Content
If the common goldenrod grows on the site, it is impossible not to notice it - it attracts attention with its bright color and original aroma. The plant is used not only as an element of landscape design, but also as a medicinal raw material and honey plant. Long flowering, fast growth and unpretentious care are the reasons for the popularity of common goldenrod, which has many species and varieties.
Goldenrod blooms from May to September
Detailed description of goldenrod
Goldenrod, or solidago, is a perennial herbaceous plant. Its stems are erect, from 30 cm to 2 m in height. The leaves are elliptical, slightly pointed, the arrangement is alternate. The lower leaf plates form a winged petiole, the middle and upper ones are narrower, sessile. All parts of the plant are slightly pubescent. The rhizome is short, strong, woody.
Small bright yellow flower baskets are collected in paniculate inflorescences. The extreme (pistillate) bloom earlier than the middle (bisexual). After pollination, fruits are formed on the plant - brownish achenes with a small tuft.
How and where does goldenrod grow
Since goldenrod is undemanding to soil, light, easily tolerates drought and severe frosts, it is widespread in Siberia, the European part of the Russian Federation, the North Caucasus, the Far East, Scandinavia, the Mediterranean and North America. It can be found on forest edges, meadows, clearings and along roads. Perennial grows better on light, sandy, well-fertilized, breathable soils, with regular watering.
What does goldenrod smell like?
The aroma emitted by solidago is explained by its chemical composition, which includes essential oils (up to 1.4%), aromatic acids. During the flowering period, the plant gives off a pleasant, pungent herbaceous smell with notes of pine needles and camphor.
Goldenrod seeds can fly long distances
The difference between ragweed and goldenrod
Very often, goldenrod is confused with ragweed, a quarantine weed that can infest crops, perennial and annual grasses.
To distinguish it from ambrosia, you should pay attention to a number of features:
- ambrosia foliage resembles wormwood;
- its stem is branching, rectangular, with a visible groove;
- leaves are dark above, gray-green - below;
- pubescence on the plant - dense, bristly;
- the inflorescence has the shape of an ear.
Goldenrod as a honey plant
Solidago refers to honey plants. Its pollen and nectar attract bees during a flowering period of more than two months. The nectar is released all daylight hours, so the plant is often grown when the flowering of the main natural melliferous plants has ended.
Goldenrod honey productivity
One hectare of solidago plantings gives up to 150 kg of honey, which fresh has a strong aroma and excessive astringency, and later acquires a soft and pleasant taste. Thick honey of yellow or reddish color is used in folk medicine for the treatment of urinary tract pathologies and skin diseases.
Its crystallization takes place very quickly - a month and a half after pumping out. Although, as a honey plant, goldenrod has an average honey productivity, it is suitable for wintering bees and does not allow additional feeding.
Types and varieties of goldenrod
The goldenrod variety includes up to 100 plant species. Among them are tall, dwarf, with different flowering periods and distribution areas.
Canadian
Canadian goldenrod is widespread in North America and Eurasia. Its stems are straight, powerful, reaching a height of one and a half meters, abundantly covered with dark green leaves with jagged edges. Narrow racemose inflorescences consist of small lemon-colored baskets.
The roots of the Canadian goldenrod produce substances that inhibit the development of other plants
Canadian goldenrod is used as an ornamental plant, which often runs wild and begins to capture more and more new territories. The perennial is winter-hardy, can quickly spread even on poor soils, does not require frequent watering.
the tallest
The highest goldenrod lives up to its name - its shoots reach 2 m in height, forming real thickets. Stems not strongly branched, slightly pubescent. The arrangement of dense emerald foliage on the shoots is alternate, their shape is lanceolate, the edges are jagged. The plant has bright yellow inflorescences in the form of panicles, the length of which sometimes reaches 35 cm. The perennial baskets bloom at the end of August, flowering lasts a month and a half.
Homeland of the highest goldenrod - North America
Kutler's goldenrod
The species is dwarf, its height is 25 cm. The leaves are long, oval, rough in texture, with jagged edges. The perennial stem is rarely covered with foliage. Inflorescences are short, in the form of scutes or brushes of amber color.
Goldenrod "Kutlera" (Solidago cutlieri) is often used in landscape design for planting on lawns, curbs and rockeries. Flowering begins at the end of August and ends with the first frost.
On the site, the Kutlera variety goes well with cereals, larkspur and wrestlers
Goldenrod hybrid
It is from this species that the main hybrid decorative varieties originate. They are distinguished by beautiful foliage and small size of the bush. Gardeners are attracted by the appearance and long-lasting flowering of the hybrids. For their plots, they most often choose several varieties.
