December Dandelions

It's the day before Christmas and dandelions are popping up in Columbia. Native to Eurasia, this common wildflower prefers cool, damp soil and is thus most abundant in early spring. To the relief of lawn zealots, they tend to die back during the heat of summer but reappear during the waning days of September.

Our recent heavy snow saturated the soil and mild temperatures over the past few weeks have produced March-like conditions. Reacting to this early winter reprieve, the prolific dandelions are flowering; unfortunately, it's too cold for their pollinators and this reproductive effort will be in vain. The next hard freeze will kill off the new growth and, if the cold persists, the next crop will have to wait until spring.