Practical
Plants

Silphium laeve

a perennial member of the Silphium genus in the family Compositae.

No photo available

Taxonomy and growth

Life cycle
perennial
Fertility
Insects
Flower type
hermaphrodite
Pollinators
Insects

Uses

Edible uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Root[4][6][2]. No more details are given in the reports.

Plant part
Root

Environment

Range
N. America.
Habitat
Not known
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
light shade
Water
moderate
Hardiness
Zone 4+
Soil textures
sandy, loamy, clay
Soil pH
acid, neutral, alkaline
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
No
Drought
intolerant

Propagation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a greenhouse[5]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle and plant them out in the summer. Division in spring[3]. This is very difficult due to the deep and extensive root system.

Cultivation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain. The following notes are based on the general needs of the genus. Succeeds in any ordinary garden soil[1]. Prefers a deep moisture retentive moderately fertile soil that is not too nitrogen rich, in sun or dappled shade[5]. Plants have a deep and extensive root system which makes transplanting difficult[5].

References

  1. F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00

    ↩

  2. Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976-00-00

    ↩

  3. Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-86318-386-7

    ↩

  4. Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972-00-00 ISBN 0-486-20459-6

    ↩

  5. Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5

    ↩1↩2↩3

  6. Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984-00-00 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9

    ↩

Edit this page