Solidago is the basis for the creation of medicinal teas, decoctions, ointments and oils
Perkeo
Variety "Perkeo" (Perkeo) refers to the early. The cone-shaped bush has a height of up to 60 cm. Its pistachio shoots are strong, but look graceful. Emerald-colored foliage densely covers the entire plant. The shape of the leaf plates is narrowed, the length is about 7 cm. The yellow decorative inflorescences in the form of brushes are 17 cm long and 20 cm wide. Flowering lasts a month and a half, starting in July.
"Perkeo" - powdery mildew resistant variety
Golden Dwof
Hybrid variety "Golden Dwarf" has a height below 60 cm. Beautiful saffron-colored inflorescences 16 cm long appear on perennials in August. Golden Dwof can be grown both in sunny areas and in partial shade, it prefers heavy clay soils that retain moisture well. Most often, flower growers arrange the bushes as separate plantings or as a background for other plants.
Golden Dwof looks spectacular when cut
Dzintra
The hybrid goldenrod variety "Dzintra" was bred in the Baltic States, where it found wide distribution. The bush has the shape of a column 60 cm high, a dense structure, thick shoots, a large amount of bright green shiny foliage.Yellow umbrella-shaped inflorescences appear in the second half of July and remain in a decorative state until September. Application in landscape design and floristry is universal.
After flowering, aboveground shoots of "Dzintra" are cut
Goljungle
The variety "Goljungl" (Goldjunge) differs from others in its strong aroma and bush height up to 120 cm. Its branches are strong, the leaves are gray, narrow, long, with smooth edges. Paniculate inflorescences, golden yellow, up to 40 cm long, consist of small baskets. Judging by the description of the plant and its photo, the branches of goldenrod look graceful, they deviate beautifully from the bush. Flowering begins in late summer and lasts until the beginning of winter.
Goljungle reed flowers are underdeveloped
Pillar
The variety "Pillare" got its name for the shape of a bush in the form of a column. Its height is above average - about 90 cm. The shoots are strong, covered with a large amount of olive-colored foliage with small jagged edges. The inflorescence is a narrow panicle 15 cm long, its width is 5 cm. They have the most tubular bright yellow flowers that appear on goldenrod bushes in the second decade of August.
Flowering of goldenrod "Pillar" lasts about 40 days
Goldtann
Late-flowering variety of hybrid goldenrod "Goldtanne" has a height of shoots up to 2 m. The leaves of the plant are narrow, with sharp ends, blue-green in color. Veins and small notches along the edges are clearly visible on them. The panicle-shaped inflorescence is large (up to 50 cm in length), the flowers are densely arranged in it. They appear on perennials in early September, gradually changing color from straw to amber yellow.
Peduncles of solidago variety "Goldtan" have high strength
Bicolor
The distribution area of goldenrod bicolor is North America. The plant has a height of 120 cm. Its stems are stiff, pubescent, gray-green in color, covered with elliptical foliage with small denticles at the edges. A distinctive feature of the species is the two-color panicles. The baskets contain both white and cream flowers.
In a two-color solidago, the buds bloom not at the ends of the shoots, but in the leaf axils
Wrinkly
Wrinkled goldenrod is a tall perennial, the length of its shoots is 80-120 cm. Low-resistant stems grow in the form of a bush. The flowers of the plant are collected in yellow panicles with a tart smell. The wrinkled look grows well both in the sun and in the shade, and is highly winter-hardy.
The perennial grows quickly, flowering begins in September and lasts until winter.
Wrinkled goldenrod grows rapidly on loam
Bluish gray
The species is common in Canada and the United States. Its appearance is very different from other goldenrods. The bush looks graceful because of the bare long branches, the leaves of which are located only at the very top. They are similar to willow, jagged, emerald hue. The cluster of inflorescences is rare, looks like a necklace, blooms in late autumn and blooms until winter.
Blue-gray goldenrod stems can be 0.3 to 1.2 meters long
Daursky
The homeland of the Daurian goldenrod is Siberia. The bush is distinguished by the power of shoots that do not have branches, except in the inflorescences. The upper part of the stems is covered with hairs, the lower one is glabrous. The foliage has different petioles - at the top they are short, at the bottom - long. Plant height 1 m. Inflorescence of a simple form in the form of a panicle, composed of small yellow baskets.
