The Dandelion Message for Americans

A popular post has been circulating on social media entitled “Want to Help Bees? Leave the Dandelions Alone This Spring.” While this is a very admirable message, I’d like to point out that it is taken from a talk by a British ecologist about a native plant in Britain (dandelions). It is meant to convey a broader message, of course, but I think that the finer points that need to be made are getting lost in the weeds for American gardeners. Here are the key takeaways:

• Flowers for native bees are important throughout the seasons. 
• Stop trying to kill every weed in your lawn, particularly using chemicals to do it. 
• We can support native bees in our own yard – everyone can do something. 
• It’s important that each landscape be contributing to native insects. 
• Native plants are the right choices.

Southeastern blueberry bee

Do we have native bees checking out dandelions in March? Yes, but they primarily emerge to get nectar and pollen from the native plants that flower in March: red maple (Acer rubrum) trees, spring beauty (specialist bee on Claytonia sp.), early blueberries (specialist bee on Vaccinium sp.), native plums (Prunus sp.), etc.

Native bees aren't here for the dandelions; they're here for native plants and those are the ones we want in our lawns, on our roadsides, and in every sidewalk crack they want to occupy. Throughout the year, native bees help native plants be the best they can be (at producing native fruits for wildlife).

Now if the only message you got out of what I just said is that dandelions are not native to the US and we should not support them, let me explain again:

• Native plants matter to all native insects.
• Flowering native plants help native bees.
• Don’t get rid of things to have a perfect landscape.
• You should have flowering plants native to your area in your yard during all 3 seasons (spring, summer, and fall), even if that means having pots of plants on your patio and balcony.
• Everyone can contribute to helping native bees and other insects.

So, if you’re going to share the dandelion message, remember that not everyone reads beyond the headlines and that the message is bigger than leaving dandelions alone. Share the message that really matters. We need flowering plants even in our lawns and they should be native plants.

Spring beauty (Claytonia virginica) in the lawn at my library