Taraxacum officinale Seeds | Dandelion
LATIN NAME: Taraxacum officinale
COMMON NAME: Dandelion
Plant Profile
A distinctive member of its genus, Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) is a perennial in the daisy family. Dandelion is bright gold of spring lawn, and single yellow heads open above rosettes of toothed leaves. The whole plant has a very long record as the fine, bitter green and the coffee-root of the old tables, and it is a fine, generous presence of the wayside. It is a plant of open, sunny, well-drained ground. The blooms are worked steadily by bees for as long as they are open. It is the sort of plant that quietly justifies the space it occupies.
Science & Biotechnology
Botanists studying the daisy family regularly include Taraxacum officinale in comparative work, and the species also appears in horticultural trials aimed at gardeners and growers. For practical purposes the message is encouraging: generations of cultivation have produced plants of predictable, well-mannered garden character.
Uses & Benefits
In the garden, Dandelion earns its place in borders, containers and mixed plantings, and it also rewards growers who raise plants for cutting, drying or kitchen use. Dandelion is a fine, generous plant of lawn and the wayside. It is a fine, generous plant of open, sunny, well-drained garden. Keep young plants in open, sunny spot, and gold heads will come in the first season. It takes hold quickly and asks for no special treatment from then on.
The dandelion is a complete folk pharmacy: the root is a classic bitter for liver and digestion, the leaves a potassium-rich diuretic green, the flowers a honey-wine tradition, and every part is edible. Few weeds are so generous.
Growing from Seed
Raising Dandelion from seed is straightforward. Broadcast the seed thinly over a fine, free-draining compost, sieve a little more compost on top, and water with a fine rose. Grow the youngsters on steadily in pots until well rooted, then move them to their final positions.
Our Take
Dandelion is the kind of plant that rewards a permanent spot. Its wants are few — a sunny spot, soil that drains, and time to settle in.
Related Reading
Gardeners who grow Dandelion often pair it with these related subjects: