Solidago bicolor

A fair-flowered maverick from a famously golden clan, white goldenrod offers all of the wildlife benefits of other goldenrods, but with an added dash of individuality. Try as it might to go its own way, though, it seems that Ohio’s only white goldenrod just can’t help drawing a crowd! Indeed, white goldenrod attracts an adoring plethora of pollinators, including bees, butterflies, moths, flies, beetles, and wasps.

In recognition of the plant’s ecological importance, the Xerces Society has designated it as a plant of special value to native bees, as well as one that supports conservation biological control. The latter designation indicates that white goldenrod attracts predators of insects that can be detrimental to food gardens and crops, thus providing an important non-chemical means of pest management.

A plant of open-canopied oak woodlands, sandy ridges, and rocky bluffs, white goldenrod’s ability to thrive on thin, dry soils has actually made it a plant of interest in the construction of green roofs. In the garden, white goldenrod attains a height of 2-3’, and grows well in soils ranging from average moisture to dry, and under full sunlight to partial shade. The plant is especially useful in dry woodland gardens, where it works nicely in combination with white wood aster and wreath goldenrod.

References: 1,2,3,4.

Photos by Julie Slater.