Solidago altissima, Tall or Late Goldenrod

In a lot of ways, this species is nearly indistinguishable from Canada Goldenrod. They are big, beautiful and love to fill all available space. In fact, if you would like to know more about their growth and ecosystem traits, I encourage you to check out the my post about Canada Goldenrod in my Winter of Native Plants series.

Their most distinguishing characteristic is a slightly later blooming season, something that isn’t particularly helpful for identification unless there are patches of S. canadensis and S. altissima growing in the same setting, where the offset of bloom times can be more definitely attributed to a difference in species, rather than a difference in growing conditions.

My particular interest in these relates to how they can extend the blooming season in an ecosystem. With both the start and the end of the growing season becoming less certain and an expected average two-week shift in the start of spring and three-week shift to the start of fall over the next couple of decades, (https://ottawa.ca/en/climate-resiliency#section-53... ) extending the season of nectar and pollen availability is something that is on my mind.

Introducing an, already locally native, later blooming Goldenrod species into some spaces where Goldenrod and Asters are already common seems like one way to help ensure that there will be food for everyone up until the end of the season.

They also come with the added aesthetic bonus of having a blooming season that overlaps nicely with New England Aster in the Ottawa valley, creating a gorgeous tapestry of gold and purple that absolutely hums with life.

I looked back through my fall photos for the last few years for other native flowers offering nectar and pollen at the very end of the growing season and I found the taller types of Sunroot (Helianthus tuberosus), shade tolerant Goldenrod species like Bluestem and Zigzag, Heart-leaved, Heath and White Wood Asters, late blooming strains of Wild Bergamot, Biennial Gaura, American Alumroot and occasional re-blooms on Lance Leaved Coreopsis.

As with Canada Goldenrod, Late Goldenrod is best paired either with equally rambunctious species or with species that can confidently hold their own space, even if they aren’t inclined to push into anyone else’s space. Some companion species that can coexist well with Late Goldenrod include Giant Purple Hyssop, Big Bluestem, Silver Wormwood, Common Milkweed, Fireweed, Showy Tick Trefoil, Flat-topped White Aster, Joe-Pye Weed (if the space isn’t excessively dry), Common Sneezeweed, Wild Bergamot, Common Evening Primrose, Switch Grass, Wild Senna, Compass Plant, Prairie Dock, Yellow Prairie Grass, Panicled Aster, Missouri Ironweed and, of course, New-England Aster.