“Almost” Native Common Dandelion Taraxacum officinale

By Barry Glick

Sometimes the title for an article comes to me well before the idea for that story materializes, and that was the case here. I was watching one of my all-time favorite movies, “Almost Famous,” quite the engaging coming-ofage flick that I’ve watched on multiple occasions, when for some unexplained reason, I thought of Taraxacum officinale. The thought that entered my mind was: “Here’s a plant so ubiquitous that it’s ‘almost’ native.” I know you’re familiar with the plant and honestly, probably hate it, but perhaps when I tell you more than you already know about it, that relationship will morph from pure hate into a forgiving love/hate relationship.

The plant as you know it commonly is, “Dandelion,” was not endemic to this continent when the Mayflower pulled into Plymouth Harbor some 403 years ago. I don’t know if there were any specimens on that particular voyage, probably, but if not, the plant did arrive shortly thereafter. I’m also not sure how those early European settlers knew that it didn’t grow here, but it was so valuable to them in their native homelands, that they brought some with them on their long journey, just to be safe.

Now, you’re probably wondering what they treasured about this plant that you curse at every spring when the monotone of green grass on your lawn is interrupted by gazillions of bright-yellow dots. The answer, in a word—lots!

Let’s take Vitamin A, for example. My mother always told me that if I ate my carrots, I would have x-ray vision like Superman. That’s because, as everyone knows, carrots are exceedingly high in Vitamin A, right? A 100 gram sample of carrots contains 10,000 International Units of Vitamin A. Guess how much a 100 gram sample of Dandelion greens has? You’re not gonna believe this: 14,000 International Units. And fiber— don’t get me started on fiber: lots more. This info comes straight from the USDA!

I’m not going to give up my morning espresso, but in wartime and during coffee shortages, besides Chicory (Cichorium intybus), dried and ground Dandelion roots were used as a coffee substitute.

I thought I was hallucinating last winter when I saw fresh Dandelion greens bundled for sale in the produce section at our local grocery store. I haven’t noticed them since, but you have to give Kroger credit for the attempt.

There are so many medicinal benefits listed for Dandelion, you would think that every doctor would carry a bottle in their little black bag. (Do doctors still carry little black bags?) During the years 1831–1926, it was actually listed in the U.S. Pharmacopoeia. A friend of mine swears that a cup of tea made from fresh Dandelion flowers cured him of night blindness.

The roots of Dandelion have been used for treating joint sprains, cirrhosis, gallstones, hepatitis, jaundice, and swollen liver, to name a few ailments. But please folks, this is not an endorsement for using Dandelion for any medicinal needs; consult an accredited herbalist first.

By the way, there are almost 30 species in the genus Taraxacum, but none native to North America.

I hope that this short treatise has given you a new respect for one of America’s most hated weeds and that you’ll be sipping some Dandelion tea or Dandelion wine soon. (I think you can safely do that without consulting an herbalist.)

Oh, yeah, the name, Dandelion: Where did that come from? Well, you can thank the French for that moniker, and anyone with a vague knowledge of Latin or any of the other Romance languages could figure it out. The French saw in the leaf a resemblance to a lion’s tooth, so they called it “Dent de Leon,” the “Tooth of the Lion” and by the time it arrived here on our shores, it had morphed into Dandelion. o

Barry Glick, a transplanted Philadelphian, has been residing in Greenbrier County, WV, since 1972. His mountaintop garden and nursery is a mecca for gardeners from virtually every country in the world. He writes and lectures extensively about native plants and Hellebores, his two main specialties, and welcomes visitors with advance notice. He can be reached at barry@sunfarm.com, www.sunfarm.com, or 304.497.2208..

Seed Potatoes and Potatoes from Seed

Barbara Melera of Harvesting History (https://harvesting-history.com/) explains that “certified seed potatoes” are potatoes that are harvested young, usually when they are quite small, but some varieties are very large when they are harvested, so size is not an absolute determining factor. The “certified seed potatoes” are then stored for a number of weeks in a room with a constant temperature of around 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

When they are removed from that room, Melera said, they can then be sold as “Certified Seed Potatoes.” The process of harvesting young and then storing at a constant temperature somehow encourages budding in the tubers. The more buds you get, the more plants you can grow.

