Late Bloomers was originally published in the BFEC Newsletter, Vol. 16/No. 3, Summer 2012.
Before you angrily shake your fist, between sneezes and through bleary eyes, at the goldenrod flowers that will start blooming in late August, please hear our plea for our favorite underdog. We love it for its brightness as other plants in the garden turn brown and crinkly and because it is a key plant for many pollinators, including over 500 species of Ohio native bees. It offers a burst of nectar and pollen just when these insects need it as they ready for winter. And the fact that bees (like the bumblebee pictured here) collect its pollen proves its innocence with allergy flare-ups. Those sneezes are caused by wind-born pollen, like that of rag weed (feel free to direct your scorn here). But goldenrod pollen is heavy and sticky; it is moved by pollinators to other flowers and to hives (where it is fed to young), not by wind to your nose.