope we convinced you that not all pink flower weeds are worth eradicating. Some are beautiful, elegant, and pollinator-attracting.

What about you? Which weed with pink flowers is your favorite?

(Or maybe you encountered a pink weed you can’t identify?)

Let us know!

We’re a team of gardening nerds who brainstorm this stuff nonstop.

Thanks again for reading.

And have a great day!

Kate moved to Portugal last year and lives with her husband, two cats, six hens, and a glorious Brahma rooster called Mary. Earlier this year they purchased a half-hectare ‘quinta’ – traditional terraced land with olive trees, grapevines, and a house to renovate.

They are currently living in a small campervan which is a challenging but fun experience!

Kate has over 15 years of experience in the UK veterinary industry and is also a passionate gardener – turning a grassy field into a productive vegetable patch in just three months.

Future plans include more animals, particularly sheep and goats for milk production to make cheese, butter, and yogurt! Kate and her husband are aiming to create a self-sufficient off-grid life on their quinta, fulfilling a life-long dream.

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