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Carol J. Michel

Award winner author of gardening humor books

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May Dreams Gardens

There’s A Daylily In There Somewhere

April 28, 2009 By Carol Michel 19 Comments

This daylily, Hemerocallis sp., was nearly overtaken by a large dandelion, Taraxacum officinale, thus requiring extraordinary procedures to eradicate the dandelion.

In other words, I had to perform a dandelionectomy, which is sometimes referred to as a taraxacumectomy by some high-brow haughtyculturists.

Some plants can withstand this procedure, while others can not. Fortunately many daylilies, including this ‘Stella d’Oro’ that I swore I was getting rid of but haven’t, can easily withstand a dandelionectomy.

Warning! This type of weeding is advanced in nature. It requires a bit more time than most weeding because it must be done “ex terra” which is Latin for “out of soil”

Here’s a rundown of how to do this procedure on daylilies.

First, dig up the entire daylily with the dandelion.

Then, using your bare (or gloved) hands, forcefully remove the dandelion from the daylily. This may result in extra daylily divisions, called “fans”, so don’t be alarmed if you end up with more daylily plants. In some cases, you may need a sharp knife to cut away the dandelion roots.

As you can see from this picture, I ended up with one dandelion, on the left, and three or four daylily divisions as a result of this dandelionectomy.

Once you’ve removed the dandelion by hand or by knife, toss it out, and then replant the daylily in the spot where it was dug up.

After the dandelionectomy, if you do have a few extra divisions of the daylily, plant these somewhere else in your garden, or give them to a friend.

Any questions?

Oh, by the way, if you want to dig and divide your daylilies, you can follow this same procedure, but skip the part about removing the dandelion. Just split up the daylily into separate “fans” and replant.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: humor, weeding

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Katie says

    April 28, 2009 at 2:11 am

    😀 Love it!

    Reply
  2. MA says

    April 28, 2009 at 2:14 am

    Dang, but you are funny!

    Reply
  3. Kathy says

    April 28, 2009 at 2:27 am

    I have had to perform more dandelionectomies than I care to confess to, but I never knew there was a name for it.

    Reply
  4. Annie in Austin says

    April 28, 2009 at 2:32 am

    Looks like the procedure was completed in the nick of time, Dr Dreams! Those seeds were getting ready to fly and infect the whole flower border. Dandy-line Flu is nothing to sneeze at.

    I see that Stella is surrounded by nice little sedums and is that an alchemilla leaf unfolding, too? Stella can behave like a a Garden Flower in that setting, perhaps with something blue added, like lobelia or Evolvolus?
    It’s when you call her “Plant Material” and clone her for mass landscaping effects that she acts like such a common floozie.

    Annie at the Transplantable Rose

    PS Wish you had been at the Austin gardenblogger get together on Sunday…you’re a kind of honorary Austinite, to my mind!

    Reply
  5. Robin's Nesting Place says

    April 28, 2009 at 2:48 am

    The dandelions seems to be more prolific this year. Hope you are enjoying this nice summer weather we are having. What happened to spring?

    Reply
  6. Shibaguyz says

    April 28, 2009 at 11:09 am

    Congratulations doctor… procedure well done indeed…

    Reply
  7. Margaret Roach says

    April 28, 2009 at 11:35 am

    I have dandelions in bloom already, too, I noticed yesterday (the third or fourth straight day of summery, spring-destroying heat). Ugh. Perhaps if I go out and warn them that an -ectomy is their fate they will move on and go grow elsewhere? Thanks for the laugh about one of the coming month’s most repetitive of tasks.

    Reply
  8. Marie says

    April 28, 2009 at 1:02 pm

    Another great post. I love your wit and wisdom.

    Reply
  9. Lisa at Greenbow says

    April 28, 2009 at 1:06 pm

    I have quite a few sections of my garden that needs a dandelionectomy. Ha.. Great tutorial here.

    Reply
  10. donna says

    April 28, 2009 at 1:28 pm

    I’m always happy to see the first dandelion flower but don’t want them taking over the other plants. Not sure I’m up to performing a dandelionectomy. Very funny post.

    Reply
  11. Commonweeder says

    April 28, 2009 at 2:24 pm

    My first dandelion appeared yesterday, at least a week early, but this morning I have whole constellations of dandelions. White and blue violets too. The blooming of the Flowery Mead (lawn) has begun. Great post and a wonderful vocabulary lesson.

    Reply
  12. Unknown says

    April 28, 2009 at 2:30 pm

    Dandelions are thugs aren’t they?

    Reply
  13. Rose says

    April 28, 2009 at 2:47 pm

    Excuse me, Carol, while I clean up the coffee I just sprayed over my computer desk…Dandelionectomy, LOL!

    I have found that for performing such a delicate procedure in places other than the middle of daylilies, my new Cobrahead tool that I bought at the Chicago Flower and Garden Show is just perfect. I know you have one, too; this is probably where I first saw it.

    I divided my Stellas this weekend, too; fortunately, I found some willing takers. I still like these reliable lilies, but mine were getting a little out of hand.

    Reply
  14. Charlotte says

    April 28, 2009 at 4:04 pm

    The dandelions can sure get annoying some times.

    Reply
  15. Victoria Williams says

    April 28, 2009 at 4:11 pm

    Congrats on a successful procedure!

    Reply
  16. Mr. McGregor's Daughter says

    April 29, 2009 at 2:57 am

    And how is our patient feeling today? That was one huge dandelion. Stella is pretty tough to have lived with that choking her out. Thanks for the reminder, I have a Daylily that needs dividing, but not a Dandelionectomy.

    Reply
  17. Dee/reddirtramblings says

    April 29, 2009 at 3:14 pm

    You crack me up. Very good information on how to perform such a delicate task. Your daylily will thank you for it. Now, you need to get some daylilies other than poor overused Stella. She’s o.k., but others are splendid. My, aren’t I the bossy one this a.m.? Sorry.~~Dee

    Reply
  18. healingmagichands says

    April 30, 2009 at 9:41 pm

    This was a great post, both informative and entertaining. All great teachers know students learn better if the lesson is accompanied by laughter.

    I have done those sort of -ectomies before when it became evident that the offending weed was never going to be completely separated from the invaded plant without really radical treatment. The first time I ever did it I was sure I had killed my perennial. But it survived.

    Reply
  19. Unknown says

    May 5, 2009 at 2:53 pm

    DANDELIONECTOMY… I LOVE it! (Well, I don’t love doing it, but I love the post. Very amusing, as usual, Carol!)

    Reply

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