Give goldenrod some respect
I find that native plants often do not get the respect of gardeners. If the plant is plentiful and growing wild in the local area; it is often considered a weed.
I was fortunate enough to visit Holland and England recently to admire many of the gardens there. I was struck by the number of American native plants I saw growing in the finest gardens in both countries.
One that was planted extensively was goldenrod, typically in a dwarf form. I am not certain whether the plants I saw were cultivars of our native, but with such similar looks it would take a botanist to confirm their identities.
The plant blends well with the pastel, warm colors of an English border, and every one I saw was really attractive. Proper care certainly enhances its appeal.
The goldenrod along the ephemeral stream, or dry creek bed, at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens is blooming. The cultivar we planted, Solidago rugosa Fireworks, with its narrow bloom spikes giving a ribbonlike appearance to the flowers, looks very different from the native varieties that grow wild in local fields.
One reason some folks might consider goldenrod a weed is because it is incorrectly associated with allergies. People notice when goldenrod is blooming, their allergies flare up. According to my longtime friend Dr. Jerald M. Duncan, an allergist with Baptist Health Care and an avid gardener, “The ragweed that has lighter windblown pollen on inconspicuous green flowers is the real problem. The pollen on goldenrod is too heavy and sticky to be a problem.” The conspicuous goldenrod blooms at the same time as ragweed, and since gold-
enrod flowers are more obvious, it takes the rap.
Goldenrod makes a fantastic cut flower; and it could certainly be used more here as a good garden plant, especially in meadow gardens or more naturalistic plantings. The yellow becomes a more muted golden with age. It is a great bee and butterfly plant.
We will include several cultivars in our new perennial border north of the Memphis Garden Club Cutting Garden after fall edible plantings are removed.
For those interested in introducing goldenrod into your garden, I suggest some of the named cultivars, such as Golden Fleece, an introduction by Dr. Dick Lighty, the retired director of the Mt. Cuba Center in Delaware. It grows 2- to 3-feet tall and wide with semievergreen, almost heart-shaped leaves.
Another recommendation is Golden Baby, which grows to 1½- to 2-feet tall and has small yellow flowers in profusion along the bloom spike.
Another one I am excited about is the paler yellow Little Lemon, which grows to only 15 inches and is very floriferous.
All of these have been selected for their garden worthiness and are more compact-growing and much more refined than their wild relatives.