Solidago ID (Goldenrod) - Wildlife Gardeners

MrILoveTheAnts · 06-02-2009, 11:26 PM

A few years ago I bought a butterfly bush, this was before I knew they were invasive and weedy. So I realized that the butterfly bush had all of it's branches kind of floppy except for one large cane coming right out the middle of the thing. Finally I decided I didn't want a butterfly bush at all and dug it up. After untangling the roots I realized this tall cane wasn't part of the butterfly bush at all. I replanted the cane and discovered that it was a goldenrod. It got 7 feet tall, flowered in November, I'm a beekeeper so this was wonderful.

Next year it produced more than a dozen suckers, and I'm kidding, grew 13 feet tall!

This year Oh My God what a weed! So many suckers coming up, I've actually thinned them out (and potted some up for friends to help spread the plague,) and I'm told because they're in the aster family I can cut them down to 3 to 6 inches now and they'll turn more bushy than tall as asters and mums do when treated this way. So I've cut them and hopefully I'll be able to see my yard this fall.

Any idea what the species is would be helpful. If you need more information feel free to ask, I have plenty of plant to dissect.

swamp thing · 06-03-2009, 12:13 AM

Great pictures, I hope mine get that big! Just an offhand guess, but they look like plain old Solidago canadensis / Canada goldenrods. Here's a really good key, but someone here will know more about these than I do

Connecticut Botanical Society: Goldenrods

I grow these on purpose (and I had to try a couple times, believe it or not), but I made the mistake of putting them in a perennial bed with other plants at first. Now there's a bunch in the back corner of my yard where they can have at it, with lots of asters. I still have to pull some up in the front yard but it's not as bad as some "garden" plants (that came with the house) for being weedy.

NEWisc · 06-03-2009, 02:48 PM

Some other species of goldenrod are much easier to deal with in a garden situation. Solidago speciosa - Showy Goldenrod is one of my favorites. The pollinators are very attracted to it. I often find bumblebees clinging to the flowers on early fall mornings. Both the flowers and bumblebees are covered with dew from the cool evenings, and it makes quite a sight.

TheLorax · 06-04-2009, 12:23 AM

Oh my. Really great photos. Your goldenrods are a hub of activity.

jpdenk · 08-06-2009, 12:07 PM

Might be Tall Goldenrod, Solidago altissima.

John

Porterbrook · 08-06-2009, 12:37 PM

To be sure of the identify, Solidago gigantea has a smooth purplish and glaucous stem. The leaves are mostly smooth, sharply toothed, lance-shaped and parallel veined. The yellow flowers are attached only along one side of the recurved branches.

Solidago canadensis has a downy (not glaucous) stem. And the leaves are downy on the bottom side.

MrILoveTheAnts · 08-06-2009, 01:00 PM

The stem does have some purple on it.
The leaves have a slight rough feel to them. Like a low grade of sand paper. They are sharply pointed too and spear like.

I'm not sure what "vined" means exactly.

The leaves grow separate of one another. They're not growing in pairs. It's not a spiral either. It seems like three leaves will grow a little bit off of one another propeller like. And above them will be another propeller going the other direction. There is the off leave here and there too, as I said it's not a spiral pattern up the stem.

Considering how it was growing from a butterfly bush pot, I'm wondering if it's even a native goldenrod.

Staff · 08-06-2009, 01:04 PM

Both Solidago gigantea and Solidago altissima would be locally native to your landscape.

Porterbrook · 08-06-2009, 02:16 PM

Look at one of the larger leaves and you will see a major vein running the length of it. On some species there will be smaller veins branching off at different angles from the main vein. On Solidago gigantea there will be at least three major veins running the length of the leaf. Perhaps you can post a photograph of a large leaf if you are still not certain of the identify of this Goldenrod. Wish I could be of more help to you.

amelanchier · 08-06-2009, 02:21 PM

Here are three nice sites for ID'ing goldenrods; none is fully comprehensive, however:

Connecticut Botanical Society: Goldenrods

Vascular Plants of Wisconsin: goldenrods

Ontario Wildflowers - Goldenrods (Solidago) - Summary of Key Identification Points

