Cup Plant

[Tickrancher]

Has anyone tried growing Cup Plant (Silphium perfoliatum) for either deer browse or used as a screen?
Illinoiswildflowers.info states that "Large herbivores, especially cattle, may eat the eat leaves of Cup Plant, especially those of immature plants". Does that include deer?
At the University of Wisconsin Arboretum it is thick enough that it screens hikers on a trail 8 feet away. Have you found it to be invasive?
Practical experience would be appreciated.

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[S.T.Fanatic]

For screening you want something that deer will not eat. If deer are using your screening as food you aren't going to be able to get past them on your way to/from stand. If its just screening a road or something it could be ok but why would you want to encourage deer to move to an area you are trying to screen them from?

 

[Tickrancher]

I'm coming at this from the other direction. A cup plant at the house grew 8 feet tall and 3 feet wide in two years. The seeds have been collected and now I am looking for the best use at the farm. Is it as a screen or as a native perennial food plot?

 

[Bill]

I don’t see them eat it much at my place.
How long will it work as a screen in the fall? I’ve never really paid attention to when it browns down.

 

[Tickrancher]

They hold their leaves well though they shrivel some. This photo is from early February. Side branches have been cut off to collect seed and some stalks have been previously cut for the mulch pile. This is only one plant. A layer four or five plants deep might work for a screen if the deer would leave them alone.