Stop dandelions from taking over: Expert tips for your lawn

Dandelions can quickly take over an entire lawn or even invade paving stones. However, mowing them won't help. There's a much more effective method, although it's a bit time-consuming. Experienced gardeners recommend it.

If your lawn is overrun with yellow flowers, look closely to determine whether they are dandelions or false ones. The former is worth keeping, as the milky sap in their stems can be used to make a healthy syrup (it has antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties). The latter, however, are just regular weeds.

The problem is that both species start blooming in April with yellow flowers. However, a false dandelion has a single stem and slightly bluish, notched leaves, while a dandelion has a characteristic rosette.

If you determine that the lawn invasion involves false dandelions, the next step is to learn about a method for effectively removing them. Simply mowing them won't help. Experienced gardeners recommend another technique, which is unfortunately a bit time-consuming. But thanks to it, false dandelions won't grow back, ensuring peace for the entire season.

Experienced gardeners recommend hand digging, and using a fork is best for this task. This will lift the entire plant, including the roots, which is very important because traditionally mowed weeds regrow very quickly. A kitchen utensil like a fork seems almost perfect for this task—it's handy, sharp enough, and precise.

When removing false dandelions, the soil must be moist so the roots don't break. Finally, the removed weeds should be placed in a sealed garden waste container, and the empty spots in the lawn should be filled with grass seeds and watered.