06-02-2009, 11:26 PM	#1
MrILoveTheAnts 1st Place Winner Winner Butterfly/Moth Contest & Official Ant Man Join Date: May 2009 Location: New Jersey	Solidago ID (Goldenrod) A few years ago I bought a butterfly bush, this was before I knew they were invasive and weedy. So I realized that the butterfly bush had all of it's branches kind of floppy except for one large cane coming right out the middle of the thing. Finally I decided I didn't want a butterfly bush at all and dug it up. After untangling the roots I realized this tall cane wasn't part of the butterfly bush at all. I replanted the cane and discovered that it was a goldenrod. It got 7 feet tall, flowered in November, I'm a beekeeper so this was wonderful. Next year it produced more than a dozen suckers, and I'm kidding, grew 13 feet tall! This year Oh My God what a weed! So many suckers coming up, I've actually thinned them out (and potted some up for friends to help spread the plague,) and I'm told because they're in the aster family I can cut them down to 3 to 6 inches now and they'll turn more bushy than tall as asters and mums do when treated this way. So I've cut them and hopefully I'll be able to see my yard this fall. Any idea what the species is would be helpful. If you need more information feel free to ask, I have plenty of plant to dissect. Attached Thumbnails

06-03-2009, 02:48 PM	#3
NEWisc Fox Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Wisconsin	Some other species of goldenrod are much easier to deal with in a garden situation. Solidago speciosa - Showy Goldenrod is one of my favorites. The pollinators are very attracted to it. I often find bumblebees clinging to the flowers on early fall mornings. Both the flowers and bumblebees are covered with dew from the cool evenings, and it makes quite a sight. __________________ Age is a biological fact. Old is a state of mind. I will age, but I refuse to get old.

06-04-2009, 12:23 AM	#4
TheLorax Unicellular Fungi Join Date: Nov 2008	Oh my. Really great photos. Your goldenrods are a hub of activity. __________________ "In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; we will understand only what we have been taught." -Baba Dioum, Senegalese ecologist

08-06-2009, 12:37 PM	#6
Porterbrook Salamander Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Racine, Ohio along the Ohio River	To be sure of the identify, Solidago gigantea has a smooth purplish and glaucous stem. The leaves are mostly smooth, sharply toothed, lance-shaped and parallel veined. The yellow flowers are attached only along one side of the recurved branches. Solidago canadensis has a downy (not glaucous) stem. And the leaves are downy on the bottom side. __________________ Porterbrook Native Plants

08-06-2009, 01:00 PM	#7
MrILoveTheAnts 1st Place Winner Winner Butterfly/Moth Contest & Official Ant Man Join Date: May 2009 Location: New Jersey	The stem does have some purple on it. The leaves have a slight rough feel to them. Like a low grade of sand paper. They are sharply pointed too and spear like. I'm not sure what "vined" means exactly. The leaves grow separate of one another. They're not growing in pairs. It's not a spiral either. It seems like three leaves will grow a little bit off of one another propeller like. And above them will be another propeller going the other direction. There is the off leave here and there too, as I said it's not a spiral pattern up the stem. Considering how it was growing from a butterfly bush pot, I'm wondering if it's even a native goldenrod. __________________ MrILoveTheAnt's Blog, Ant Chat, & Native Plants for Honeybees

06-03-2009, 12:13 AM	#2
swamp thing Slapping, Swearing, Itching, Scratching Mosquito Bait Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: pennsylvania,usa	Great pictures, I hope mine get that big! Just an offhand guess, but they look like plain old Solidago canadensis / Canada goldenrods. Here's a really good key, but someone here will know more about these than I do Connecticut Botanical Society: Goldenrods I grow these on purpose (and I had to try a couple times, believe it or not), but I made the mistake of putting them in a perennial bed with other plants at first. Now there's a bunch in the back corner of my yard where they can have at it, with lots of asters. I still have to pull some up in the front yard but it's not as bad as some "garden" plants (that came with the house) for being weedy.

08-06-2009, 12:07 PM	#5
jpdenk Heron Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Tinley Park, Illinois, USA	Might be Tall Goldenrod, Solidago altissima. John

08-06-2009, 01:04 PM	#8
Staff WG Staff Join Date: Nov 2008	Both Solidago gigantea and Solidago altissima would be locally native to your landscape. __________________ The tendency of man's nature to good is like the tendency of water to flow downwards. -Mencius

08-06-2009, 02:16 PM	#9
Porterbrook Salamander Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Racine, Ohio along the Ohio River	Look at one of the larger leaves and you will see a major vein running the length of it. On some species there will be smaller veins branching off at different angles from the main vein. On Solidago gigantea there will be at least three major veins running the length of the leaf. Perhaps you can post a photograph of a large leaf if you are still not certain of the identify of this Goldenrod. Wish I could be of more help to you. __________________ Porterbrook Native Plants

08-06-2009, 02:21 PM	#10
amelanchier WG Facebook Administrator Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Buffalo, NY	Here are three nice sites for ID'ing goldenrods; none is fully comprehensive, however: Connecticut Botanical Society: Goldenrods Vascular Plants of Wisconsin: goldenrods Ontario Wildflowers - Goldenrods (Solidago) - Summary of Key Identification Points

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