The Cup Plant - Facts, Grow and Care - And tons of butterflies. 

Thank you for the compliment! Completely agree with what you say. So many of the garden centers are either hybrids or nativars, which don't necessarily benefit pollinators. I'm a huge advocate for growing your own from seed whenever possible. It's better economically, and gives you a larger appreciation for the plant itself.

@@growitbuildit Sometimes you gotta cheat by buying grown plants... Growth season is so short that while starting from seeds, seeing your plants go up and bigger day by day is very satisfying, soul-warming and cheap as fudge, life sometimes throws you gardening curves in the likes of bad soil, moody weather, hungry critters, errything, etc... By the time you restart your seeds, already frucking midsummer! That's when ready-to-transplant plants from the commercial garden centers or better, specialized nurseries come to the rescue! For example, I tried to grow coreopsis from seed and while one germinated, it didn't follow up when I potted it for further care and I _really_ wanted to have lance-leaved coreopsis in my garden! Luckily, I saw a different variety of that flower at the hardware store and sure as hell I'm going to get it! ☻

It is an awesome flower. I filmed many small colonies along a roadside on a road trip in the Midwest this year. You would go around a bend and there would be 50 specimens, covered in bees.

That would make great kindling. That is a good tip. I'm going to have to save some for that purpose. Thank you.

Thank you Brian - they are massive pollinator magnets.

You are welcome Ginger! You're going to love this flower. This is year 5 for me, and I still haven't seen one grow from rhizomes. So, it doesn't have the 'running' rhizomes that sprout plants 20' away. It will self seed a bit - so stay on top of that. Or just cut seed heads off and toss somewhere. But this is a really great plant for bringing in pollinators. One of the best for large butterflies.

Thank you for the tips!

The birds were on mine like crazy this year.

@@growitbuildit What a great find for me. I had waves of finches and even seems bees are coming back.

It's an awesome flower. I Can't wait to see all the butterflies this summer. I don't know why they seem to be so attracted to this flower more than other ones.

Hi Alex Do you have any seeds that you might want to share, I have been trying to add more natives to my garden Thanks🦋🐝🌻

That is cool that your rabbits enjoy them. I transplanted a couple of mine last year. Was crazy caring a 3' diameter rootstalk, but they survived and are shooting up right now as we speak. I do find that they can be aggressive self-seeding, but I just manage that the normal way.

I know what you mean David. An awesome plant - and aggressive self-seeder!

I've got tons of both. They are awesome flowers.

There are awesome flowers. They self seed a decent amount, so budget 30 minutes in the Spring to remove any unwanted volunteers. But it really brings in the pollinator action.

I just moved most of mine this year Steve. The ones I moved don't look like they will bloom, but they are still surviving. It was crazy digging out a 3' diameter clump.

Hi TB - if the plants are still shooting up, you may just need to be patient. Sometimes flowers grow uneven from one side to the other that make it curl. Otherwise, if it has been extremely dry or wet that could be the issue too.

Hahaha - bought a small 'cutting' at a Master Gardener sale....that grows into a 12' tall yellow-flowering plant! You can move them....it isn't easy, but I did so this year. Do it very early, or it may not flower. It is fairly hard to move, as mine was roughly 36" diameter, but it is surviving.

Hi Lisa - they can definitely compete with Wild Parsnip. But they can't defeat it if it is an already established meadow. I'm basing this on direct observation from prairie in Northern Iowa. It will displace and compete with parsnip, but never eliminate it. Even if you kill all the parsnip on your farm, unfortunately the birds will come deposit seeds and restart the cycle.

They are amazing flowers. They really bring in the wildlife. This year the flower stalks were supporting finches here, and as expected they were devouring the seed quickly.

I've actually got several Compass Plants growing near these. They just never progressed beyond the 'two-leaf' stage. Maybe this year.....

It's too bad it doesn't bloom all summer

Hi Koala - I would suggest waiting until early Spring to move them. Do it right when they are emerging and put them in a large pot/bucket. Take them to your folks and replant quickly. But the cool moist Spring soil should help it survive with minimal transplant shock.

Hi Susan - I actually plant on trying to move a few of mine next Spring. Thank you for the suggestion/tip!

Hi - as soon as the flowers fade you could cut the stalk at the first leaf junction. Know that with many long-lived perennials you won't get a huge second round of blooming though. But deadheading works great on shorter lived perennials like Coreopsis and the like.

Hi Chris - I have moved plenty of seedlings, but never attempted a full grown plant. I think you may have a big problem doing so, as I believe that it has a tap-root. I'm not sure how much of that you would need to get to keep it alive, and I'm pretty sure that all members of Silphlanium genus taproots can go really, really deep. But - you might be able to either split off a part of it with a spade/saw/knife when the plant is dormant, or nearly dormant. I would perhaps try this before attempting to remove the whole plant w/ taproot. Also, I get lots of 'volunteer' seedlings. These would be easy to transplant, and would likely establish quickly. If you are going to dig-up and move one, you can probably do so between now and the end of the year, or early in the Spring. Plants can generally be moved when they are not close to blooming or producing seed. And I'm pretty sure seed should have fully formed on all of these. In fact, I would probably try splitting off a nice chunk now, and see if it would 'take' in a new location. Then, if it is alive next Spring, you can dig up and discard the original, or try to move the original w/ taproot then. But either way, I would like to hear how you make out in doing this.

There like hostas i split the rootballs in spring

These get really large. And, you will have some self-seeding to deal with. I deadhead mine.

Just be sure to plant it in the middle and plant smaller plants around it. You won’t be disappointed! Our backyard is full of phlox and the pollinators choose the open flowers of the cup plant every time.

