I brought 3 of these plants home in April, after a visit at NEWFS Garden in the Woods in Framingham. There was not much more to go on than a few basal leaves and the attendant mentioning that “these” would get very tall. That was enough to intrigue me and I put them next to the porch, where they would get ample sun most of the day, and much more if they kept their promise to rise up high – if that was the case they would get some bonus sunlight peeking over the roof of our house. Silphium perfoliatum did not disappoint. They are now decidedly over 6 feet high with one or two stems reaching well over 8 feet. A plant produces multiple stems with layered coarse cuplike leaves. Once the first flower blooms, new buds appear, and these rise a half a foot above to flower. This process is repeated a few more levels. Now in full bloom Silphium perfoliatum is a favorite of bees, and it has an attractive smell that will entice human noses as well. The leaves are coarse so I don’t think I have to worry about predation by mammals (it is listed as deer resistant)
June 26: Silphium perfoliatum is about 2-3 feet high. Compare to live size turkey and chick
Additional information:
https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/silphium/perfoliatum/
https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/plantguide/pdf/cs_sipec2.pdf
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