Virginia ecotype
Duration: Perennial
Habit: Upright, naturalizing, spreadingSize: 1-3 ft. high, half as wide
Flowering time: July, Aug, Sep, Oct
Bloom color: Yellow
Habitat: Prairies, roadsides, hillsides, dry open woods, abandoned fieldsMoisture: Dry to average, well-draining
Light: Full sun to part sunSoils: Clay, loamy, sandy, gravely
Uses: prairie restoration, pollinator garden, slopes and hillsides, dry to average dappled woodland gardens
Solidago nemoralis (Gray goldenrod)
Gray goldenrod, or field goldenrod, is indigenous to grassy prairies, open woods, and roadsides through much of the US. It prefers dry conditions, poor soil and full sun, but is very adaptable, including wetter moisture and shade. It is often found in untended and abandoned areas where little else grows, as it can tolerate almost any soil type, even very rocky and lean soil, so long as it is well draining.
Before flowering, it grows as low basal rosettes. A primary way to identify this goldenrod from other species is by its silvery-gray pubescent foliage and stems, its dense upper plume-like blooms, upright habit, and its short stature compared to most other goldenrods.
The central upright stems are topped by a wand-like panicle of numerous clusters of small yellow flowers that are visited heavily by smaller native bees, wasps, syrphid flies, butterflies, moths, and beetles seeking its abundant nectar and pollen. Goldenrod blooms support many uncommon and rare specialist bees, which only feed on the nectar and pollen of a select few flowering plants to survive. The genus is also considered a keystone plant, supporting a wide range of native insects as a larval host species.
Gray goldenrod's bloom time can range from June to October, after which the florets mature into small puffy white seeds which are occasionally eaten by songbirds such as the Eastern Goldfinch.
This tough, low growing plant spreads laterally by short rhizomes (usually 3-6 inches or less a year), and by reseeding to form a colony of plants. Gray goldenrod is a good choice for filling space over time in a wild pollinator garden, or a prairie or grassy meadow setting, with little bluestem, purple lovegrass, broomsedge, splitbeard bluestem, Appalachian ragwort, and Liatris pilosa or Lioatris squarrosa. Its tolerance of drought also makes it a great plant for steep topography or xeric (rock) garden.A common misconception is that goldenrod pollen causes hayfever, which is untrue. The pollen of solidago is dense and pollinated by insects. Hayfever is caused by the wind-disbursed pollen of the Ambrosia (ragweed) genus.