Hi Birdie - for the remainder of the year, keep knocking them down with clippers or a machete. But leave them about 1-2' above ground. Then either in Autumn, or next Spring, with the stalks still poking up so you know where it is, dig them out with a Spade. It doesn't have to be pretty, you just need to get the main root clump. Another way would be to cut/spray the exposed stalk with herbicide, but you may kill other things doing that. Also, and this is important, when the flowering is done, and the seeds are still green (not dried), cut the stalks down on all the plants, or remove the seed heads in some manner. That way you won't make even more volunteers. I pull unwanted plants every year. But I have managed to keep the plant contained without too much effort. The key is being able to identify it when young or as a seedling and pulling them in the Spring. Also, deadhead, deadhead, deadhead to stop more seed from hitting the ground.

@@growitbuildit Thank you! This is very helpful advice!

Hi Cog - you learned a valuable lesson - always plant 3 of something! It brings in more action. I think you could probably cut the stems by 1/3 in early June. The plant will probably branch and be less tall. It works with most plants (asters, heliopsis, coreopsis), and I don't see why it wouldn't on the Cup Plant.

@@growitbuildit That's good to hear. I hope I don't have to cut it at all, but it's good to know I can if need be. I'm also going to be looking for new cup plants coming up from the rhizomes. I'll be starting a tiny meadow in my back yard and the cup plants will be the beginning. Thanks for your awesome video. I found Cup Plants, and other meadow plants online, for shipping to home gardeners, at Prairie Moon, and Joyful Butterfly.

My experience is that the rhizomes don't really happen. But the plant heavily self seeds.

@@growitbuildit opps, I didn't me rhizomes, I meant bare roots. Tree year old bare roots are sold and some will bloom the first year. I don't want to dig mine up to try it though I give that a try when I have a meadow of them.

We bought a new-to-us house and what we thought was a different plant (horseradish) so we transplanted it to a different area last spring out of the shade. I thought it died last summer of transplant shock but it survived! It’s thriving in its new sunny spot this year. I’m amazed by its size and attractiveness to pollinators. I’m going to get some seeds off it this year and plant more, and share them too! It’s my new favorite plant!

It's fun to watch - an awesome flower

Mine are huge right now - about 4' tall, with at least 3-4 weeks to go before blooming.

Hi Cathy - I can say with 100% confidence the Cup Plant is fine near Black Walnut. I have not tried Blazing Star, Anise Hyssop, or Hoary Vervain near Black Walnut, but as they are native plants that occupy the same native range, I assume it would be ok. Most of the plants that are not tolerant of Juglone are from Eurasia. But the few natives that may have trouble, really only have problems in seedling stage. So, if you are growing from seed, it would be a low cost investment to test it out.

I feel I should add something more - while I haven't seen hoary vervain (Verbena stricta) growing near walnut, I've seen its cousin Verbena hastata growing near it

That’s a relief. Some growers do not list many plants and other sites do not list those plants. I did not go on your juglone tolerant site yet. I ask after the planting. But today, I’m getting plants for the small rain garden such as turtlehead. I have cardinal and blue lobelia. I had anise hyssop growing for about 3 years and then it stopped. I grew more from seed and I have quite a bit from one pack. So I know that will survive. The baptisia is listed as not juglone tolerant and it hasn’t grown much after 2 years. I have a pollinator garden on parkland in Richmond Hill with a small grant this year. That’s in Ontario. Anyhow, that is my story. Thanks for your speedy reply. Love plants. The Cup plant is amazing. I watch your channel for getting knowledge about each plant. Other American channels are way ahead of us Canadians. When I talk about pollinator gardens some have no idea what I’m talking about. Lol.

Thank you! It sounds like you've got a nice selection of plants for your garden. And I'm glad you are enjoying our videos!

My apologies for not being a patreon member yet.

Hi - I'm afraid I cannot help you. I dead-head my plants to avoid self-seeding, so my seed heads are long gone. The source I bought from is this - amzn.to/36IQA67

@@growitbuildit hi, thanks for your reply! I tried to find there the seeds, but with no result...maybe you have the link on amazon, where you bought them?

Here it is www.amazon.com/Everwilde-Farms-Native-Wildflower-Packet/dp/B00HME4OXQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=2FVWRPKSSQHUO&keywords=cup+plant+seeds&qid=1636224551&qsid=138-8624482-6123802&sprefix=cup+plant&sr=8-3&sres=B00HME4OXQ%2CB004UC3EHU%2CB07PT1QH8W%2CB08VNHZW8T%2CB01NBOOQRC%2CB07QRSZ3KN%2CB00HME6Y20%2CB07BB27QTY%2CB07NJ3JGTN%2CB07XBNFX7D%2CB07QPYTDB8%2CB08YYWHDJD%2CB07KBZM7GN%2CB004M58D7Q&srpt=PLANT_SEED

Hi Deborah - I often deadhead them before they go to seed, as they can get a bit aggressive self-seeding. But otherwise you can cut them down to ground once the plant is dormant in October/Nov. Or just wait until spring to remove the old stalks.

@@growitbuildit Thank u so much for your quick response!

Hi Jerome, I've been deadheading my plants the last couple years to prevent self-seeding. So I am afraid that I don't have any.

Mine easily get that tall.

Hi Andra - I am sorry but I do not sell seed. I do regularly buy from this company - they have good seed and their packaging is the best - amzn.to/36IQA67 (aff link).

I suppose compared to my other ones that is true. Sorry - perhaps a future update.

Yes they do - had my first real damage this year.