IMG_2653 Medium.jpeg
IMG_2654 Medium.jpeg

Rough Goldenrod 'Fireworks' (Solidago rugosa)

from $13.99

Botanical name: Solidago rugosa 'Fireworks' • Bloom season: Fall. • Bloom color: Golden • Pollinator value: Late nectar for migrating butterflies and fall bees

Fine golden sprays that arch outward and downward from the stem tips, so the whole plant looks like a frozen firework, which is exactly how it got the name. It flowers in fall. The key difference from Western goldenrod is its behavior: this one clumps and stays where it is planted, which makes goldenrod's ecological value available to you in a normal-sized border. Goldenrods also support fifty-nine specialist bee species across the western US.

Botanical name: Solidago rugosa 'Fireworks' • Bloom season: Fall. • Bloom color: Golden • Pollinator value: Late nectar for migrating butterflies and fall bees

Fine golden sprays that arch outward and downward from the stem tips, so the whole plant looks like a frozen firework, which is exactly how it got the name. It flowers in fall. The key difference from Western goldenrod is its behavior: this one clumps and stays where it is planted, which makes goldenrod's ecological value available to you in a normal-sized border. Goldenrods also support fifty-nine specialist bee species across the western US.

Size:

Plant Characteristics

Botanical Name: Solidago rugosa

Cultivar: 'Fireworks'

Common Name: Rough Goldenrod

Native: Cultivar

Sun: Full Sun

Water: Moderate

Bloom Time: Fall

Bloom Color: Golden

Pollinators: Bees; Butterflies; Moths

Deer Resistant: Yes

Mature Size: W 2'-3' x H 3'-4'

Soil: Well-drained; average garden soil

Plant Type: Herbaceous perennial

USDA Zones: 4 to 9

Spread Habit: Clumping

Available As: Live plant

Native Region: Eastern N.A. (outside western regions)

Growing Notes

Full sun and adaptable soil, including lean ground; it needs no help at all. Space about 2 feet apart. The siting decision is the important one, because this species runs hard by rhizome and will colonize a border, so give it a wild corner, a hedgerow edge, or somewhere it can spread without a fight.

  • Water: Low

  • Sun: Full Sun

  • Soil: Adaptable; tolerates lean soil, spreads aggressively by rhizome

  • Mature size: W Spreading x H 3'-5'

Maintenance

Cut it back by half in early summer if you want a shorter, denser plant. Leave the stems standing over winter for seed and insects, then cut back in late spring. To hold it in place, dig out the rhizome shoots at the edge of the patch every spring; this is a yearly job. If you want goldenrod that stays put, 'Fireworks' is the better choice.