Dandelion question

[Jinxy]

I live in a rural neighborhood. My lawn approx 2 acres is infested with dandelions this year. I've read on the net to only cut a bit of lawn (height wise) to keep the lawn tall so the dandelions don't get any sun. Of course I will have to cut very often to avoid clumping. I've decided the above method is what I'm going to try this year.

My neighbor is a different story. They seem to love cutting their grass and are out there the minute spring arrives. They cut theirs very, very short..bald you could say, and they seem to cut every third day or so. I've been watching and they don't seem to have very many dandelions..or they are cutting the heads off of them so maybe the lawn looks deceiving?? My yard looks terrible compared to theirs because of me not mowing as often as them (I have to wait till it gets tall)

Soooo will my plan work? Or should I do what they are doing?

[_]

Looks like you answered your own question.

You've observed the results of mowing before the weeds bloom and you said it looks good.

If you don't like mowing (sometimes I don't like to either) why not locate a

12 year old that likes the extra $6 a week to do it for you?

[JoeT]

Wow if you know *anyone* who'll mow 2 acres for $6.00 send em our way! Average around here is $20.00 a shot for an 9,000 sq ft (and smaller) lawn with a house taking up 1500 sq ft of it! They'd use up a third of that money on gas alone on 2 acres if they're using an appropriately sized lawn tractor. lol

All kidding aside though it's a sure bet that waiting until dandelions turn fuzzy and deposit seed everywhere before mowing is a fantastic way to insure another bumper crop of dandelions!

[- Tom -]

Dandelion flower stems come in a great variety of lengths, naturally. If you cut the long ones down then eventually you'll have only the ones that will flower and produce seed at heights below your cutting height - natural selection. For years I've seen this scenario develop on the grounds of a nearby school district since low cutting heights were preferred by supervisors and no type of herbicide was permitted. There were always some tall ones taking root but the predominant flower stem was so short that the flower seemed to sprout directly from the center of the plant.

Either your neighbors are using a herbicide or they weed by hand. Take a walk through the yard and look for empty spots where weeds have been removed and when the neighbor catches you, , ask about how they manage to have such a nice lawn. Btw, have they got dogs in the yard? Watch your step : )

-- Tom

[trader4]

If it's a typical cool season grass mix that we're talking about, I'd cut it about 3", which should leave it looking very nice and help keep out weeds. The key word here is "help." You're still going to have some. Since you currently have a lot, I'd use a herbicide to get rid of them, which is very easy with dandelions. If you can spot treat them, which is most effective and uses the least herbicide, get a back pack sprayer. If there are too many to do that, then I'd use a weed n feed product. Once you get rid of most of them, if you properly care for the lawn, you can spot treat them from then on.

As for the neighbors lawn, you may not see the dandelion flowers because they are mowing it frequently and short. If that's the case, they can still be there along with other weeds, crowding out the grass and making it look like hell.

[- Tom -]

Thanks