Solidago (Goldenrod)

(Question)

Hello..thanks for all your answers over the past year..I have a Goldenrod that bloomed a fantastc yellor in the first week of November 2018 but has dried a bit..can I cut those dead blooms and harvest them indoors for seeds or is that a waste of time at 19-Nov-2019? S. the plant just grew in a pot this summer and I didn’t destroy it because I didn’t know what it was..but what a Bee magnet as fall set in..Thanks in advance for your response

(Answer)

Thank you, it is our pleasure.  Once considered a pesky weed, Goldenrod is now being enjoyed as an excellent choice for a pollinator garden as it is both host and food source to a wide array of insects, moths and caterpillars. It is a native perennial, that spreads by both seed and rhizomes and is much less invasive in sunny, dry locations – plants should not receive supplemental water, except during extreme heat. Clump forming goldenrods, such as Stiff goldenrod (S. rigida) are less quick to spread than rhizome varieties and cutting back any goldenrod during the growth season will encourage more compact plants with less height. Prairie plants such as goldenrod send growing roots the first two years and by their third year, should be established.

If the flowers have set seeds, you could harvest them.   Some prefer the plants as they dry and leave them as is – the seeds are a food source for wildlife, so in a naturalized setting, you may want to leave them.

Pruning after this to remove any old growth in late winter, will encourage new vigorous emerging plants.

For more details about Goldenrod as both garden flower and pollinator attractor, please see:

https://www.life.ca/naturallife/0410/glorious_goldenrod.htm