Maryland Native Plants for Fall Flowers

Solidago – Goldenrod

Solidago, also known as Goldenrod is a showy, fall blooming herbaceous perennial with high ecological value. They are an important food source in the fall and over winter for a variety of our native species. If attracting pollinators to your garden is the goal, there isn’t a better native insect magnet than goldenrod. There is a common myth that their showy blooms are to blame for fall allergies, when in fact the real culprit is ragweed with its diminutive blossoms. Goldenrod flowers have evolved to be showy because they are insect-pollinated plants rather than wind-pollinated like ragweed. Goldenrod flowers grow as an inflorescence in a broad or sometimes narrow pyramidal panicle. There are several to many horizontal branches, which carry numerous, densely-crowded small heads of golden yellow flowers.

Goldenrods are a host plant for 115 species of Lepidoptera and their blooms attract an extensive list of insects including moths, butterflies, beetles, beneficial wasps, leaf hoppers, and more. After the blooms go to seed they are a food source for birds in the late fall and over winter.  When the plants dry out for the winter the stems become hollow and provide a perfect nesting habitat for native bees and other insects while also providing cover and an escape route from predators for birds and small creatures. While some species of goldenrods can be aggressive and spread via rhizome or self seeding, species like blue stem goldenrod (Solidago caesia) or showy goldenrod (Solidago speciosa) clump and tend to be more well behaved in smaller gardens.

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Be sure to check our weekly inventory as these plants may also be available in plugs!

Euthamia graminifolia with bee

Solidago rigida seeds

 

Solidago rugosa in bloom