Solidago nemoralis - Gray Goldenrod

Solidago nemoralis - Gray GoldenrodSizes available: #1 (Trade gallon) Basics: zones 3 9, 12 30" x 12 30", sun to light shade, yellow blooms on arching stems late summer into fall, very adaptable as to soil type, can take dry soil and lean conditions. Common names: Gray Goldenrod, Old Field Goldenrod, Grayleaf Goldenrod, Gray Stem Goldenrod, Dwarf Goldenrod, Prairie Goldenrod, Dyer's Goldenrod Family: Asteraceae Origin Distribution: This species has a wide distribution east of the

Sizes available: #1 (Trade gallon)

Basics: zones 3-9, 12-30" x 12-30", sun to light shade, yellow blooms on arching stems late summer into fall, very adaptable as to soil type, can take dry soil and lean conditions. 

Common names: Gray Goldenrod, Old Field Goldenrod, Grayleaf Goldenrod, Gray Stem Goldenrod, Dwarf Goldenrod, Prairie Goldenrod, Dyer's Goldenrod

Family: Asteraceae

Origin/Distribution: This species has a wide distribution east of the Rockies and south into northern Mexico. It is present in 42 states and occurs in almost every Canadian province, Solidago nemoralis is native to Maine. These plants are grown from seed collected in New England.

Habitat: uplands, dry and open woods

More: This is a shorter and later blooming goldenrod that can grow in the toughest of spots. It is a rhizomatous colonizer that also self sows. If you have a dry slope this plant would work well there within a froth of Eragrostic spectabilis that is punctuated by Liatris aspera, Echinacea pallida, and Monarda punctata, for example, but the goldenrod may need editing over time. This goldenrod has been used medicinally.

Goldenrods are keystone species in our region, a top pollinator resource in the late season, and host plants for many insect larvae*. There are many different forms of goldenrods that can grow in various conditions. To know them is to love them.

Goldenrods have gotten bad publicity for causing allergies, however, they do not. The wind-pollinated ragweeds (Ambrosia species) that bloom at the same time, but are much less showy, are the cause of hay fever. Goldenrod pollen is large and sticky in order to adhere to visiting insects and therefore cannot become airborne.

*Here is a very general list of the insects that utilize our beautiful goldenrods: Butterflies, Moths, Beetles, Carpenter bees, Sweat bees, Plasterer bees, (The North Carolina Extension Gardeners Plant Toolbox has an extensive list of Goldenrod-supported specialized bees. Check it out!), Sphecid wasps, Vespid wasps, Tachnid flies, Flesh flies, Blow flies, Muscid flies, the Gall-formers such as Epiblema scudderiana, Asteromyia carbonifera, Gnorimoschema gallae solidaginis, and Procecidochares atra, all of which are native to Maine (such an interesting group - look for the galls in the late fall and early winter when they are easy to spot on the dried up stems).

Source: Van Berkum Nursery, grown from seed collected in New England

Image credit: Joshua Mayer via Creative Commons through the North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox; illustration from Wikimedia Commons