One of my favorite plants came into bloom last week: the cup plant. This year it’s making a grand show, thanks in part to last year’s preparation (lots of manure and water) and this year’s wet spring. I’ve also given them lots to drink as the air has gotten hotter and more dry, so they are rewarding us with enormous stalks (these rise to eight or nine feet, towering above my most strenuous reach) and a liberal sprinkling of flowers.
These are one of the happiest garden features we have, not only for the sunny disposition of their bright and cheery daisy flowers in pure yellow, but also for the neat cups their leaf axils form to collect water, allowing birds and butterflies to drink while visiting the flowers. The set-up is especially attractive to a regular crew of yellow finches, whose color mirrors that of the flower petals, eventually lending the impression that some of the blossoms themselves are detaching and taking flight. It’s a magical effect. The birds are especially fond of the seed-heads once they begin to ripen, often not waiting until they are fully formed before trying to pull them off.
I’m happy to have them take their fill ~ the minor drawback to the plant is that in location and conditions it likes, it will reseed and soon set up plants where you may not want them, so the early editing of the finches is a welcome bit of help. Based on the cup plant’s eventual immense size, it is not fit for most front-of-the-border positions, which is usually right where the seeds end up. Those are easily dispatched if caught early in their growth cycle, so it’s not very onerous ~ just requires an observant eye and some persistence. On good days I exhibit both.
