My Ongoing Battle With Pompom Weed

What You'll Discover in This Post

In this story, I take you deep into my personal encounters with pompom weed here in Soshanguve from mistaking its beauty for innocence, to learning why it's one of the most destructive invaders in our veld. You'll discover:

How I first realized this plant isn't the harmless wildflower it looks like. Why pompom weed threatens our local grasslands, livestock, and indigenous flora. The emotional and physical challenges I've faced trying to remove it. Real life experiences of it spreading after rains and taking over patches of veld. A close up look at your photo and what it reveals about its life cycle. Lessons I've learned this season while walking through our veld and fighting it again.

Introduction: The Day Beauty Became a Warning

I've always loved walking through the veld around Soshanguve after good rain. The grass looks taller, the earth smells fresh, and little yellow wildflowers are growing everywhere. However, a couple of years back, during one of those tranquil walks, I came across a weird pink cluster that was emitting a soft glow from far away. At first, it was so pretty almost like a thing that nature had delicately dropped on the veld for decoration.

When I moved closer, my heart tightened. I knew that plant.

And I knew the trouble behind its beauty.

It was pompom weed the invader that returns every summer like an uninvited guest. 

My First Encounter With Pompom Weed

I still remember the first time I actually saw it spreading. It was near a grazing patch outside Block XX. At first, it was just one plant. A few weeks later, the whole patch had turned pink. The cattle avoided it. The grass around it looked weak and thin, as if something had drained the life from underneath.

An older gardener who passed by looked at me and said,

"Once pompom arrives, it's not here to visit. It's here to stay."

That sentence stayed with me. And every season since then, I've seen how true it is.

A Closer Look at the Bloom

This uploaded photo really shows pompom weed in its truest form the dense furry buds, the bright cotton candy ike flower, and even the tiny bug that is probably drinking from the center. If a person was to take a photo of this plant and had no idea what it is, they might think that it was a cute little thing, maybe even adorable.

But for me, it represents the complete opposite:

I see the seeds getting ready to scatter.

I see another patch that might be dead next year.

I see the grass that this plant is going to suffocate and take over if we don't pull it out early.

Yet, on the other hand, I can't help but acknowledge how fascinating it is to look at. That's the weird thing about pompom weed it is a threat that is cleverly concealed behind a flower which looks like it could be part of a bouquet.

Why Pompom Weed Is a Serious Problem Here

Over the years, I've watched it spread aggressively around Soshanguve along fences, empty plots, roadsides, and even near grazing lands. The problems it brings are real:

It pushes out our indigenous grasses.

Livestock can't graze properly where it grows thick.

It competes hard for soil nutrients and wins.

It forms dense clumps that take over whole veld patches.

Once it flowers, seeds spread easily through wind, animals, and even tyres.

One year I cleared a whole patch near my fence before December. By late February, the seeds from the nearby veld had blown right back into the same spot. I felt like I had wasted my whole weekend until I realized that invasives don't go away after one fight. You have to return every season, almost like a ritual.

My Attempts to Control It

Every summer I try something new sometimes with success, sometimes with frustration.

Pulling by Hand: When the soil is soft after rain, the roots loosen and you can pull it out whole. Those are the days I feel like I'm actually winning.

Cutting Before It Flowers: Cutting only works if you catch it early. Once the flower heads form like in the picture removing them becomes urgent.

The Burning Mistake: Once saw someone burn a patch thinking it would help. It didn't.

If anything, pompom weed returned even stronger the next season.

Responsible Herbicide Use: Some farmers I know treat small stands early in the season. I stick to physical removal, but I've seen chemical control work when used carefully.

Still, the truth is: pompom weed doesn't fear effort. It responds best to consistency.

The Impact on Our Veld

It's heartbreaking to see what pompom weed does when left alone. I've stood in areas where the soil was once firm and covered in thick grass, only to see it left bare and loose after pompom dries in winter. Without indigenous plants protecting the soil, wind erosion starts.

And that affects everything from grazing to insects to the natural beauty of our landscape.

A Lesson From This Season

Walking through the veld recently, I realized something new:

I don't fight pompom weed because I hate it I fight it because I love this land.

I love the way the veld smells after rain.

I love seeing cattle grazing peacefully.

I love knowing that indigenous plants still have a chance.

This season taught me that protecting our environment isn't dramatic or heroic it's slow, quiet, and repeated. Sometimes it's just one person pulling a plant out of the soil before it blooms.

And sometimes, it's enough.

Final Reflection

Pompom weed is capable of deceiving us with its lovely appearance. However, it is a stealthy invader that is practically unstoppable and alters nature in a way that is not obvious to the human eye. Nevertheless, each time I take away a pot of pompom weed from my area, it seems to me that I have made a significant contribution to my little corner at Soshanguve.

Maybe that's the real story behind this post:

A gardener choosing to fight back, year after year, with bare hands and stubborn hope.