02/26/2023
Somewhere along the way, a well-intentioned message has given people a false impression about those cheerful yellow dandelions that dot green lawn spaces all over North America in spring, much to the chagrin of some who resort to using highly toxic chemical cocktails to try to eradicate them, with little success.
Dandelions were brought over by colonists who used them as food and medicine, so they have many benefits to people, but since the pollinators in North America did not evolve alongside this introduced species, they aren't necessary for them.
Dandelions provide a little food for some generalist pollinators, and support non-native honeybees, but you may be surprised to learn that they aren’t the most nutritious food for our native bee species and they aren't really "the first food for the bees."
They may be one of the first flowers that human eyes notice blooming in the springtime, but that's because many of the spring blooming flowers are up above our heads in native trees! There are also many other native flowers that bloom early for emerging pollinators, so if we want to help bees we should focus on planting those and trying to have a range of native plants blooming throughout the seasons.
Ultimately, if you like dandelions in your lawn, then you should leave them. If you don’t want them in your lawn, or wish to harvest them for food and medicine, you can pull them with a weeding tool. Just be sure to plant native species to feed the bees, whatever your preference with dandelions is, and definitely don't spray!
🌻 Check with your state's native plant society to see which early spring flowering species will work best in your gardens. (Pictured below left is a Claytonia species, also called spring beauty.)