Golden Ragwort
Golden ragwort (Packera aurea) is a beautiful, bright yellow-flowered perennial native to eastern North America. It's also known by a variety of other names, including golden groundsel, squaw weed, life root, and uncum root.
Golden ragwort grows in moist to mesic woodlands, meadows, and along streams. It typically reaches a height of 1-3 feet, with clusters of bright yellow daisy-like flowers blooming in early spring. The leaves are deeply lobed and dark green, providing a nice contrast to the cheerful flowers.
Golden ragwort is a valuable plant for attracting pollinators, such as bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. It's also deer-resistant and relatively easy to care for, making it a popular choice for gardeners.
Here are some of the things to keep in mind when growing golden ragwort:
- It prefers full sun to part shade.
- It needs well-drained soil.
- It's drought-tolerant once established.
- It can spread by seed and underground rhizomes, so it may need to be divided every few years.
Golden ragwort is a versatile plant that can be used in a variety of ways in the garden. It can be planted in mass in a wildflower garden, used as a border plant, or even grown in a container.
Here are some tips for using golden ragwort in your garden:
- Plant it in groups of 3-5 for the best visual impact.
- Combine it with other early-blooming flowers, such as violets and bloodroot.
- Use it as a groundcover in shady areas.
- Let it self-seed to naturalize a larger area.
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