Dandelion
Taraxacum officinale
Also called Common dandelion, Lion's tooth and Taraxacum
Garden plant · Herbs, veg & fruitAlmost nobody plants it and almost everybody has it, which is why it is here — the bank could not answer a keeper who photographed one. The taproot goes down a foot and snaps when pulled, and every fragment left behind grows a new plant; dig it whole or leave it. It is also one of the first things flowering in spring, which is worth knowing before you decide about it.
Care at a glance
- Ease
- Easy
- Water
- Every 10 daysWater the ground — water at the base, in the morning, not over the leaves.
- Light
- Full sun, and it will put up with a good deal less
- Feed
- Not needed
- Humidity
- Average
- Hardiness
- Very hardy RHS H7, to -25°C
- Size
- 0.3 m tall · 0.35 m across
- Lifecycle
- Perennial
- Origin
- Europe and western Asia
Is it safe for pets and people?
No animal-poison authority lists this plant either way.
Nobody has checked this one against a source for us yet, so treat it as unknown rather than safe.
Neither authority names Taraxacum. That is an absence and not a clean bill.
Checked against ASPCA and RHS on 2026-09-22. Where a source says nothing, we say nothing.
A guide, not veterinary or medical advice. If a pet or a person has eaten a plant and you are worried, call your vet or doctor now — don’t wait for signs to appear. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
First signs of trouble
- A fresh rosette in the same spot a fortnight after you pulled one out. The taproot snapped and left a piece behind, and every fragment grows a new plant — it has to come out whole, or be cut below the crown again and again until it gives up.Coming back after weeding · disorder
- Clocks standing open and new rosettes in the lawn, the gravel and the pots. One head carries well over a hundred seeds and they travel on the wind, so the heads have to come off before they open if you want it to stay where it is.Seeding across everything · disorder