Individual plants may survive for 10 to 13 years in undisturbed sites. Dandelion seeds can form a relatively persistent seedbank. Seed in soil has a half-life of 3 months. If buried, a few seeds may still remain viable at the end of 5 years.
AND LIFE CYCLE
Dandelion grows year round in California except in the coldest inter- mountain areas where it is dormant during the winter. It produces a strong taproot that is capable of penetrating the soil to a depth of 10 to 15 feet, but it is most commonly 6 to 18 inches deep.
Life cycle:
Dandelion is a simple perennial. Plants emerge from seed and the root becomes a perennial taproot system that persists over the winter.
Stage 4 Seed Head Page 7 The last stage in the dandelion's life cycle happens when the seeds are blown off and spread by the wind. The new seeds will become dandelion plants if they can find suitable soil to grow in.
Dandelion is a perennial weed of lawns, landscape ornamental beds, and nurseries.
Two things can kill dandelions permanently—digging them up by the roots or spraying them with an herbicide. Digging up dandelions does not harm nearby plants, but it only works if you remove the entire taproot. Otherwise, the plant will eventually spring up and blossom again.
Dandelions can regenerate from fragments of root so it may require several attempts to completely remove a deep or awkwardly positioned plant. There are many specially designed tools to help with removal. Dig plants out as soon as they appear and don't allow to flower and set seed.
Dandelion flowers open each morning and close each night. (Sometimes they don't open at all on cloudy days.) When the flower is completely mature, it closes one night and simply doesn't open again until the seeds are ripe.
Only one, given a little time. Dandelions tend to flower most abundantly in spring, but can re-flower in the fall, too. Flowers open in the morning and tend to close up at night. After a couple of days in flower they close and the seeds develop inside the closed head.
Dandelions are broadleaf, herbaceous perennials that die back in the winter, though the plant's roots live on underground. In the early fall, nutrients are transferred from the leaves to the roots, making this the best time to use herbicide.
There are five distinct visible growing stages of a Dandelion's lifecycle: i) plant, ii) plant flowering, iii) seed head developing, iv) seeds developing and v) seeds been dispersed by wind or other means to commence the cycle again.
Dandelions grow from seeds and do not spread asexually from stolons or runner; they have a single tap root. However, they can and do reproduce asexually by seed. They are capable of producing viable seed without need of cross-fertilization, a process known as "apomixis".
LIFE CYCLE OF A DANDELION
The florets develop from the center, blooming into a circular flower head. After flowering for a couple of days, the flower head closes and the seeds develop inside the closed head. As the seeds form, the flower stalk extends higher so that it can reach the breeze.
Dandelions are good for your lawn. Their wide-spreading roots loosen hard-packed soil, aerate the earth and help reduce erosion. The deep taproot pulls nutrients such as calcium from deep in the soil and makes them available to other plants.
Don't hand pull them, as they will grow right back unless the tap root (often 2-3 feet deep) is completely removed.
Pulling off flower heads, known to gardeners as deadheading, can encourage more shoots and buds, as it directs the plant's resources from the developing flower and back to the infrastructure.
It does seem that way sometimes, but the short answer is no. Picking flowers reduces the amount of seeds that are produced, which means fewer new dandelion plants will sprout.
Does Mowing Dandelions Spread them? Mowing dandelions does not contribute to the spread of them, but it also does not stop the spread. To stop the spread of dandelions, you must reduce seed spreading by collecting the dandelion seed heads into a bag and taken out of your yard.
Master Gardener Steve Albert warns that when you cut any part of the root off, fragments as small as 1-inch long left in the ground easily grow into a new dandelion plant. You may remove the plant temporarily, but it returns quickly within a few days or weeks, depending on environmental conditions.
Dandelions have been called lion's-tooth, cankerwort, Irish daisy, monk's-head, priest's-crown, puffball, blowball, and milk-, witch-, or yellow-gowan (3).
The French have another name for them — "pee the bed"
The French word [for dandelion] is pissenlit, which translates to "pee the bed." Dandelions are a diuretic and in fact they are as strong as some of the commercial products.
Use chemicals only as needed to kill dandelions. These chemicals typically contain three herbicides called 2,4-D, mecoprop, and dicamba. They're powerful enough to kill shrubs and nearby trees. They're most effective in the fall to permanently eradicate dandelions in your lawn.
Remember: When digging or pulling dandelions, do your best to remove all of the plant with as much of the root still attached as possible. Any part of the taproot left in soil will regenerate and produce a new plant. Pull that new plant as soon as it appears so it can't help feed (and grow) the taproot.
The best time for effective treatment of dandelion is after the plant has flowered and is in the "puffball" stage. Fall is also an effective time to apply broadleaf weed control, as this is typically when dandelions transfer nutrients from their leaves to their roots for winter.