Durham Master Gardener volunteers – Page 3 – Extension Master Gardener Volunteers of Durham County

By Melinda Heigel, NC State Extension Master Gardener^SMvolunteer of Durham County

Goldenrod lights up the fall garden as summer blooms fade. This plant offers a lot more than just its pretty flowers; goldenrod also supports beneficial insects and birds late in the season. (Image credit: Melinda Heigel)

Want outstanding fall color? Plant goldenrod. Nothing says fall is coming quite like the vibrant yellow hues of the this plant (Solidago spp.). In central North Carolina this perennial wildflower typically begins to appear in late summer and is a harbinger of brilliant trees ablaze, mums, and, of course, pumpkin-spice everything. You can often spot this North American native growing high and unruly by roadsides and in all sorts of wild areas. But there are ways to incorporate this beneficial plant into your home landscape.

Biology

Goldenrod is the common name for the biologically diverse Solidago genus. Currently, there are over 120 documented species, both natives and cultivars, of this stunning bloomer. According to Clemson University, botanists still have a lot to discover about this plant because some of the species exhibit polyploidy (or having more than two copies of each chromosome). This feature makes for incredibly diverse traits in species: taller, shorter, some that prefer moisture, some that like drier soils, sun, part sun, and even flower characteristics and bloom time.¹

Benefits of Goldenrod

Hardy

Aside from its beauty, goldenrod has a lot of great characteristics. Overall, this plant is easy to grow and tough. Most species do well in a wide range of soil types, are heat-tolerant, water-wise, and even tolerate drought once established. Goldenrod offers a long and prolific bloom time and can benefit from regular deadheading during the growing season.

Its resilience is famous, and gardeners know that this plant can thrive and naturalize easily in the landscape (read as some healthy “management” may be necessary to divide the plant every few years to control its spread) if you plant a weedy type. Goldenrod spreads by rhizomes and wind-blown seeds. Below, we’ll address some less assertive types that can offer great alternatives in a smaller home garden. And, finally, goldenrod is deer resistant and has no serious disease or insect problems.

Wild-life Friendly

Goldenrod draws pollinators into the garden. (Left to right) Two spider wasps on goldenrod and an unknown bee species feasting on Solidago juncea’s nectar. (Image credits: Eric Benson, Clemson University Extension, 2020; Fritz Flohr Reynolds CC BY-SA 3.0)

With the growing awareness of the role pollinators play in our ecosystem and the immense survival pressure they face, more gardeners are planting pollinator-friendly plants. Goldenrod certainly falls into this category. Many of the species produce enticing and beneficial nectar for a host of bees, wasps, flies, moths, and beetles. It is also a host plant for the wavy-lined emerald moth (Synchlora aerata). Given the bloom time, ranging from June through October, these plants provide needed late-season sustenance. They also support more butterflies and moths than any other plant in its category. Over 115 species of Lepidoptera (the order of insects that includes butterflies and moths) larvae rely on the plants’ leaves and shoots for food. After the blooms fade at the end of the season, birds eat goldenrod’s dried seeds while native bees nest in their hollow stems for the winter. Hands down, this plant has a positive impact on wildlife in your landscape.

Characteristics of Goldenrod

As highlighted above, there are a lot of variables within the Solidago species. It’s best to do a little research on the type of plant you are buying based on the specific characteristics you seek for your garden. However, all goldenrods are herbaceous perennial plants that generally bloom between June and October. While they range in height, habit, and environmental preferences, most prefer sunny conditions. They have a clumping, tall, or climbing habit and produce showy blooms of tiny golden flower heads in tight, dense clusters on a long stem.² Not generally picky about soil make up, most goldenrods do prefer well-drained environments. And these plants have a wide range of growth, spanning USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 2a-8b.

From a design perspective, they provide great color and texture in the landscape late into autumn after many summer flowers are spent. Depending on the species or cultivar you choose, they work well either as a back-of-the-border or front-of-the-border plant. Their free-flowing form looks great in a meadow, natural area, or cottage garden. And of course, they are right at home in pollinator and butterfly gardens.

