Species Name:  Senecio aureus, Packera aureus

Common Name: Golden Ragwort, Golden Groundsel

Zone: 4 to 8

Light: Full sun to Half shade

Soil Moisture: Moist to Medium or Mesic. Can tolerate temporary seasonal flooding.

Soil Types: Sand, Loam, Clay

Fertility: Medium to Rich

pH: Adaptable

Bloom Time: Late May to early June, blooms over three weeks

Habit: Golden ragwort explodes with color in late spring with masses of aster like golden yellow flowers lasting two to three weeks. Flower stalks rise 2 feet above rosettes of glossy heart shaped leaves. Glossy foliage remains attractive all season long. Pairs well with other spring blooming native wildflowers such as Virginia bluebells, Eastern bluestar or Woodland phlox. Companion plant with mid to late blooming flowers for longer season color.

Naturally found in wet or mesic deciduous woods, swamps, flood plains along rivers, stream banks, wet meadows and in roadside ditches. Naturalizes rapidly by seed and it spreads semi-aggressively by rhizomes forming large colonies over time

Golden ragwort can be used as a tall native ground cover in the shade garden and moist soils. Plant in drifts or mass the plants along borders or other low maintenance or as a deer resistant planting. Very desirable for naturalizing in any suitable habitat with moist to mesic soils. Foliage is unpalatable to deer and other herbivores and should be encouraged where deer pressure limits other native species.

Grows from Southern Canada and Maine south to Florida.

Golden Ragwort Flowers in Spring

Golden Ragwort in Bloom

Naturalized Colony of Golden Ragwort

Groundcover of Heart Shaped Golden Ragwort Foliage