Showy Goldenrod

Perennial  •  $6, 4-inch pot

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Height	2 to 4 ft
Spacing	2 feet
Sun Exposure	Full to Part Sun
Soil Moisture	Medium to Dry
Bloom Color	Yellow
Bloom Time	Sept, Oct
Companion Plantings	Smooth Blue Aster, New England Aster
Special Attributes

Solidago speciosa

Not only is this keystone species a host plant to a whopping 100+ butterfly and moth species in the Southern Indiana/Louisville area, it is also a pollinator powerhouse, attracting specialist bees and providing an important late-season pollen and nectar source, including to migrating Monarch butterflies. Other pollinator visitors include flies, bumblebees, ants, honeybees, the occasional moth, and even beetles. Many other non-pollinating insects feed on Goldenrods, and Goldfinch and a few other birds may eat the seeds.

Showy Goldenrod lives up to its name with large, plume-like panicles of bright yellow flowers emerging atop sturdy stems in late summer and lasting for about a month. Site this plant in a semi-dry to semi-moist location in nearly any type of soil, but note that Showy Goldenrod may flop over in overly moist and fertile soil. This plant spreads slightly by rhizomes but is less aggressive than some of its Solidago cousins and is relatively well-behaved in the garden. Showy Goldenrod is mostly left alone by mammalian herbivores.

Goldenrods bloom at the same time as the wind-pollinated Ragweed and are thus often falsely blamed for causing seasonal allergies, although Ragweed is the true culprit here. Goldenrod pollen is heavy and sticky and can only be moved by visiting insects (not the wind), so it cannot cause seasonal allergies.

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