Zizia aurea - Golden Alexander

An attractive native perennial, featuring compound umbels of tiny yellow flowers in spring, that are quite showy above the bright green foliage; self seeds, and will naturalize easily; great for open woodlands, prairie areas, or native plant gardens

Height: 3 feet. Sun: full sun to partial shade. Hardiness zone: 3a.

Ornamental features

Golden Alexander features showy yellow flat-top flowers held atop the stems in late spring. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its serrated oval compound leaves remain light green in color throughout the season. The purple fruits are held in clusters from mid to late summer. The brick red stems can be quite attractive.

Landscape

Golden Alexander is a dense herbaceous perennial with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and should be cut back in late fall in preparation for winter. It is a good choice for attracting bees and butterflies to your yard. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;

Recommended for: Mass Planting, General Garden Use, Groundcover, Naturalizing And Woodland Gardens, Container Planting.

Planting and growing

Golden Alexander will grow to be about 3 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 24 inches. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 18 inches apart. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 3 years. As an herbaceous perennial, this plant will usually die back to the crown each winter, and will regrow from the base each spring. Be careful not to disturb the crown in late winter when it may not be readily seen!

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in sandy soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This species is native to parts of North America..

Photo courtesy of NetPS Plant Finder.