Just Ask Us: Will picking dandelions make them grow faster? (2024)

Does picking dandelion flowers increase the speed at which new flowers will develop on the same plant?

It does seem that way sometimes, but the short answer is no. Picking flowers reduces the amount of seeds that are produced, which means fewer new dandelion plants will sprout. The bad news is, you’re fighting a losing battle. There are so many seeds in the soil already that, unless you pick every flower before it produces seeds — and do that over many years — picking dandelions alone will neither speed up nor slow down the production of new flowers.

What’s more, Wisconsin’s relatively short growing season turns out to be perfect for nurturing dandelions.

“They’re one of the most well-adapted species to our environment,” said Mark Renz, assistant professor and perennial weed specialist with the UW-Madison Department of Agronomy. “You go to the South, the East, the West and they don’t have as many dandelions as we do. Our dandelions tend to be bigger, showier, than anywhere else around.”

Of course, that’s a source of pride that only some of our neighbors seem to share. For the rest who wage a continuous battle with the weeds, picking the flowers is not the most efficient method.

“Dandelions are perennial plants with perennial roots that can persist for many years,” Renz said. “So picking the flower will not kill the plant as it has stored energy in the roots that allow it to regrow.

For those who lost the dandelion wars this spring, there is hope. Renz said the best time to attack the weeds is in the fall. There are a range of options, not all of them requiring the use of herbicides. The key is to fertilize in the fall, he said.

“If you fertilize in the fall, that leads to earlier green-up in the spring and then that turf can compete better with the dandelions in the spring,” Renz said. “We don’t think about it in the fall because even though the dandelions are there, you just don’t see the flowers. But the fall is when you can actually kill those perennial roots and that will prevent them from being a problem in the spring.”