“We sell a lot of seed potatoes, but we do not sell potato seed, but in the course of selling seed potatoes, the most frequently asked question is, ‘Is there such a thing as a potato seed?’,” said Melera.

The answer is quite complicated, she said. Some potato plants do produce a round, green fruit on their stems (above ground), but this fruit contains solanine, so it is quite toxic. It also contains seeds (from 100-400 seeds, depending upon the cultivar), and potato plants will grow from these seeds and eventually produce tubers (potatoes). Not all potato plants will produce fruit. The seeds in the fruit often do not produce potatoes that are anything like the parent plant, and often, the potatoes taste quite “nasty.”

Seeds harvested from fruit in late summer or early fall can be dried and planted the following spring. The seeds can be started indoors. The seeds produce weak, stringy potato plants that then produce tiny tubers (potatoes). These tubers can be harvested and planted to produce a stronger plant that may produce standard-sized potatoes. Often this process takes two years, but if you start early enough in the season, it can take about eight months.

The photo is of potato seed in the fruit that a potato plant may produce. The sliced fruit shows the seeds from which potatoes grow. They are roughly the size of tomato seeds.

The reason that most potatoes are grown from tubers today is that it is the only way to achieve consistency. Melera said, “There are foodies who argue that consistently growing potatoes by ‘cloning’ (replanting tubers) is weakening the potato vegetable. This is a valid argument, but for every good potato produced from seed, there are 100 (maybe more) nasty ones produced from the same seed source.”

There are companies now selling True Potato Seed (TPS). If you want to experiment, it is probably best to start with their seed. Mother Nature is always so very interesting.

Standard potatoes have a varied and often unjustified nomenclature. They are intermittently known as Russets, Burbank, Baking, Idaho, etc., potatoes. Morphologically, they differ from fingerling potatoes in that they are larger and fatter, taking on a round or oblong shape. Idaho potatoes are so named because they are grown in Idaho. Burbanks are usually varieties that were created from cultivars developed by Luther Burbank. Russets and baking potatoes are the same. In general, standard potatoes are used for baking, boiling, steaming, mashing, and everything else you might do with a potato. They come in many sizes, many colors, and a few shapes.

“Potatoes are the most important food crop in terms of sustainability and feeding a world population that is exploding in numbers,” said Melera. An acre of potatoes can produce two to four times the food quantity of grain crops, and potato plants are extraordinarily efficient consumers of water—up to seven times more efficient in using water than grain crops—and produce more food per unit of water than other major food crops. o

Six Secrets to Enjoying Long-Lasting Cut Tulips

Tulips are one of the best-loved flowers. They are iconic eye-catchers that bring spring into our homes. But how do you make sure that you can enjoy these seasonal flowers for as long as possible? Here are six tips.

1. Fresh

It is best to buy tulips that show some color, but whose buds are still closed. If the buds are already open when you buy them, flowering has already been set in motion and there is a chance that you will enjoy them for less time. The freshest tulips are grown locally, so it’s best to ask your vendor about their origin.

2. Transport

When you buy a beautiful bunch of tulips, make sure to have it wrapped properly in paper or newspaper. This protects the flowers and leaves from knocks and bumps. Paper wrapping will also protect the flowers against temperature differences between indoors and outdoors.

3. Cutting

Your tulips will have been out of water for a while after buying them, which may cause the bottom of the stems to dry out. Therefore, trim an inch off the bottom of the stems with a clean knife. Cutting them at an angle helps the flowers absorb water more easily.

4. A Clean Vase

Use a vase with plenty of room for the stems. Flowers are sensitive to bacteria. Therefore, clean your vase thoroughly with soap and rinse with water. Fill the vase with fresh tap water at room temperature. Change the water regularly to keep it clear and clean.

5. Add Sugar

Add cut flower food or a teaspoon of sugar to the water to prolong the vase life of the flowers.

6. The Right Spot

Once your tulips are shining in a beautiful vase, it’s important to pick the right spot to display them. This means avoiding direct sunlight and the vicinity of fruit. Fruit produces ethylene, a gas that makes flowers and leaves wilt more quickly.

