Asked on Apr 16, 2016
Are these plants dandelions after the flowers have gone?
by
Louise
+8
The leaves at the bottom look like they are. I want to pull them up because I have lots of weeds in the backyard and need to make things look nicer. And I have a few in the front yard and plan to mulch over all the weeds. I read all the time that dandelions attract bees so we should leave them alone, but are these -- if they're dandelions -- past the bee-attracting stage?
11 answers
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They don't look like dandelions, but they do look like some kind of weed.
Pam Rice
on Apr 16, 2016
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research this site as the leaves do not look like regular dandelions. namethatplant.net. It shows you various types of the dandelion family.
Janet Pizaro
on Apr 16, 2016
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No, these are not dandelions , although they are a weed.
Loie
on Apr 16, 2016
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I believe they may be Wild Thistle here in Canada if they have a few tiny prickles on them. BUT my eye is saying Wild Chickory which is a tallish plant like that with lovely blue flowers when in bloom but I do not know where you are! Hope one of us is able to help you.
Linda Hunt
on Apr 16, 2016
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It's not a dandelion. Were the flowers yellow and resembling dandelions slightly? If yes, it might be sowthistle.
Colleen
on Apr 16, 2016
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Hi Louise, definitely not dandelions, but I can understand you wonder, because there is something with the shape of the leaves. Dandelions have flowers that remind more of daisies, the flowers are egg-yolk yellow, bright, the plant is short and grows only in an environment with no shade like a lawn (not under trees or half-shade like the weeds you've fotografed). Also, dandelions,(the flowers)-probably that's why bees like them- have a pleasant, kind of honey-smell. And the root of dandelions looks like a carrot or some kind of root-vegetable. They can be relly hard to pull and they break, especially if the soil is clay and the climate hot, they'll develop deep roots to go get water deep in the soil already in early spring. When you want to reshape your garden and you have this kind of second thoughts, you can always use the "replacement"model: you pull up these weeds and if you'r worried about bees, you can choose to plant -not necessarily in the same place- something, (flowers or flowery bushes) that are known to attract bees. I've noticed that strangely the only really sweet-smelling flower that does not attact them is lilac. I've got two big and beautiful lilac trees, actually blooming right now, and here at least, the bees never go there. Also I never see them in my roses. There's a lot of choice to pick from. Mainly, go after the smell, the kind of smell like in honey-suckle. Bees also like all kind of fruit-trees (are very attracted while the blooming takes place and they are helpful in spreading pollen and therefore do the job for fruits later to develop) and lavender (that strangely adapts to all kind of climate but needs a lot of water in arid zones). But really, anything that has a sweet smell + fruit trees. And it's nice to watch. Also I've noticed you must have dog(s) like me, they are absolutey not bothered even by mass bee activity, nor do they ever disturb the bees, and it's really rejoicing my heart to see them all mind their own business. I've had dogs that even were lying down on purpose in front of a blooming lavender bush in late springtime to watch peacefully the bees and enjoy the mildness of it all.... Please remember: bees are attracted to certain flowers/fruit trees but do not know when and if the garden/the orchards are being treated with pesticides. Thats' part of the reason pesticides are so dangerous to them, it's like feeding them poisoned food. It goes for all pesticides/herbicides, unless marked specifically and explicitely with "not dangerous for bees", and this applies also to quite many pesticides used in organic cultures. If you care about bees, do consider to have your entire garden pesticide/herbicide free, it's quite easy to do and does not require a lot of care. After about two to three years, a kind of harmony and healthy state is created (you may see diseases for the first year or so, just hang on and do not fall for the temptation to wipe it out with pesticides/herbicides/fongicides) and the garden and plants look after them selves and do not require care, not even organic culture-care. You should not, regardless of what we've all been taught, toil the soil to heavily and turn it over so that the deep layers are placed on top and the top layers burried, this kills the life that is necessary to maintain a healthy soil (it burries down bacteria needing air to thrive and kills them, depleting the soil for its "lifegiving factory" activity). I'm saying this in case you pull ou the weeds and you plant something else.... There's a flower that is cheap, easy to plant and succeed with, looks great, comes in shades of orange-pink or bright red, bees love it and it's an easy flower, that thrives also during hot summers and blooms all the time, it is thriving in full sun or half-shade, like I had them under a cherry tree. I looked it up in English it's called (according to the dictionnary) : gillyflower. Maybe someone can help with another term in case this is UK English and not US English. It's called "giroflée" in French. Mind you though, there's two kind, the one that does not smell and the one that smells, be sure to get the right one and the right one also can be planted and comes back following years, the other kind lasts only the summer over and is gone after one year. Enjoy.... P.S. ABout my dog on the photo: he wears a crown because this was taken at Epiphany a couple of years ago, and it's a French tradition for Epiphany to share the traditinal Epiphany round, flat cake, made with a puff pastry bottom and top, with almond filling, (tastes great). S/he who finds the little whatever, bean or porcelain figure hidden in it, is called the Epiphany King and wears a crown. So the dog got a piece of cake and guess what.... By the way this 70-pounds, endless kind beauty, gracfully accepting to wear the crown and get photographed, comes from a dogs shelter home, where they called him Rex...So no wonder he got the figure and became crowned :-)
Carole
on Apr 16, 2016
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Not dandelion, per se, but in the family. Definitely weeds that spread via the fluffy seed heads. I would remove them fast before they go to seed,
Iberkeley
on Apr 16, 2016
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Wild lettuce maybe
Joeast
on Apr 16, 2016
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It looks like wild lettuce or arugula, dog mustard, or the like.
Dayna Barnes
on Apr 16, 2016
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That's wild mustard.
Matthew Schnabel
on Apr 16, 2016
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looks like wild mustard to me.
Eldona
on Jun 13, 2016
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