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DandelionTaraxacum officinale A unmistakable plant with its large rosettes of leaves and bright yellow flowers. It's seed heads are famed for being the world's least accurate time keeping devices. The dandelion gets it's named from the French dent de lion (tooth of lion), supposedly because the leaves are indented like a lion teeth. Although how anyone, French or otherwise managed to get close enough to inspect a lion's teeth and live to compare them to a lawn weed is beyond me. How to kill Dandelions Chemical options: A lawn weed killer should do the trick. Organic options: You could try digging it up, but even a tiny bit of the long tap root left in the ground will regrow, and if you break it in more than one place you'll effectively be propagating it. The best option is to pour a small heap of salt on the centre of the roseate of leaves; this will kill it by drying the plant out (through the process of osmosis). Alternative options: On St. George's Day (the traditional date) or whenever the dandelions are in peak flower, gather up 3 quarters of a gallon of dandelion flowers and make dandelion wine (I have tried this, and it really does have a dramatic effect on the number of dandelions.) Alternative alternative: Just leave the dandelions as they are, if anyone mentions them, tell them they're there to add character to the lawn. Back to weed index