GOLDENROD: An Easy Late-Summer Addition!

An awesome Butterfly and B‎ee attracting perennial for the Fall Garden is Solidago! Now in dwarf varieties for your small spaces!!

Topped with plumes of fluffy yellow flowers, goldenrod is sometimes considered a weed. Unknowing gardeners may find it a nuisance and wonder, “What is the plant goldenrod good for?” Goldenrod plants have multiple uses, from providing shelter to larvae of beneficial insects to attracting butterflies.

Goldenrod is a perennial plant that is well-known for its healing properties. This wild edible is a plant that reproduces through its roots, bulbs, stems and by its seed. Goldenrod does not cause seasonal allergies as many tend to believe. No one is, no one can be, allergic to Goldenrod pollen. Why? For starters, it has virtually none and it is pollinated by insects. Only wind-pollinated plants such as Ragweed (which blooms at the same time as Goldenrod) can cause allergic reactions.

Growing and planting goldenrod is easy, as this plant will survive just about anywhere, though it does prefer to be grown in full sun. Goldenrod also tolerates various soil types as long as it’s well draining. Goldenrod care is minimal once established in the landscape, with plants returning each year. They require little, if any watering, and are drought tolerant. Clumps need division every four to five years. Cuttings may also be taken in spring and planted in the garden.

Two New Varieties are Now Available! Find them at our Ewing & Hillsborough locations Don't have time? Buy online! You can purchase our new varieties online so you don't miss them and we will pull them for pick up or arrange a delivery (for a fee)

Solar Cascade' was developed by the Cincinnati Zoo Botanical Garden Native Endangered Plant Program as part of its efforts to save the species. Solidago shortii, commonly known as Short's goldenrod, is on the Federal Endangered Species list. It is named after Dr. Charles Wilkins Short who first discovered this plant in 1840 growing on a limestone outcrop called Rock Island within the Falls of the Ohio River near Louisville, Kentucky. Plants at this original site disappeared in the early 1900s, at least in part because dam construction on the Ohio River destroyed the habitat. The only know populations of this goldenrod today are the Blue Lick Springs area of northeastern Kentucky (14 populations in Fleming, Nicholas and Robertson Counties) and along the Blue River in Harrison-Crawford State Forest in southern Indiana (1 population). Habitat for this plant mostly consists of open rocky areas including limestone glades, rocky slopes, roadside ledges, wood margins, fields and along river banks. Plants typically grow 2.5' tall on upright arching stems

This delightful new Goldenrod is appreciated in the perennial garden for its full, bright lemon-yellow flower spikes and compact, dwarf habit. Its small stature makes it invaluable for use as an edging plant or upfront in the perennial border. A fall bloomer, 'Little Lemon' thrives in most any garden soil and does fine in partial shade. A wonderful companion plant for fall blooming pink Agastaches or fall blooming asters.

Fall is For Planting! This is the best time of year to plant, so what are you waiting for?