How to Grow and Care for Golden Alexander

The golden Alexander (Zizia aurea) is an early-blooming native wildflower found across eastern North America. This short-lived perennial belongs to the carrot family and has the look of a meadow wildflower, much like Queen Anne's lace, which is also a wild carrot. It has well-formed branches with sturdy stems and serrated green leaves and bears a bright yellow flat-topped flower umbel attractive to birds and butterflies from during its May to June bloom time. The showy starburst shape of the tiny flowers makes an attractive feature in the landscape.

If planting seeds, do so in spring, fall, or even early winter to enjoy the plant's carefree rapid growth and height of 1 to 2 feet. In late summer it forms oblong-shaped green fruit capsules which gradually turn purple as autumn approaches, as do the stems and leaves.

Golden Alexander Care

Pollinating insects attracted to golden Alexander include various butterflies, bees, wasps, beetles, and flies, who prefer flat-headed flowers because their shorter mouthparts make it harder for them to sip nectar as, say, hummingbirds do. It's most often found on the edges of forests, in power line clearings, abandoned fields, overgrown urban lots, meadows, savannas, and thickets, growing alongside other pollinator-friendly wildflowers.

It tends to form small colonies, with the fibrous roots forming a dense cluster. It is also fairly free of problems from pests and is also relatively deer-resistant.

Golden Alexander is native to parts of Canada including Quebec and Saskatchewan, the New England States, and along the Atlantic Coast as far south as Florida. It's a desirable plant for helping conserve meadows and wetlands, and for general habitat rehabilitation, and it may be commercially available from nurseries that specialize in native plants.

Light

Golden Alexander grows best in full or partial sun. It has been known to also survive under light shade tree canopies.

Soil

Golden Alexander likes a somewhat rich neutral soil with good drainage but can still do well in sandy or clay soils, or in areas with a lot of limestone where the soil is slightly, but not too, acidic.

Water

Although golden Alexander prefers consistent moisture (often growing naturally in boggy sites), it can also handle dry conditions surprisingly well. For best results, making sure your plants are kept consistently moist during the growing season is a good idea.

Temperature and Humidity

This plant enjoys somewhat moist growing conditions, such as a boggy meadow or alongside a pond, but it's also fairly drought tolerant during a hot summer in its native habitats.

Fertilizer

Fertilization is unnecessary for wildflowers such as golden Alexander. Adding fertilizer may make wildflowers leggy and weedy.

How to Grow Golden Alexander From Seed

In most cases, this plant is not intentionally propagated, as it occurs naturally as a native perennial and naturalizes readily in suitable conditions. Growing golden Alexander from seed is rather difficult as these plants are not widely available commercially. You may be lucky in finding seeds from a specialist native plant nursery.

You could gather the seeds in the wild to plant, but care should be taken not to disturb or deplete the growing area. Clip off seed heads in the late summer and early fall when you see them.

The seeds need a period of two to three months of cold stratification to be viable for spring planting so winter sowing is best. It's also possible to plant the unstratified seeds in the fall, but there's some risk they won't germinate as effectively. Typically the plant does not bloom in its first season from seed but will begin to flower in its second season.

Potting and Repotting Golden Alexander

Golden Alexander makes an attractive addition to a container garden. The plant's medium texture can be balanced with finer and coarser textured plants surrounding it in a pot. Plant in any type of container with drainage holes and filled with fresh potting soil.

Overwintering

Simply cut back golden Alexander to just above its crown in the fall before the winter. This can be done if planted in a pot or ground. Golden Alexander will revive itself in the springtime.

Common Pests

Aphids seem to be the only insects that bother golden Alexander plants but they can be sprayed off with water. However, because these plants tend to bolt with reduced summer foliage, it doesn't attract problems.