Goldenrod - a gift from the sun

Goldenrod flower: plant photo

Goldenrod can be found at the end of the summer season on the streets, along the roads and in summer cottages. It is a plant with bright yellow inflorescences. It is a melliferous and medicinal plant.

Goldenrod: description of the plant and species

Goldenrod flower: plant photo

Goldenrod is a perennial herbaceous crop from the Aster family. This plant has two most common types:

• Canadian goldenrod;
• Common goldenrod.

Common goldenrod

Herbaceous, perennial plant from the Compositae family. It grows mainly on forest edges, near shrub trees and in hilly areas. It can grow up to about eighty to one hundred centimeters.

The root system is superficial and sinewy. Often there is a reddish stem that grows straight. The upper part of the plant is branched, but the stem is leafless. The foliage is oblong, with jagged edges. Flowers of a lemon-yellow hue are collected in inflorescences in the form of a brush. After the plant has faded, fruits with seeds are formed on it. The seeds themselves are oblong, with wavy edges and a tuft on the top.

This plant is poisonous.

Canadian goldenrod

This is also a perennial herb from the Asteraceae family. It prefers to grow on the roadside, marshlands, forest edges, coastal areas of lakes and rivers. He likes the soil to be wet, but it can also grow on slightly damp and swampy soil.

The root system is short and pivotal. The main stem without an abundance of foliage, light green or dark green. It can grow up to one hundred and forty centimeters. The leaves are placed alternately, the shape is elongated, with jagged edges.

The flowers themselves are small, about three to five millimeters, yellow, gather in inflorescences, up to twenty centimeters long. After the plant fades, fruit sacs form on it, the seeds are wavy, with a whitish pile.

Hybrid goldenrod

This variety also has a place to be, it is just less known. She has a more miniature size and beautiful, delicate foliage. Thanks to this particular species, varieties such as:

• Goldtanne;
• Spathgold;
• Fearlenkron;
• Perkeo.

Goldenrod: planting and caring for the plant

In order for the Goldenrod plant to please you, you need to provide it with appropriate conditions during the period of active growth and development.

Seat selection

The most suitable option for planting Goldenrod would be a well-lit, sunny location. But a slightly shaded area will work too. The flowering of this plant directly depends on the place of its growth. The more bright light there is, the more abundant and earlier the goldenrod will bloom. It is also highly frost resistant.

What kind of soil is needed

Goldenrod will give you the most lush flowering if it grows on fertile loamy soil. However, planting in dense and not rich soil is also possible.

Watering

Mild drought is not a problem for this plant. But if beautiful flowering is important for you, then you need to water it regularly. In the summer, watering should be frequent and abundant.

Fertilizers and feeding

Fertilizers need to be applied a couple of times a year.With the arrival of spring time, you can apply universal complex mineral fertilizers with ten to twenty percent nitrogen. In the autumn period, you can feed with fertilizers with ten percent nitrogen, or not feed at all.

Pruning rules

With the arrival of spring-summer time, all damaged, dry, weak and diseased shoots must be removed from the bush. This will help the formation of new shoots and more abundant flowering.

Wintering

Before the winter period, the plant needs to be prepared, namely, cut off its entire ground part.

Transfer

A goldenrod can grow in one place for about ten years, after which it begins to thin out.

How can a plant be propagated

There are several ways to breed Goldenrod:

• It is necessary to plant bushes of culture in the spring or summer.
• With the help of cuttings. In the summer, you need to cut off the required number of young shoots from the plant, simultaneously dividing the root system. There is also such an option: you need to cut off the top from a young shoot, which is not more than one year old, and root it.
• In this case, you need to cut off the layers right during the flowering period of the bush. This will help in the development of dormant buds and the growth of new shoots.
• With the help of plant seeds. Goldenrod seeds should be healthy, intact, ripe and free of mold. You can sow directly into the ground, the temperature should be about eighteen to twenty-two degrees of heat. In about fifteen to twenty days, the first shoots will appear.

However, it is worth canceling the self-seeding properties of this plant. Because of the crests that are present on the seeds, they are easily scattered on different sides, and can even form not frail thickets. If you do not have such a goal, but you need to cut off young shoots, and cut off wilted inflorescences so that the seeds cannot ripen.

Potential diseases and insect pests

Too much heat can spread powdery mildew on the plant. To minimize this threat, you need to remove the excess mass of shoots in a timely manner. You also don't need to overdo it with nitrogen fertilizers. An excessive amount of them can provoke various diseases.

What is very surprising, and also a huge plus - goldenrod does not attract pests, that is, they do not infect him.

Application of Goldenrod

Due to the brightness of its color, it is often used as a hedge. It is also planted solo, or in a group with other plants. They are planted in mixborders, ridges and as a border decoration. Low-growing varieties are used in rock garden containers, which are displayed on balconies, terraces and porches.

Useful qualities of Goldenrod

For medicinal purposes, only ground parts of the plant are used:

• Stems;
• Inflorescences;
• Foliage.

The root system is also used, but less. Ground parts are harvested in the summer when the plant is in bloom. The underground part, after flowering, that is, in the autumn.

This plant has:

• Antibacterial and antioxidant properties;
• Due to the presence of flavonoids, capillary permeability decreases;
• Some effects on urate and oxalate stones;
• Diuretic effect;
• Anti-inflammatory and vaso-strengthening qualities;
• Often used in the treatment of cystitis, chronic prostatitis and urethritis;
• Antifungal property.

However, this plant cannot be used for phosphate stones, because it increases acidity.

In folk medicine, Goldenrod is used for:

• Upset stomach;
• Gout;
• Rheumatism;
• Boils.

Useful properties of canadian goldenrod

In this case, only the ground parts of the plant are taken, at the time when its inflorescences are blooming. That is, you need to collect it at the earliest period of flowering of the plant. To this end, the tops of the shoots are cut off, about thirty to forty centimeters. Further, all foliage and inflorescences must be removed from the stems, because only they are dried.You need to dry them in a shady place with a temperature of thirty-five to forty degrees, a very thin layer.

It is important not to delay the collection of raw materials, because the older the inflorescences are, the more difficult it will be to dry them, because they will fluff.

You can use Canadian goldenrod for the same purposes as ordinary goldenrod. In addition to the standard list, it can also be used to combat:

• Whooping cough;
• Enuresis;
• Bronchial asthma;
• Skin diseases.

Conclusion

After reading this article, you learned how to care for goldenrod and how to apply it. If you follow all the rules, you can easily make your yard bright and playful, and at the same time correct the state of your body.

Goldenrod: photo

Goldenrod flower: plant photo