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Blue-stemmed Goldenrod

Solidago caesia

Also known as: Wreath Goldenrod

Blue-stemmed goldenrod does not hold its flowers in a plume at the top like most goldenrods; the small clusters sit in the leaf axils all along an arching, unbranched stem, so a plant reads as a wand of yellow rather than a torch. The stems carry a waxy purple-blue bloom that rubs off under a thumb, which is what names the plant. It is one of the few goldenrods genuinely happy in woodland shade and at a woods edge, and it stays modest enough not to bully a shade border. Goldenrods as a genus support more specialist bees and more caterpillar species than almost any other native plants, and this one carries its full share while looking nothing like a prairie species. Its pollen is heavy and insect-carried, so it has no part in hay fever — that is ragweed, blooming at the same time and going unnoticed. It creeps by short rhizomes into a loose drift rather than a mat.

Family

Asteraceae

Type

wildflower

Lifespan

perennial

Height

1.5–3 ft

Spacing

1.5–3 ft apart

Light

sun, part shade

Soil moisture

moist, dry

Soil pH

acidic, neutral

Bloom

August, September, October

Bloom colors

yellow

Wildlife value

butterflies, pollinators, songbirds, larval host

Caterpillar hosts

~125 butterfly & moth species

Landscape uses

border, erosion control, naturalizing

Native states

AL, AR, CT, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MO, MS, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, VT, WI, WV