Wildflower (forb) · Asteraceae
Canada goldenrod
Solidago altissima
Canada goldenrod is recorded as native to 32 states and territories in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in 1,151 counties of those states by USDA PLANTS.
Key facts · USDA PLANTS
Canada goldenrod at a glance
- Native in
- 1,151 counties, across 32 states and territories
- Estimated cold hardiness
- Zone 4b PLANTS minimum temperature −28°F
- Mature height
- 5 ft PLANTS mature height
- Light and water
- Sun to part shade Medium water use
Estimated cold hardiness: zone 4b. PLANTS gives a minimum temperature of −28°F; zone 4b winters bottom out at −25°F, the coldest half-zone that stays within that limit.
Canada goldenrod is recorded as native to 32 states and territories in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in 1,151 counties of those states by USDA PLANTS.
Counties where it is native
The 15 counties with the most ZIP codes among the 1,151 where it is listed.
Native counties by state
- Alabama 9 counties
- Arkansas 19 counties
- Colorado 6 counties
- Connecticut statewide record
- Delaware 3 counties
- District of Columbia 1 county
- Florida 16 counties
- Georgia 17 counties
- Indiana 87 counties
- Iowa 15 counties
- Kansas 75 counties
- Kentucky 70 counties
- Louisiana 62 counties
- Maryland 23 counties
- Massachusetts 14 counties
- Michigan 63 counties
- Minnesota 20 counties
- Mississippi 15 counties
- Missouri 85 counties
- Nebraska 57 counties
- New Jersey 13 counties
- New Mexico 1 county
- New York 39 counties
- North Dakota 41 counties
- Oklahoma 19 counties
- Pennsylvania 57 counties
- South Carolina 38 counties
- South Dakota 39 counties
- Texas 65 counties
- Virginia 99 counties
- West Virginia 25 counties
- Wisconsin 58 counties
Growing traits
Values from the PLANTS characteristics record. “Not recorded” means PLANTS has no value; nothing here is estimated except the zone.
Growth
- Growth habit
- Forb/herb
- Duration
- Perennial
- Mature height
- 5 ft
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Growth form
- Rhizomatous
- Shape
- Erect
- Lifespan
- Moderate
- Active growth period
- Spring, Summer, Fall
Light and water
- Shade tolerance
- Intermediate (sun to part shade)
- Moisture use
- Medium water use
- Drought tolerance
- Low
- Tolerance of waterlogged soil
- Low
- Precipitation range
- 18 to 55 in per year
Soil
- Soil textures
- Coarse, medium and fine
- pH range
- 5.2 to 7.3
- Lime (CaCO₃) tolerance
- Medium
- Salinity tolerance
- None
- Fertility requirement
- Low
- Minimum root depth
- 8 in
Climate
- Minimum temperature
- −28°F
- Estimated cold hardiness
- Zone 4b and warmer
- Minimum frost-free days
- 130
- Fire tolerance
- High
Flowers, leaves and fruit
- Flower color
- Yellow
- Showy flowers
- Yes
- Bloom period
- Late Spring
- Foliage color
- Yellow-Green
- Showy in fall
- Yes
- Keeps leaves
- No
- Fruit color
- Brown
Other
- Toxicity
- None
- Nitrogen fixation
- None
- Nursery availability
- No Known Source
- Family
- Asteraceae
- PLANTS symbol
- SOAL6
Source & data date
- Source
- USDA NRCS PLANTS Database: county distribution records, native status and plant characteristics. CC0 (public domain dedication, per the data.gov catalog record).
- Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP): native or introduced status by state. CC BY 3.0.
- USGS US-RIIS (ver. 2.0): species listed as introduced are excluded. CC0.
- Citation
- USDA, NRCS. 2026. The PLANTS Database (https://plants.usda.gov, 11/04/2026). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC USA.
- Govaerts R. (ed.) (2026). WCVP: World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Data file dated 2026-06-04, http://sftp.kew.org/pub/data-repositories/WCVP/ (retrieved 2026-11-04). Paper: Govaerts R. et al. (2021) The World Checklist of Vascular Plants, a continuously updated resource for exploring global plant diversity. Scientific Data 8, 215.
- Data date
- Retrieved from PLANTS on November 4, 2026; WCVP data file dated June 4, 2026.
- Scope
- Solidago altissima (PLANTS symbol SOAL6).
- Method
- A species is listed when it is recorded as native to the state in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in the county by USDA PLANTS. Species PLANTS labels both native and introduced are listed separately. Full method · All sources