2014 Theodore Klein Plant Award Winners

Solidago Shortii ‘Solar Cascade’ - Solar Cascade Goldenrod is a Solidago shortii Torr. & A. Gray. selection. The species is endanged in Kentucky and the United States. The native species is only known to exist in Kentucky and Indiana. A strong plant with cascading stems tipped with yellow-gold flower clusters. Once in bloom the stems may fall over following a windy rain storm. The leaves are serrated and narrow. The medium textured plant is about 3 feet tall; 2 feet shorter than the common Solidago canadensis (a US native that is an invasive species in Europe and Asia). While seed propagation is a common method of propagating Solidagos; at the UKREC we have propagated Solar Cascade by rhizome division. The plant spread over time is limited as the rhizomes are relatively short leading to attractive plant of tight clumps of stems even when not in bloom.

Image by Steve Foltz, Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden

References:

Jones, Ronald L. – Plant Life of Kentucky: An Illustrated Guide ti the Vascular Plants. University Press of Kentucky, 2005.

USA Plants Database http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=SOSH

Propagation information:Baskin, Carol C.; Baskin, Jerry M. 2002. Propagation protocol for production of container Solidago shortiiTorr.&Gray plants; University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky. In: Native Plant Network. URL: http://www.nativeplantnetwork.org/network/ViewProtocols.aspx?ProtocolID=1856 (accessed 3 February 2015). Moscow (ID): University of Idaho, College of Natural Resources, Forest Research Nursery.Baskin, C.J. and Baskin, J.M. Seeds: Ecology, Biogeography and Evolution in Dormancy and Germination, Academic Press, 1998. Chapter 10: A Geographical Perspective on Germination Ecology: Temperate and Arctic Zones, pages 331 to 458.