A dwarf goldenrod species, S. roanensis var. monticola provides serious front-of-the-border color. Photo by Kim Hawkes

Solidago spp.
Let's get this out of the way first: Goldenrod does not cause hay fever. The real culprit is ragweed, a nondescript plant that blooms at roughly the same time. That said, let's discuss the virtues of Solidago: * It's incredibly easy to grow. * It's hardy Zones 3-10, reliably returning each spring. * There's nothing else like it when it's in flower, providing the last splash of summer color before the more subdued tones of autumn. * Its cheerful flowers dry well, retaining their golden color. Although often neglected in American gardens, our native goldenrods have been planted by Europeans for more than a century. Flower forms include graceful plumes, golden spikes, slender wands and flat-topped stems.	SPECIFICS: Name: Solidago spp. Common name: Goldenrod. Family: Asteraceae. Description: Late summer/fall yellow-blooming perennial. Coarse, green foliage. Native specimens can reach 6 feet tall, but garden varieties can be maintained at 2-3 feet. Hardiness: USDA Hardiness Zones 3-10, depending on species and local conditions. Conditions: Does best in sun, average soils. Best-kept secret: Goldenrod does not make you sneeze.
Unfortunately, goldenrod can be its own worst enemy. Most native species are very vigorous, but where they are planted in a little shade, gardeners won't have to worry about their taking over the area. Newer hybrids, at 2-3 feet tall, fit into the garden more easily than the natives, which can reach up to 6 feet. New plants of named varieties should be started by clump divisions; clumps should be divided when they become overcrowded, usually after every three or four years of flowering. A "behaved" goldenrod Kim Hawkes, owner of Niche Gardens in Chapel Hill, N.C., describes on her fascinating website (http://www.nichegdn.com) how she came to know one of her favorite Solidago species: S. roanensis var. monticola, Roan Mountain goldenrod: "In September 1993, Dick Bir and I hiked to some of his favorite spots in the North Carolina mountains. He led me through a dark spruce-fir forest that opened up to a clearing capped with huge half-exposed boulders on the top of a mountain at 5,000 feet. The rockery was softened with grasses and golden yellow wands of Solidago roanensis var. monticola. It was hard to imagine a plant being able to live and thrive in rocks with so little soil. But here the Roan Mountain goldenrod flourished. Golden yellow wands of 8-10 inches created soft drifts of yellow among buff-colored grasses, steel-gray boulders and the background of deep forest-green conifers. "I wondered how this goldenrod would do under cultivated conditions where loose, loamy soil and little root competition existed. A year later, four plants were placed in a sunny spot in our gardens. In this ideal world for goldenrods, Roan Mountain goldenrod was behaved and very floriferous. It did grow a little taller than in the wild, but no more than 18-24 inches. Visitors to the garden were impressed with this small, loosely spiked goldenrod. Today, three years later, we offer this late-summer, early-fall-blooming native to be used at the front of sunny borders or tucked among the rock garden for welcome late-season color." Roan Mountain goldenrod grows well in rocky terrain and is hardy to at least Zones 6-8. The floriferous plant has 8- to 10-inch, loosely spiked, golden-yellow flowers and can reach 18-24 inches tall in cultivation. It's ideal for adding late-season color to rock gardens and borders. For more: Kim Hawkes, Niche Gardens, 1111 Dawson Road, Chapel Hill, NC 27516; (919) 967-0078; fax (919) 967-4026; http://www.nichegdn.com -- By Kevin Neal

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