It’s a sure sign of fall when the goldenrod stands tall! These tall golden yellow plumes rise above most of the native grasses in our naturalized side yard. Unfortunately for this beautiful perennial flower it is commonly mistaken for a more insidious vegetative villain, ragweed.
When you sneeze in the fall it isn’t goldenrod causing your problems. Ragweed is the plant responsible for all those hay fever allergy problems people experience in the fall. This is probably because ragweed and goldenrod both flower at the same time. The pollen in golden rod is very heavy, perfect for bees and pollinators to carry from plant to plant but not very good for the wind to disperse. Ragweed pollen floats easily on the wind. Ragweed’s flowers are not nearly as noticeable as goldenrod’s and many people a fooled into thinking that our yellow flowering friend is the culprit.
Acceptance of this fact is coming around now and fewer people practice pollinating prejudice against our wonderful wildflower, solidago. In fact you can purchase specially bred varieties of goldenrod in stores near you. Most likely it will be identified as Solidago in stores since many people erroneously presume that allergies are caused by goldenrod. Goldenrod is a wonderful source of pollen for the bees who need a good source of pollen in the fall.
I purchased a smaller dwarf variety a couple weeks ago on the discount racks. I probably wouldn’t have bought it if it hadn’t been a dwarf. I’ve always thought goldenrod was beautiful to look at. The golden yellow flower stalks reach for the sky like an echo of the summer sun passing along. Of course my wife told me I bought a weed!
Our wild solidago is just now starting to bloom. It’s a nice show to watch under the September sun.
Although the blooms are slightly fewer it is doing very well in the shady areas surrounding our yard.
It’s a common wildflower but has such a flourish of blooms that everyone should appreciate it as a sign of summer’s ending in a flourish of gold!
You’re right Dave, when the Goldenrod is blooming it is a sure sign of fall. I just love their vibrant yellow blooms.
It’s one of my favorites Dave and looks so beautiful with purple flowers. There is a variety that isn’t too big (!) and has a cool zigzag stem that I can recommend. Zigzag Goldenrod….I have misplaced the tag!
Gail
PGL,
It’s hard not to like those blooms!
Gail,
I think I remember you mentioning that Zigzag solidago before! Purple sounds like a great mix for goldenrod. In the wild areas you can see purple milkweed and goldenrod mixed together. I guess Mother Nature knows what she’s doing!
It is so beautiful and I have a bit in my gardens that I am enjoying. I love it. Glad you mentioned about the ragweed. Poor goldenrod gets a bad rap.
Tina,
What gets me is the fall allergy segments on TV where they are talking about ragweed and they show pictures of goldenrod!
I love goldenrod. I have one that just popped up in the one bed. I didn’t know what it was so I left it, then it was so big I couldn’t pull it out, but now that it’s blooming it will get to stay!
I enjoyed your blog very much. Nice info about the goldenrod.
Cindy,
Just think, years ago no one would have considered leaving it! It’s a nice native wildflower. You may want to catch it after the blooms have faded and before it goes to seed, otherwise you may end up with more goldenrod than you want. Then again you might just want it!
Darla,
Thanks for visiting and commenting. I’m glad you enjoyed the goldenrod talk!
Love those Goldenrods. Love to drive around looking at the beautiful wild flowers on the road side. A lot of color–who wouldn’t like it.
Dave, thank you for stopping by. Always loved Goldenrod it is beautiful and stately. Growing up, my mother had a long row of it. I still see it against that silvery wooden fence. Thank you for the reminder.
How ironic!
Last night on the Health segment on the news they were talking about allergies and ragweed. They showed ragweed growing in the wild and I said to the Saint, “that is not ragweed, that is Goldenrod”! And here you have this posting on just that subject! I like seeing Goldenrod flowing in the breeze on a sunny day…
Hi Dave, I’ve always loved goldenrod. Nice to know it blooms in less than full sun. I just might have to try one of the dwarf varieties.