Zizia aurea
Golden Alexanders
- Full sun to light shade
- Average to dry soil
- 18" to 36" tall and wide
- Ontario Native, Beginner Friendly, Happy in meadows and open woodlands, as well as cultivated gardens.
Ever wonder what black swallowtail caterpillars ate before carrots, dill and parsley arrived here?
Among other things, these lovely plants, one of several native species that belong to the Apiaceae family of umbel flowering plants.
The Zizia (isn’t that such a cool name?) in my urban garden started out as a single plant and has, over two or three years, expanded outward to form a ring of crowns that sent up a lovely show of chartreuse blossoms last spring.
The mounded foliage stayed fairly low, not much more than 12”, with the blooming stems growing to around 30” in height. Given their blooming season and stature, I think that they would be striking in combination with Red Columbine in a location with dappled shade. American Alumroot, Hairy Beardtongue, Heart-leaved Aster and Bluestem Goldenrod would a few others that I think would be good neighbours and spread out the blooming season. Thimbleweed and Black Cohosh could provide a bit more architectural form and would be quite happy in similar growing conditions.
Fill in the spaces with Sedges, Woodland Phlox and Lance Leaf Prunella and you’d have a season long symphony of blooms and the start of semi-shaded ecosystem.
Their bloom and foliage form mean that they can easily be mistaken for feral Parsnip, which could result in a call to bylaw or well intended removal by a concerned neighbour if they are planted near a sidewalk or roadway. They may be more of a backyard plant to avoid any unfortunate outcomes of mistaken identity.
Soil wise, they are doing just fine in well drained garden soil and don’t seem to be stressed by dry conditions during the peak of summer. Their base foliage remains deep green and full through to fall, which isn’t always the case for earlier blooming native species.
The blooming stems naturally brown as the seeds mature. They tend to fade into the surrounding plants in my very packed patch but, if you are bothered by the stems, you can clip them to the height of the remaining foliage after the seeds have fallen, been gathered or been eaten.
