Silverrod

The only white-flowered goldenrod in the genus. an unexpected choice that earns the name every time someone walks up to look at it more closely.

Silverrod is the oddity of the goldenrod genus, the only one with white flowers. Where every other Solidago produces golden yellow, Silverrod blooms in creamy white on upright racemes from late August through October, the two-toned nature of its ray florets (white rays, yellow disk) giving the flowers a warm ivory rather than cold white appearance. It's the goldenrod to use for white garden color schemes, for adding light to shaded edges, or simply for the surprise of meeting a white goldenrod for the first time. The plant itself is compact, upright, and tidy: twelve to thirty inches tall, with hairy, oblong leaves and erect flower spikes that don't arch or flop. It tolerates dry, rocky, shaded conditions better than most goldenrods. In the wild it grows in dry rocky woods, a habitat niche that makes it useful in woodland edge and dry shade situations where the yellow-flowered goldenrods would struggle. Pollinators visit it reliably but in smaller numbers than the more prolific yellow species.