KC-KCMO-Kansas-City-lawn-care-landscaping — Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

Just like last weeks blog on maple trees and the helicopter-like seeds that spin off of them in the spring, this week’s post is somewhat similar in that the dandelions are loved by kids but not so much by homeowners that care about their lawn. With most lawns in Kansas City already growing fast and green, dandelions can quickly take over if they aren’t properly dealt with and SK Lawn and Landscape knows just how to handle them. So what exactly are dandelions and why are they so invasive?

Lawn Care and Weed Control in Kansas City, Belton and Raymore, MO

lawn-care-Belton-Raymore-Kansas-City-Lees-Summit — Photo by mahyar mirghasemi on Unsplash

Dandelions are classified as taraxacum which are obviously native to the Kansas City area but can also be found throughout the entire northern hemisphere. They are a flowering plant making them what is considered a perennial but not the type you get at the greenhouse or typically want to see bloom in your lawn. The flower heads are yellow and open during the daylight hours but close at night as you may have noticed if you’ve seen them in the early morning before the sun rises. A few days after blooming, dandelions close and seeds develop which are called cypselae where they soon reemerge with a globular, cotton looking structure that for most kids are fun to blow and watch the seeds fly.

This is exactly how dandelions take over your lawn. They rely on the wind to blow them to areas where the soil is loose and more importantly where there is little resistance for them to take root and begin the growth cycle all over again. So how do you keep dandelions from taking over your lawn? The simple answer is to stop them before they can grow in early spring. A pre-emergent treatment will keep dandelions and other noxious weeds at bay but as previously stated it only takes a little wind and a few seeds for them to grow and grow quickly. Not to mention your neighbors’ lawns nearby that don’t do much in terms of lawn care and more specifically weed control can easily creep into your yard causing dandelions to take over at any point during the spring and early summer months. At SK Lawn and Landscape, we pride ourselves on making sure that each and every weed control treatment we do is customized to what your lawn needs and we are certainly no strangers to getting rid of dandelions in the Kansas City area. Call us today for all of your lawn care and weed control needs at (816) 372-4965 or CLICK HERE FOR OUR ONLINE CONTACT FORM.