Would you like to know more about growing and caring for bulb flowers? Go to www.ilsysays.com. o

New Plant Spotlight

Two New Tomatoes from Burpee Burpee introduces several brand-new trailblazing innovations for the 2023 season. Here are two.

‘Vivacious’ Hybrid Tomato (pictured above): This Burpee-bred super-fruit breakthrough is a feast for the eyes. ‘Vivacious’ spent five years in development before its debut this year. This superstar tomato’s luscious, orange-scarlet fruits are prodigies of magical color; meaty texture; sweet, balanced flavor; and out-of-this-world nutrition. These oval-shaped fruits are power-packs of Vitamin A (betacarotene). Each ‘Vivacious‘ tomato delivers:

• 40% of daily intake of Vitamin A in one tomato

• 70 bright, beautiful fruits per plant for both fresh eating and cooking

• Meaty yet juicy with balanced sweetness and acidity

‘Two Tasty’ Hybrid Tomato (pictured on page 3): This two-bite cherry tomato stands out for its virtuoso flavor. The fruits’ color matrix of sweet rich-red and savory purple-black notes imparts a third bonus flavor, unlike any other large cherry tomato. It yields clusters of firm, juicy, round, 1 ½-2” tomatoes and was voted best-tasting tomato out of hundreds rated by Burpee interns. o

Quick Links to Recent Washington Gardener Blog Posts

• Into the Heart of the Garden with Maria Rodale

• Boxwood Plant Profile

• Meet the New Intern

See more Washington Gardener blog posts at WashingtonGardener.blogspot.com o

February–March Garden To-Do List

• Cut some branches (Forsythia, Quince, Bittersweet, Redbud, Willow, etc.) for forcing indoors.

• Put out suet for birds.

• Keep birdfeeders filled and provide a source of water.

• Check outside plants and trees for animal (deer) damage.

• Mist indoor plants and set up pebble trays to increase humidity.

• Rejuvenate Holly bushes and Boxwood with a hard pruning.

• Plan landscape design projects.

• Check evergreens for signs of desiccation.

• Start seeds of cool-season vegetables and flowers.

• Keep ice-melting chemicals away from garden beds. Use coarse sand instead.

• Prune any dead or diseased wood off trees and shrubs.

• Fertilize trees, shrubs, and evergreens.

• Prune roses.

• Begin tilling beds (when the ground is dry enough to work, but not muddy) and work in compost.

• Plant or transplant trees or shrubs, including berries, roses, and evergreens.

• Apply pre-emergent weed control such as corn gluten.

• Protect tender plants by covering them with some type of cloth material, if an unusually cold day/night is in the forecast. Be sure to uncover when it warms up.

• Weed.

• Trim ornamental grasses such as Liriope, Mondo, and Pampas.

• Divide overgrown or crowded perennials such as Daylilies and Shasta Daisies.

• Scan houseplants for insect activity.

• Dust house plants with a slightly damp cloth.

• Clear perennial beds of any dead plant parts and debris.

• Clean and organize the garden shed.

• Clean, sharpen, and oil tools, if not already done last fall.

• Walk your yard to check for heaving plants and bulbs, and place them back in the ground as needed. Cover with more mulch to prevent further heaving.

• Apply dormant oil spray to ornamentals and fruit trees before dormancy breaks.

• Check and tune up power equipment (mowers and trimmers).

• Build garden furniture.

• Spread new gravel on paths.

• Mulch bare areas.

• Design new beds and gardens.

• Pick up new gardening books and magazines for inspiration.

• Start seedlings indoors under grow lights. Some good choices to start early are Peppers, Artichokes, Onions, Beets, Turnips, Cabbage, Kale, and Leeks.

• Put up trellises and teepees for Peas and Beans to climb on.

• Direct-sow early, cool-season crops as soon as ground soil can be worked. Good choices are Peas, Lettuces, Mustards, Onion sets, Kale, and Cabbages.

• Start or turn your compost pile.

• Do an annual soil test and amend soils as recommended.

• Check for snow damage. Gently brush off snow weight, if you must, but it’s better to let snow melt on its own. o

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