We've been mowing around this in the hopes it's a keeper. It's taller than me... maybe 6 feet. And it has not flowered yet. The only reason I am leaning toward Goldenrod is finding the Red Goldenrod aphids on this, but then this could fool me if they eat other plants, as well. If it is a Goldenrod, is there any way to narrow it down to a specific plant?








Thank you so much.

most are similar goldenrod
Solidago altissima
Solidago canadensis
Solidago gigantea

I think it is Goldenrod.

Looks like Goldenrod to me too. A few are found in Iowa:
Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis)
Tall Goldenrod (Solidago altissima)
Giant Goldenrod (Solidago gigantea)
Showy Goldenrod (Solidago speciosa)

Do you have any dogs? My dogs love to eat Goldenrod leaves. It looks very much like what I grow for them. I don't know the actual variety because we relocated some from the nearby wild space.

Looks like goldenrod to me too!!

Thank you for the replies.
I ruled out the Tall Goldenrod based on the leaf close ups in the plant database here. It might be Canada, but I have to investigate the others. I had a Goldenrod last year I hurt my head with, that I gave up trying to ID it. I have some field guides here for plants, but I have a hard time really "seeing" what the black and white line drawings are.

greene said:Do you have any dogs? My dogs love to eat Goldenrod leaves. It looks very much like what I grow for them. I don't know the actual variety because we relocated some from the nearby wild space.

Yes, I have a dog. There's plenty of grass that he gorges on and hacks up. I try to avoid planting too much near his area, but he was able to reach his snout through the fence and chomp on some Maximilian Sunflowers. I was concerned it was poisonous to him, but he hasn't died yet.

Not sure how to identify Red Goldenrod aphids, other than being red. But red aphids certainly attack other plants, too. Here they are on a Helianthus sp.


No reason to think the plant in question isn't a goldenrod, though.

That answers the question of whether they eat only Goldenrod. I just left them alone sine there wasn't a lot of them and this wasn't anything I planted. As far I know this aphid is native to US. In my insect guide it actually says that if you find aphids and they are not causing a lot of damage to leave them alone as they attract beneficial insects.

I emailed a friend and she thinks it is Canada Goldenrod and warned me it can be very lively. For now this is ok, but next year we'll see how it goes when other things start growing in this second prairie patch.