Solidago


Solidago 'Leraft'


Plant Characteristics
Lifespan: perennial
Cultivation
Scientific Names

Asteraceae >

Solidago >



Read about Solidago in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture 

Solidago (according to Gray, from "solidus and ago, to make solid or draw together, in allusion to reputed vulnerary properties"). Compositae. Golden-Rod. Perennial herbs very useful for borders and for colonizing, but little known in the trade.

Erect, of various habit, with simple alternate lvs. and many small yellow (rarely whitish) heads in spikes, thyrses, compound panicles, or racemes: heads oblong or narrow-campanulate, with small mostly appressed scales, containing few florets, the disk-florets all perfect and the ray-florets in one series and pistillate: pappus of 1 or 2 rows of roughish capillary bristles.— The genus is characteristic of E. N. Amer., where about 60 species occur. There are several species on the Pacific coast, a few in Mex. and S. Amer., and 2 or 3 in Eu. and N. Asia, making, altogether, perhaps 130 species. A very few of the important species may be described here; for others, the current botanical manuals should be consulted.

Amongst the glories of the American autumn are the asters and goldenrods. They complement each other. The asters run in cyanic colors, goldenrods in xanthic, —the blue and blush on the one hand and the yellow and golden on the other. Because the goldenrods are so common, they have not been appreciated for planting. They improve in the garden, however, the plants becoming larger and the bloom fuller and richer. They present few difficulties in cultivation. They may be transplanted from the wild with the greatest ease, and the stools may be lifted and divided as soon as they become root-bound and show signs of failing. Some of them become weedy if the soil is very rich. The solidagos are variable, even within the same species. Therefore it is well to mark fine individual clumps when in bloom, for removal in late autumn or early spring. The observation of a single season should result in a fine collection of individual plants. A very attractive grouping of asters and goldenrods can be made entirely of native species: with a background of sumac, the autumnal colors of which are beautifully harmonized by the blues and purples of the asters and the yellows and cream-yellows of the goldenrods.

Any number of Solidagos may be offered in lists, but they are scarcely trade commodities. S. Buckleyi, Torr. & Gray, N. C. to Ala., is a plant described as 2 or 3 ft. high, with ovate-oblong to oblong-lanceolate lvs., and heads in a loose and elongated thyrse; the name is listed abroad, the plant said to be "suitable for rock- garden, later summer-flowering, yellow, 1 ft." — S. flexuosa, S. gigantea, S. laevigata, are also listed, but the writers do not know what plants pass under these names in cult. — S. sempervirens. Linn. A maritime fleshy-lvd. smooth plant, tall and stout, 2-4 ft. and more: lvs. entire, lanceolate to lance-oblong: heads in short racemes which are disposed in a panicle. Atlantic seaboard of the U. S. — S. spectabilis, Gray. Plant 1-2 1/2 ft. tall: lvs. lanceolate to linear, the lower oblong or more or less spatulate and sparingly serrate: heads golden yellow, numerous and crowded in a thyrse. Nev. to Calif. CH


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