Goldenrod "Daursky" grows in light forests, in the riverbeds of Central Siberia
Goldenrod in landscape design
Most varieties of solidago can be grown as decorative and used to create compositions as close as possible to the natural look. They are placed on a rabatka, flowerbed, mixborder, used as a border or tapeworm.
Tall species are planted in the back of the site, creating a background for other plants, dwarf ones are placed in the foreground. The flowering of goldenrods can be extended for several months if the varieties are selected correctly.
Rudbeckia, echinacea, zinnia, dahlias and cereals look good as neighbors next to solidago.
Reproduction methods
To get new seedlings of goldenrod, you can use one of the following methods:
- sowing in the ground;
- use of seedlings;
- dividing the bush;
- by cuttings.
The most popular method for dividing the bush, since it allows you to preserve the varietal qualities and characteristics of goldenrod, the plant takes root well, blooms in the same year.
Planting and caring for goldenrod
With proper planting and proper care, solidago can grow in one place for up to 10 years. It is necessary to ensure that the plant does not hurt, does not bare in the center of the bush and take measures to eliminate the shortcomings - to carry out loosening, watering and feeding on time.
Landing terms and rules
Placing the goldenrod in open ground can be carried out both in the spring and in the fall.
To plant a perennial, you need to choose a sunny place for it or an area with a light shade, then dig up the soil and add humus or compost. Mineral fertilizers are added to the prepared holes and mixed with the soil. The roots of the plant are spread over the pit, sprinkled gently and abundantly moistened.
In China and Poland, goldenrod is classified as a quarantine plant.
Growing features
Common goldenrod is unpretentious, planting and caring for it is not difficult. Even after minimal attention, it responds with abundant flowering, rapid growth and development.
Providing the plant with proper lighting, you can achieve an increase in the size of the inflorescences, their greater brightness. At the same time, an overabundance of fertilizing leads to a strong development of shoots to the detriment of flowering. Poor soil affects the growth of goldenrod - it develops more slowly and blooms less luxuriantly.
Watering and feeding schedule
The shrub does not need watering if it rains from time to time. In hot dry weather, goldenrod should be abundantly moistened once a week.
The introduction of dressings for the plant is required only in case of depletion of the soil. Organic and mineral fertilizers are used twice a season - in spring and autumn.
Pruning and preparing for winter
Goldenrod does not require special preparation for winter, since it belongs to frost-resistant species. In late autumn, its shoots are cut to a height of 15 cm from the soil surface. In the spring, they carry out sanitary cleaning, removing weakened branches. The procedure allows you to achieve a powerful appearance and spectacular flowering of plants.
Diseases and pests
Despite the resistance of goldenrod to diseases, drought, thickening of plantings and an excess of nitrogen in the soil lead to damage to the plant by powdery mildew and rust. To combat pathologies, spraying with Bordeaux mixture and copper sulfate is used.
The most dangerous insects are lacemongers - small bugs that can destroy a plant, and caterpillars that twist leaf plates, which leads to their drying out. The most effective pest control is insecticides.
The goldenrod bush looks neat if you regularly cut it
Goldenrod like a weed
Despite the fact that solidago is a good honey plant and a beautiful ornamental plant, it can harm the environment. Perennial gives a huge amount of seeds that, after ripening, can fly over long distances. Due to the high percentage of germination, it fills vast territories and displaces the usual field plants - clover, cornflowers, willow-herb, and even shrubs. Following the plants, insects, animals and birds disappear, due to the loss of their food base, because the goldenrod itself is unsuitable for nutrition.
Capturing meadows, perennials deteriorate the quality of pastures and hayfields, the soil becomes hard and dense.It is very difficult to deal with it, only herbicides in high concentrations help, the use of which is limited near a residential area and water bodies. In some countries, the plant is included in the list of quarantine, posing a threat to biological diversity, life and health of people. The fight against goldenrod is carried out at the state level.
How to get rid of goldenrod in the area
In order for the planting of solidago not to turn into thickets, it is necessary to carry out preventive work:
- Mowing shoots immediately after flowering 2-3 times per season.
- Digging the soil around the bushes and removing overgrown roots.
- Mulching the soil with dense material under the plant.
Conclusion
Common goldenrod grows easily and quickly in any climate and soil. You should choose the right type of plant so that it looks decorative and at the same time does not harm the environment. With proper care, the perennial looks luxurious and adorns the site with its bright, sunny color.
As an ornamental plant, someone may like goldenrod, but then removing it from the site is a dreary affair. Is that poison with chemistry.