white-goldenrod-solidago-bicolor.jpg
white-goldenrod-solidago-bicolor.jpg

White Goldenrod (Solidago bicolor)

from $3.50

White Goldenrod is an unusual member of the goldenrod family, distinguished by its white flowers rather than the typical goldenrod-yellow. Its nectar and pollen attract a wide variety of insects, with native bees being especially frequent visitors. In our area, White Goldenrod serves as a host plant for an impressive 135 species of butterflies and moths (nwf.org), as well as 43 species of specialist bees (Holm, 2017; Johnson and Colla, 2023). Although White Goldenrod is considered endangered in Michigan, planting it in gardens and landscapes still plays a meaningful role, not by restoring historic populations, but by providing essential habitat for the insects and wildlife that depend on it (mnfi.anr.msu.edu). Like all goldenrods, it is enormously valuable to pollinators, providing critical late-season resources and ecosystem services at a time when many other plants are beginning to fade.

Photo credit: Laura Flohr Reynolds

Size:

White Goldenrod is an unusual member of the goldenrod family, distinguished by its white flowers rather than the typical goldenrod-yellow. Its nectar and pollen attract a wide variety of insects, with native bees being especially frequent visitors. In our area, White Goldenrod serves as a host plant for an impressive 135 species of butterflies and moths (nwf.org), as well as 43 species of specialist bees (Holm, 2017; Johnson and Colla, 2023). Although White Goldenrod is considered endangered in Michigan, planting it in gardens and landscapes still plays a meaningful role, not by restoring historic populations, but by providing essential habitat for the insects and wildlife that depend on it (mnfi.anr.msu.edu). Like all goldenrods, it is enormously valuable to pollinators, providing critical late-season resources and ecosystem services at a time when many other plants are beginning to fade.

Photo credit: Laura Flohr Reynolds

Life Cycle: Perennial

Sun Exposure: Full-Partial

Soil Moisture: Medium – Dry

Height: 1-3 feet

Plant Spacing: 1-2 feet

Bloom Time: August-October

Bloom Color: White

Advantages: Caterpillar Favorite, Pollinator Favorite, Bird Favorite, Deer Resistant

Host Plant: 135 species of caterpillars and many moths use this as a host plant in our area (nwf.org)

Specialist Bee: Andrena aliciae, A. apacheorum, A. asteris, A. braccata, A. canadensis, A. Chromotricha, A. hirticincta, A. nubecula, A. placata, A. simplex, Perdita octomaculata, P. swenki, Pseudopanurgis aestivalis, P. andrenoides, P. compositarum, P. labrosiformis, P. solidaginis, Melissodes agilis, M. boltoniae, M. coloradensis, M. coreopsis, M. dentiventris, M. druriellus, M. fumosus, M. illatus, M. menuachus, M. microstictus, M. niveus, M. trinodis, M. wheeleri, Colletes americanus, C. compactus, C. rufocinctus, C. simulans, C. solidaginis, C. speculiferus, Dieunomia heteropoda, Dianthidium simile, Dufourea marginata, Megachile inimical, M. parallela, M. xylocopoides, and Ashmeadiella bucconis  (Holm, 2017) (Johnson and Colla, 2023)

Species of Concern: State Status: Endangered (legally protected), State Rank: Critically imperiled (mnfi.anr.msu.edu)

Complementary Plants: NewEngland aster, Stiff goldenrod, Little bluestem grass

Resource: Holm, Heather. Bees: An Identification and Native Plant Forage Guide. Pollination Press LLC, 2017

Resource: Johnson, Lorraine, and Sheila Colla. A Northern Gardener’s Guide to Native Plants and Pollinators: Creating Habitat in the Northeast, Great Lakes, and Upper Midwest. Island Press, 2023