Recommended Types of Goldenrod

As the term wildflower might suggest, some goldenrods can get weedy and a bit unruly in the home landscape. This plant can naturalize (spread with abandon) as it propagates by wind-strewn seeds or by underground rhizomes, so some are best left in a meadow, prairie, or woodland setting. But with so many to choose from, including ornamental and hybrids well suited to smaller spaces, there is something for every garden.

Wondering what species or cultivars might be right for your yard? The Tufts Pollinator Initiative, a group of scientists who are dedicated to pollinator conservation, has done some of the homework for gardeners. They composed the informative table below highlighting many characteristics like preferred conditions, bloom time, height, and growth habits of Solidago widely available in the garden trade.³

(Left to right, top to bottom) Examples of goldenrods with clumping habits that translate well to the home landscape: autumn goldenrod (S. sphacelata); blue-stemmed goldenrod (Solidago caesia); wrinkle leaf goldenrod (S. rugosa ‘Fireworks’); showy goldenrod (S. speciosa); and early goldenrod (S. juncea). (Image credits: Tom Potterfield CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 ; Scott Detwiler CC BY-SA 3.0; F. D. Richards CC-BY-SA 2.0; Dan Mullen CC BY-NC-ND 2.0; Dan Mullen CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

Extend the season of colorful blooms in your landscape with goldenrod–an ecologically sound choice for any garden.

Notes

1–https://hgic.clemson.edu/native-notes-goldenrod/.

2–Interestingly there is a goldenrod whose flowers are creamy-white instead of yellow–the silver-rod goldenrod (Solidago bicolor).

3–https://sites.tufts.edu/pollinators/blog/

Resources and Additional Information

For general information on goldenrod, check out North Carolina State University’s Plant Toolbox site. There are also additional links to various species of the plant.

https://plants.ced.ncsu.edu/plants/solidago

Often people, unfortunately, mistake goldenrod for the allergy-inducing ragweed (Ambrosia spp.). Read Clemson Cooperative Extension’s informative fact sheet which outlines how these two plants share little other than bloom time.

Goldenrod & Ragweed

To see more images and suggestions for home-garden goldenrods, view Sea Grant’s video on these native plants.

Article Short Link https://wp.me/p2nIr1-4OY

By Bev Tisci and Melinda Heigel, NC State Extension Master Gardener^SM volunteers of Durham County

Scenes from the July 2024 tasting event where members of the Extension Master Gardener volunteer team known as the Seed Starters conducted scientific and delicious taste tests to determine the most flavorful, disease-resistant tomatoes and peppers to grow. (Image credit: Melinda Heigel)

Taste testing has a centuries-long history. Ancient Egyptian rulers and Roman emperors had “official tasters,” who were tasked with ensuring food safety. In the early twentieth century, the USDA employed taste testers as a way to bring overlooked agricultural products into the American diet like soy, mung beans, and lamb. And in 2024, Durham County has a crack team of Master Gardener volunteers growing, tasting, and analyzing tomatoes and peppers so they can bring you the best of the best.¹

Creating Seed Starters and Taste Testing

After volunteering for her first annual Backyard Treasures Plant Sale as a freshly-minted Durham County Master Gardener, Bev Tisci noticed that the sale was focused mostly on ornamentals. She saw an opportunity and volunteered to head up a group who would focus on increasing the number of vegetable plants offered in future sales, thus the birth of the Seed Starters. Tisci and her team painstakingly grow from seed all the vegetables we offer at the annual sale–in the 2024 sale over 1,200 plants! This group also helps train and mentor Master Gardeners in best practices for growing from seeds.

But the work of the Seed Starters doesn’t just begin with sowing seeds in February and March for the April sale; it begins in July when the group comes together to analyze the tomatoes they grew in their own gardens over the summer. The taste testing event features varieties they sold to the public, old-time favorites, and new finds they’ve never tried before. The result? The winners of the testing will make the list for the next year’s sale.

