How to Control Dandelions

What makes dandelion removal from lawns so difficult? Well, enjoy the best of both worlds. Above-ground, their seeds ride the wind currents, poised to drop into the slightest opening in your lawn to propagate the species. Meanwhile, below-ground, dandelions strike down a taproot up to 10" long. Pulling the taproot as a means of dandelion removal is problematic. Thick but brittle, the taproot easily fractures - and any fraction of the taproot that remains in the ground will regenerate.

How to Kill Dandelions: Pulling Them

If you're hard-headed enough to want to try to pull dandelions, despite the difficulty just mentioned, here's how to proceed:

• To facilitate weeding, water the lawn first (weeds are more easily extricated from wet soil).
• Make an incision into the soil, down along the side of the dandelion taproot, using a knife, screwdriver or similar tool (tools designed specifically for dandelion removal can be found in home improvement stores).
• Wiggle the tool to loosen the dandelion taproot
• Using the ground as a fulcrum, try to pry up the dandelion weed.
• Get a good grip on the dandelion leaves (as many of them as you can close your hand over) and use them as your "handle" on which to tug.
• Give the dandelion weed a gentle tug to see if the taproot is yielding.
• If the taproot is yielding, remove the dandelion weed from the soil. Otherwise, make further incisions around the taproot, wiggle and continue to tug gently at the dandelion leaves.

Preventive Dandelion Control

Promoting lawn health is the best method of dandelion control. Don't think of your lawn grass as a passive partner, which has to be rescued from dandelions after the fact. If managed properly, your lawn can compete effectively against dandelions and other weeds, alleviating the need for laborious dandelion removal.

Follow these lawn-care tips:

Leave grass clippings on your lawn. They will act as a mulch to prevent weed seeds from germinating. The benefits of grass clippings to your lawn, under the right conditions, are numerous.

Mow "high", leaving the lawn grass at a height of 2 1/2"-3". This will allow the lawn grass to "protect its own turf" better, depriving dandelions of the light they need.

Don't let bare spots remain uncovered for long; else you're just inviting the invasion of opportunistic dandelions. In the fall, fill in those bare spots by over seeding.