Solidago rugosa ‘Fireworks’ Streams Golden Yellow Flowers in Autumn

Summary: Solidago rugosa ‘Fireworks’ is a New World goldenrod cultivar that streams golden yellow flowers in autumn.

Solidago rugosa ‘Fireworks’ streams bright yellow flowers, Irish Hills area, Lenawee County, southeastern Michigan: F.D. Richards, CC BY SA 2.0, via Flickr

Solidago rugosa ‘Fireworks,’ a cultivar of New World native perennial Solidago rugosa, streams cascading golden yellow flowers in autumn.

‘Fireworks’ has an outstanding reputation in the late season vanguard of blooming sequences and successional interest. The Chicago Botanic Garden gives ‘Fireworks’ the best overall rating in a five-year comparative study of 25 species and garden hybrids of Solidago, commenced in 1993.

The Royal Horticultural Society, based in London, England, since 1804, has recognized the autumnally flowering cultivar’s excellence as a garden performer since honoring ‘Fireworks’ in 2012 with an Award of Garden Merit (AGM), the society’s prestigious mark of quality. The Royal Horticultural Society also gives its highest hardiness rating, H7, to ‘Fireworks.’

Solidago rugosa ‘Fireworks’ puts forth aboveground, sturdy, upright stems from underground stems known as rhizomes (Ancient Greek: ῥίζα, rhíza, “root”). The Royal Horticultural Society places ultimate height at 1 to 1.5 meters (3.28 to 4.92 feet) and ultimate spread at o.5 to 1 meters (1.64 to 3.28 feet).

The shrubby ornamental starts leafing in spring. Fine-textured leaves are arranged alternately along stems. Leaf color turns from the burgundy of youth to dark green in summer.

Solidago rugosa ‘Fireworks’ usually flowers in autumn, from September through October. Flowering may occur in late summer, in August.

Tiny, showy golden yellow flowers are borne as loosely branching clusters known as panicles. Curved, finely wanded panicles trace gracefully bowing arches that are reminiscent of streams of fireworks. The Chicago Botanic Garden’s study notes that stem sturdiness easily supports, without sagging, the extra floral weight.

‘Fireworks’ thrives in poor to fertile, moist soils that are well-drained. Clay, sandy and loam soils are all tolerated. The acceptable pH level for ‘Fireworks’ spans acidic and neutral.

Sunlight requirements favor full sun but tolerate partial shade. ‘Fireworks’ accepts both exposed and sheltered sites.

The Royal Horticultural Society recommends propagation by division in early spring for plant growth and pruning in late winter for plant care. Also, the society notes the shrubby ornamental’s generally pest-free attributes and alerts against the powdery mildew triggered by overly dry conditions.

The parent cultivar of ‘Fireworks’ is known commonly as rough goldenrod, rough-leaf goldenrod, rough-stemmed goldenrod or wrinkleleaf goldenrod. Solidago rugosa’s scientific name reflects its membership in the mostly North American genus of Solidago, known commonly as goldenrods. Its species name, rugosa (Latin: rugosus, “rugose, wrinkled”), recognizes the perennial’s noticeably rough, wrinkled leaves.

Solidago rugosa claims New World homelands mostly in central and eastern Northern America. In Canada, wrinkleleaf goldenrod occurs natively from the central eastern province of Ontario eastward through Quebec and all four provinces of Atlantic Canada.

Wrinkleleaf goldenrod is also native to the French Overseas Collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon (Collectivité d’Outre-mer de Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon). The small archipelago of eight islands lies in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean, at a westerly distance of around 13.5 nautical miles (15.5 miles; 25 kilometers) from Burin Peninsula on Newfoundland’s southern coast.

In the United States, wrinkleleaf goldenrod occurs natively from New England westward to Wisconsin, Missouri and Oklahoma, and southward through all five Gulf Coast states.

The parent cultivar of ‘Fireworks’ shares in the Solidago (Latin: soldare, "to make whole") genus’s status as a healing plant in herbal medicine. In the New World’s Native American ethnobotany, the Iroquois of eastern Northern America prepare a decoction of wrinkleleaf goldenrod’s flowers and leaves as a treatment for dizziness, sunstroke or weakness. The entire plant is prized as a remedy for liver conditions, such as biliousness.

