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Today I had the battle of my life with the dandelion on my front lawn. First a question about this: I removed every piece of it by using a long knife that I used to laterally insert as deep as I could so I could cut the root. Then I grabbed the plant and pulled it out from the soil quite easily. My friend would bet his life on it saying that the dandelion will get back to life from that root (most of the times it was cut like an inch under the soil level) Is he right?

Happia
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MiniMe
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  • grab it with all its leaves, and pull up as much of the root as you can, and it may die for a long time, but it's very hard to get rid of them forever. – black thumb May 20 '16 at 04:40
  • @blackthumb on clay soil they break off almost at ground level and come back within weeks by this method. Loosening the soil with a special tool, narrow trowel or pipe can move this down a few inches and get you much longer. – Chris H May 22 '16 at 12:48

1 Answers1

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Yes, he is right - you need to remove all the tap root, right down to the pointy bit at the end, or it will regrow, usually producing a 'double' plant, that is, with two lots of leaves as if there are now two plants.

Bamboo
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  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehFNXzM04HQ ...yeah .. I guess I am dues for another round, next time using this tool – MiniMe May 20 '16 at 12:40
  • Repeatedly pulling the tops off will weaken it (if you don't let the tops grow much) but both resprouting from the roots and new seeds mean it's never going to be "done once and for all" - but staying on top of your own to reduce seeds will help *somewhat* (not much if your near-neighbors let theirs go to seed, though - in which case, relax and mow makes more sense than trying to go nuts removing every one.) – Ecnerwal May 20 '16 at 16:09
  • What if I remove the above the ground part and I pour weed-be-gone in the cavity left after I removed the aerial part of the plant ? – MiniMe May 01 '17 at 00:43
  • So far as I am aware, that product works 'through the green', meaning you apply to the leaves when the leaves are actively growing- applying to the root won't work. Check the instructions. – Bamboo May 01 '17 at 01:18
  • what can be applied to roots? – MiniMe May 01 '17 at 12:07
  • Nothing that won't kill the surrounding grass. – Bamboo May 01 '17 at 12:18