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Gardeners may be eager to tidy up their lawns this spring — but experts say one common job should be delayed — don’t pull up those dandelions! Pulling up dandelions too early could remove one of the most important food sources for bees and butterflies emerging from winter.
The bright yellow flowers, often dismissed as weeds, provide vital early-season nectar when very few plants are blooming. In early spring, many pollinators are emerging from diapause — a dormant period similar to hibernation. But gardens and parks often have very few nectar-rich flowers at this time, which can leave bees struggling to rebuild energy reserves after winter.
“If nectar isn’t available in March and early April, colonies can be weakened before the season has properly begun,” says Morris Hankinson, Managing Director of Hopes Grove Nurseries. “Bee activity often doesn’t match what’s flowering in our gardens and many people aren’t aware of the simple garden tasks that can protect them.”
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“The humble Taraxacum officinale is one of the most important early nectar sources for bees and other pollinators,” he says. “The flowers are rich in pollen when there is little else in the garden flowering.”
Because dandelions can grow almost anywhere — from cracks in the tarmac to lawns and flowerbeds — gardeners often try to remove them.
But Morris urges gardeners to hold off on this particular spring job. “Delay mowing the lawn or removing dandelions at this time of year so the bees can enjoy them,” he says.
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