As an ornamental, wrinkleleaf goldenrod's showy cultivar, Solidago rugosa ‘Fireworks,’ provides visual appeal in private and public gardens. The Royal Horticultural Society’s suggestions include plantings in beds and borders of cottage, informal and wildlife gardens. ‘Fireworks’ also brings gardens indoors by showing well in cut flower arrangements.

The streams of tiny, showy, golden yellow flowers that Solidago rugosa ‘Fireworks’ gracefully puts forth make memorable contributions to autumn’s indoor and outdoor landscapes.

Rough goldenrod, also known as wrinkleleaf goldenrod (Solidago rugosa), Falmouth, Cumberland County, southern Maine: InAweofGod’sCreation, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Solidago rugosa ‘Fireworks’ streams bright yellow flowers, Irish Hills area, Lenawee County, southeastern Michigan: F.D. Richards, CC BY SA 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/50697352@N00/7930915120/

Rough goldenrod, also known as wrinkleleaf goldenrod (Solidago rugosa), Falmouth, Cumberland County, southern Maine: InAweofGod’sCreation, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/nhoulihan/4016671157/

For further information:

Burrows, George E.; Ronald J. Tyrl. Toxic Plants of North America. Second edition. Hoboken NJ: Wiley-Blackwell, 2013.

“Goldenrod Solidago rugosa ‘Fireworks.’” Fine Gardening > Plant Guide.
Available @ http://www.finegardening.com/goldenrod-solidago-rugosa-fireworks

“Goldenrod Solidago spp.” Chicago Botanic Garden > Plant Information.
Available @ http://www.chicagobotanic.org/plantinfo/goldenrod

Hawke, Richard G. “An Evaluation Report of Goldenrods for the Garden.” Chicago Botanic Garden > Plant Evaluation Notes > Issue 15. 2000.
Available @ http://www.chicagobotanic.org/downloads/planteval_notes/no15_goldenrods.pdf

Honeycutt, Ellen. “Goldenrods Are Good for Your Garden.” State-by-State Gardening. September 2014.
Available @ http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/newsletters/stories/goldenrods_are_good_for_your_garden/

Marriner, Derdriu. "Canada Goldenrod Solidago canadensis Has Therapeutic Qualities." Earth and Space News. Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/08/canada-goldenrod-solidago-canadensis.html

“Rough-Stemmed Goldenrod ‘Fireworks’ Solidago rugosa.” Dave’s Garden > Guides.
Available @ http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/53623/

“Solidago rugosa ‘Fireworks.’” Missouri Botanical Garden > Gardens & Gardening > Your Garden > Plant Finder.
Available @ http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=m400

“Solidago rugosa ‘Fireworks.’” The Perennial Farm Whats Native > Native Perennials.
Available @ http://www.whatsnative.com/images/Solidago_whatsnative_PDF_2-12-10.pdf

“Solidago rugosa ‘Fireworks.’” Royal Horticultural Society > Plants > Find a Plant.
Available @ https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/101910/Solidago-rugosa-Fireworks/Details?returnurl=%2fplants%2fsearch-results%3fform-mode%3dfalse%26query%3dsolidago%26aliaspath%3d%252fplants%252fsearch-results

“Solidago rugosa ‘Fireworks’ Goldenrod.” Greenwood Nursery > Perennial Plants.
Available @ https://www.greenwoodnursery.com/categories/all-perennial-plants-for-sale/solidago-rugosa-fireworks-goldenrod

“Solidago rugosa ‘Fireworks’ (Rough Goldenrod).” Gardenia.net > Plant Finder > Alphabetical Plant Listing.
Available @ https://www.gardenia.net/plant/solidago-rugosa-fireworks-rough-goldenrod

"Solidago rugosa 'Fireworks' Wrinkle-Leaf Goldenrod." New Moon Nursery > Plant List > Perennials.
Available @ http://www.newmoonnursery.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/plants.plantDetail/plant_id/170/typeID/4/index.htm

“Solidago rugosa Mill. Wrinkleleaf Goldenrod.” USDA NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service) PLANTS Database.
Available @ http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=SORU2

“Solidago rugosa P. Mill.” Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora.
Available @ http://vaplantatlas.org/index.php?do=plant&plant=361&search=Search