(Left to right) Bev Tisci, Seed Starter team leader and tasting-test creator, holds up a yellow Chef’s Choice tomato. Eric Wiebe tagging his home-grown tomatoes for the blind tasting-testing event. (Image credit: Melinda Heigel)

Growing seeds indoors can be a solitary pursuit, so Tisci started pulling the group together for casual tastings many years ago. As the group expanded and our plant sale grew, the testings have evolved to become more scientific–while just as yummy and fun. Now the group blind taste tests their vegetables, because as Tisci says, “When you don’t know what tomato you are tasting, the results are often different than you’d expect. There is always a chance for a surprise. You might pick something you wouldn’t have otherwise!”

Putting the Tomatoes (and Peppers) to the Test

Tisci sets up the event by creating numbered tent signs for each sample and evaluation sheets where tasters rate each tomato on appearance, texture, and flavor. They also ask the important question, “Would I grow this again?” They discuss other factors like ease in growing and disease resistance. With her years of experience in the garden, especially growing tomatoes, Tisci says, “People are always looking for heirloom tomato taste, but they also want protection from the diseases that are common here in our hot, humid climate.” In her mind, the combination of taste, disease resistance, and high yield makes a variety a clear winner.

While tomatoes have always been the star of the taste-test show, this year the group introduced both sweet and hot peppers to the table. Peppers are popular at the plant sale, so it’s likely this veggie-come-lately may appear in future tests and be subjected to more rigorous evaluation.

Let the nibbling begin! Master Gardener volunteer growers tackle the delectable work of tasting and evaluating their bounty. Volunteers award tomatoes gold, silver, or bronze ribbons. (Image credit: Melinda Heigel)

So what was on the growers’ table at the 2024 Seed Starters’ tasting event?

Slicing Tomatoes

Arkansas Traveler, Mountain Majesty, Mountain Merit, Marmalade Sky, Pruden’s Purple, Gin Fizz, Black Krim, Pink Berkeley, White Tomato, Chef’s Choice, Yellow

Paste Tomatoes

Italian Roma

Small Tomatoes

23 x 1020 (from 2024 Tomato Project Team),* Mountain Magic, German Lunchbox

Cherry Tomatoes

Unicorn, Valentine, Ella Bella, Pink Bumblebee, Norfolk Purple Tomato, Sungold, Sunrise Bumblebee

Peppers

Just Sweet, Carmen, Escamillo, Hungarian Paprika, Mama Mia, Spitfire

Announcing the Big Winners

Tisci and her team are studying comments and compiling results on the tomatoes they savored recently. Stay tuned for a future blog where we’ll share the top vote-getters. If these seasoned gardeners put a variety on their list to grow for the 2025 plant sale and in their own gardens, chances are you’ll want to give that tomato a try too.

Notes

1–https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/testing-for-poison-still-a-profession-for-some-61805292/#:~:text=Testing%20food%20for%20poison%20goes,he%20failed%20at%20his%20job.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/government-taste-testers-who-reshaped-americas-diet-180972823

Resources and Additional Information

To see what tomato varieties the Seed Starters deemed worthy to grow and sell for the 2024 Backyard Treasures Plant Sale, check out the list of offerings. https://www.backyardtreasuresplantsale.org/veggies

For information on growing peppers and suggested varieties, read our 2022 blog post “Picking Peppers in the Piedmont.”

https://wp.me/p2nIr1-2HI

*Follow along with our current 2024 Tomato Project calling “Tomatoes on Trial,” where Durham County Extension Master Gardeners are evaluating tomatoes for a statewide tomato trial for NC State.

Tomatoes on Trial: The 2024 Tomato Project

Article Short Link https://wp.me/p2nIr1-4PA

Extension Master Gardener Volunteers of Durham County

Tag: Durham Master Gardener volunteers

Plant Goldenrod for Outstanding Fall Color