Glorious Goldenrod

16.10.2023 - 14:41 / hgic.clemson.edu

I love this time of year when the roadsides and gardens become full of gold. Goldenrod is everywhere! It brightens the landscape and lifts my mood. Goldenrod comes in all different shapes, sizes, and even colors (Solidago ptarmicoides, for example, has white, daisy-like flowers). A search for goldenrod on the extremely useful and informative website Namethatplant.net returned 61 tax in the Carolinas and Georgia, a solidago for almost every garden situation. Zigzag goldenrod (Solidago flexicaulis) is an easy-care woodland goldenrod. Unsurprisingly, southern bog goldenrod (Solidago austrina) thrives in sunny, boggy areas. As its scientific name indicates, Solidago odora has fragrant, anise-scented leaves when crushed. Finally, South Carolina’s state wildflower, Solidago altissima (tall goldenrod), is a plant of drier, disturbed soil.

Walk down the Natural Heritage Garden Trail in the South Carolina Botanical Garden to see many goldenrods flowering this fall.

This one, a rough-stemmed or wrinkled-leaf goldenrod (Solidago rugosa), is an excellent choice for the home landscape. It is a clumping, low-maintenance perennial, happy in moist, well-drained soils in full sun to partial shade. It stands between two and a half to three feet high, with a similar spread. This goldenrod cultivar earns its name “fireworks” from the explosion of golden flower panicles it produces during late September and well into October. This goldenrod was placed first in goldenrod trials at the Chicago Botanic Garden. A side note: goldenrod is often wrongly blamed for fall sneezing. Learn more about this fallacy here.

Goldenrod (Solidago sp.) is a pollinator magnet! As a member of the Aster family, it has hundreds of nectar-rich flowers which attract many