How to Grow Dandelions USA | Planting & Establishment

Soil & Growing Conditions

Water: Not drought-sensitive; tolerates a wide range of moisture levels (RHS)

Soil pH range

6 6.4

Span reflects genuine variation between the cited authorities, not a single agreed figure.

Growth Stages

Stage	BBCH	Notes
Sowing and germination	0	Sow seed 1/4-1/2in deep in a fine, firm seedbed; seeds freely and germinates readily (RHS; SARE). Where grown as a crop, stagger sowings 10-14 days apart at first, then every 7 days, for a continuous supply of young leaves (SARE).
Rosette establishment	3	Forms a rosette of long, toothed leaves over a deep taproot. Grows in almost any soil and either full sun or partial shade (RHS). Where grown deliberately, thin or space transplants around 5in apart in-row (SARE).
Flowering	6	Bright yellow flowers appear April to June on hollow, milky-sapped stems, followed by the familiar wind-dispersed seed heads (RHS).
Harvest	8	Leaves can be cut for salad use through the season, and harvested twice from the same plants; a period of blanching before cutting reduces bitterness (SARE). Flowers and roots are also edible.

Quick Facts

Factor	Value
Soil pH	6 - 6.4
Sunlight	3-6 hours direct sun
Soil texture	Chalk, clay, loam or sand -- tolerant of almost any soil type (RHS); a fine, firm seedbed with added compost when grown deliberately as a crop (SARE)
Drainage	Moist but well-drained or well-drained (RHS)
Lifecycle	Evergreen herbaceous perennial (RHS)
Edible parts	leaves, flowers, roots

Harvest & Storage

When to pick: Leaves, flowers and roots are all edible and can be picked through the growing season; leaves can be harvested twice from the same plants when grown as a deliberate crop (SARE). A few weeks of blanching (excluding light with mounded soil, straw or a covering) before cutting reduces the natural bitterness of the leaves.

Dandelion Photo Gallery

Dandelion in flower

A dandelion plant in full bloom, showing the toothed leaf rosette and bright yellow flower.

A clump of flowering dandelions

Multiple dandelion plants flowering together, showing the typical dense clumping habit.

Common dandelion flowers

Close view of common dandelion flowers, Taraxacum officinale.

Young dandelion rosette

A young dandelion plant showing its basal leaf rosette before flowering.

Dandelion flowers close up

A dense group of dandelion flower heads.

Dandelion seed head (clock)

The familiar dandelion seed head, or 'clock', that follows flowering and disperses seed on the wind.

A single dandelion plant

A single dandelion plant growing in open ground, showing its full rosette and flower stem.

A cluster of dandelion flowers

A cluster of dandelion flowers growing together in a grassy area.

References

1. Royal Horticultural Society - Taraxacum officinale (dandelion)

   Evergreen herbaceous perennial with a taproot, rosettes of long toothed leaves, hollow stems with milky sap, bright yellow flowers April-June followed by wind-dispersed seed heads. Grows in chalk, clay, loam and sand; acid/alkaline/neutral; moist but well-drained or well-drained. Full sun or partial shade. Hardiness H7 (below -20C). Height/spread 0.1-0.5m. Time to maturity 1 year. Propagate by seed, seeds freely. Generally pest-free and disease-free. Leaves, flowers and roots can be used in herbal medicine or as food. Native to Great Britain and Ireland. Family Asteraceae.

2. SARE (Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education), Northeast Crop Production and Harvest Manual - Dandelion Greens

   Grown as a deliberate salad-leaf crop. Soil pH 6.0-6.4, prepared fine firm seedbed, compost per soil test, nitrogen around 120 lb/acre. Direct-seeding depth 1/4-1/2in. Transplant spacing 5in in-row across 3 rows. Succession planting: 10-14 days between the first and second sowings, then 7-day intervals for continuous harvest. Can be harvested twice from the same plants. No specific disease or pest problems documented; the main protection concern noted is deer browsing, managed with fencing.

2 independent sources are cited for this crop. Where they disagree - soil pH is the clearest case - every figure is preserved rather than averaged into false precision.