Goldenrod 'Golden Fleece'
Solidago sphacelata 'Golden Fleece' · Asteraceae
A dwarf goldenrod: a low mound of heart-shaped leaves covered with arching sprays of gold from late summer to autumn.
- Size
- 18 in tall, 24 in wide
- Zones
- 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Late August to early October
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around goldenrod 'Golden Fleece'
The planner designed this bed around goldenrod 'Golden Fleece' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why goldenrod 'Golden Fleece' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Goldenrod 'Golden Fleece' × 3, yellow
- 2 Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei' × 5, pink
- 3 Winter heath × 6, white
- 4 Wild quinine × 5, white
- 5 Brown-eyed Susan × 5, yellow
- 6 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 7 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 3, purple
- 8 Star of Persia × 4, purple
Why this plant
- The only airy sprays. The others are open bowls, bells, flat plates and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
Why here
- In the middle. At 18 in it is seen over winter heath (10 in) in front of it.
- A step in the back row. Next to ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' (2½ ft) and wild quinine (3½ ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 3 plants in one group. Massed, one kind reads as a single shape. Scattered, it would look spotty.
Why now
- In flower for 7 weeks. From late August to early October.
- Part of the bed's peak. With wild quinine and brown-eyed Susan in late August: 3 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as an English border: 5 of the 6 groups (83%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The flowers run from late January to early October, but stop for 4 weeks from late April. There is more winter heath than anything else, 6 plants in all.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 4 Good, 1 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where goldenrod 'Golden Fleece' goes in a border
At 18 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is short (12 to 18 in).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
It brings the gold of goldenrod down to knee height, where it can edge a planting of asters and sedums. It spreads slowly and never becomes a nuisance.
- Goldenrod for the front of a border
- Groundcover in dry sun
- Late pollinators
What to plant with goldenrod 'Golden Fleece'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Aromatic aster 'October Skies': blue against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, in flower together for three weeks.
- Sedum 'Autumn Joy': in flower together for seven weeks, from late August; bold leaves against its medium ones.
- Little bluestem: its blue-green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; tall enough (3 ft) to stand behind it.
Questions about goldenrod 'Golden Fleece'
Does goldenrod 'Golden Fleece' need sun or shade?
Goldenrod 'Golden Fleece' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and little watering once settled. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does goldenrod 'Golden Fleece' grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 8. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does goldenrod 'Golden Fleece' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late August to early October. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 4 | Late August to early October |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Late August to early October |
| Zone 6 | Late August to early October |
| Zone 7 | Mid August to early October |
| Zone 8 | Mid August to early October |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should goldenrod 'Golden Fleece' be planted?
18 in (45 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 24 in (60 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 18 in (45 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many goldenrod 'Golden Fleece' plants do I need?
At 18 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 5 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 7 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 17 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used three in one group.
Is goldenrod 'Golden Fleece' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Do deer eat goldenrod 'Golden Fleece'?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What flowers after goldenrod 'Golden Fleece'?
Goldenrod 'Golden Fleece' is over by early October. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Japanese onion 'Ozawa': from early October to early November, 10 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Chrysanthemum 'Sheffield Pink': from late September to early November, 2½ ft tall.
- Tatarian aster 'Jindai': from early October to early November, 4 ft tall.
What does goldenrod 'Golden Fleece' look like in winter?
Goldenrod 'Golden Fleece' holds some of its leaves into winter, more in a mild year or a sheltered spot, and they look tired by March. Cut the old ones off as new growth starts.
Is goldenrod 'Golden Fleece' good for bees and butterflies?
Goldenrod 'Golden Fleece' is visited by pollinators, bees, butterflies and songbirds.
It is a host plant: the caterpillars of wavy-lined emerald feed on its leaves. A butterfly can only lay its eggs on its host plants, so these do more for it than any nectar flower.
It is native to the United States (this is a named variety of the native plant).
More Solidago
- Blue-stemmed goldenrod Solidago caesia
- Goldenrod 'Fireworks' Solidago rugosa 'Fireworks'
- Goldenrod 'Little Lemon' Solidago 'Dansolitlem' (Little Lemon)
- Showy goldenrod Solidago speciosa
- Stiff goldenrod Solidago rigida
- Zigzag goldenrod Solidago flexicaulis
In these guides
- Plants for slopes and banks
- Deer-resistant perennials for full sun
- Drought-tolerant perennials for full sun
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Native perennials for pollinators
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants for bees
- Plants that feed garden birds
- Plants that flower in fall
- Host plants for the wavy-lined emerald
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 18 in (45 cm) tall, 24 in (60 cm) wide
- Plant
- 18 in (45 cm) apart
- Height class
- Short (12 to 18 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Late August to early October; airy sprays; yellow
- Leaves
- Medium texture, semi-evergreen; green
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Comes from
- Eastern U.S.A
- Attracts
- Pollinators, bees, butterflies, songbirds
- Host plant for
- Wavy-lined emerald
- Stands up to
- Deer, drought, erosion
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.