Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: Cup plant – Silphium perfoliatum
The City I live in has a 6 mile bike/walking trail that is just lovely. This time of year these large plants light up the scenery with cheery yellow flowers.
Cup plants are native to prairies and open meadows throughout most of the U.S.
These plants grow anywhere from 3 to 12 feet tall and about 3 feet wide. So if you’re considering planting them in your landscape, keep that in mind. They may need support.
It looks a bit like a sunflower plant without the seeds.
Pollinators are attracted to the Cup plant.
They prefer full sun and dry to average soil. With a deep taproot, it’s more tolerant of drier soils and, in fact, the Xerces society encourages planting it for pollinators and dry soil. I did find them in part sun areas where they were a bit shorter.
The leaves are big and beautiful and hold water for birds, thus its common name, Cup Plant!
Finches really dig this plant! As do hummingbirds. The flowers all sit at the top of the plant.
Under-plantings could include butterfly weed, sedum, globe thistle. Other drought tolerant plants. The genus of Common cup-plant is Silphium. There are 23 species in North America! Three of those are native to Minnesota, where I live.
Check out your local garden centers or native online places such as Prairie Moon Nursery in Minnesota or Prairie Nursery in Wisconsin. You can find Native Plant Societies in almost every state, they will provide information for local sources.