Description

Take a drive in the Diablo Range in June and you will discover the roadside decorated with rounded green shrubs covered with bright, one inch daisy flowers. This is the narrowleaf goldenbush, a native of dry mountainous regions throughout much of California into the Southwest and Mexico. In the San Francisco Bay Area it is especially prevalent on Mount Diablo. Although it can grow larger, it commonly grows in a two foot round form. The needle-like leaves are apple-green. The yellow flowers are larger than most goldenbush flowers. These are quickly followed by abundant seeds with a woolly pappus. I am growing this goldenbush in my San Jose garden and have found it quite hardy with no supplemental irrigation. The site is sunny with well-draining soil. Narrowleaf goldenbush will go semi-dormant in the heat of summer, but will retain about fifty percent of its foliage.