What is Goldenrod?

Posted on September 26, 2013 by Billie Crumly —

NOTE  FROM RUSS:  The photos used today are the very photos (except the first photo with the barb wire) I made on my last car ride together with Mr. John and Mrs. Crumly. I remember it being a very hot, lower to mid 90 degree day. The only car Mrs. Crumly could feel safe about getting in was their old 1995 Buick Roadmaster and this was September 2013. You do the math. So off we go.  About a mile down the road Mrs. Crumly says to turn the air up “just a’lill bit.”  And boy oh boy was  I glad to hear that. Well, I try, but no cold air coming out. Not even cool air. It was warm air, on a very hot, as you can see above  September day 2013. So we just rolled the windows down and kept right on going, all over south Dekalb County, Alabama.  Forget about Miss Daisey, Mrs. Crumly was in the front seat of that car and that was all that mattered that day. Well, as they say, “the rest is history.” Well, I say, read on……..

Remember the scrapbook I found when I cleaned out a closet?  It’s filled with all  kinds of articles printed by the Georgia Market Bulletin about wildflowers and a few other medicinal plants.

I don’t think I’ve seen as much Goldenrod as there is this year — it’s everywhere and its beautiful!  When I had a wildflower garden in Georgia I had three different varieties; however, here I only have one.  As we ride along the road I’m almost positive that I see a second variety, but walkers don’t do well plodding around looking for such.  Thanks goodness for memories though of when I traipsed the woods and fields.  We went ahead of bulldozers in the Atlanta area digging wildflowers.  What a pleasure to rescue them and what a pleasure to be able to remember.  The following is Georgia Market Bulletin’s article about Goldenrod.  Don’t miss seeing all the beautiful fall wildflowers — this is really country living.

What is Goldenrod?

The Goldenrod that is blooming now along highways and in fields is an old friend to many of us and annual enemy to hay fever sufferers.  It is doubtful that many people want to have Goldenrod in their flower garden, although it is truly a beautiful autumn flower with rich color and feathery blossoms.

However, according to Mrs. Marjorie J. Dietz, author of Favorite Wildflowers, Goldenrod is not the culprit responsible for hay fever; the villain being Ragweed which usually grows right alongside the lovely Goldenrod.  If Mrs. Dietz is correct, many home gardeners might like to add this clumpy, upright plant to their home landscape for fall color.

Most Goldenrods are sun lovers although some species make pretty patches in open woodlands.  A few, mostly those native to the mountains, are compact enough for rock gardens and retaining-wall use.  Most are best in informal sunny borders in meadows, at the edge of woodlands, along drives, and in short, where nature put them in the first place.

The small ray-and-disk flowers are yellow and gold and are packed close together in panicles or racemes. They bloom continually through late summer and fall.  The foliage of these plants varies greatly but most have numerous leaves which are sometimes coarse.

Goldenrod is easy to grow and will tolerate the poorest of soil.  The flowers are especially long-lasting.  Most Goldenrods perfectly fit the description of a weed; a plant out of place.  They self-sow, but seedlings and mature plants are easy to pull up by hand.

The species most common to our area is the Solidago canadensis.  This perennial is native from Newfoundland to Florida.  It needs full sun and is too tall for all but special situations such as along fences of at the edge of woods. Goldenrod is just another part of our country living.