Is this monster weed set to explode?

Note the ruler I placed at the base of this giant weed!

What began as a joke between neighbors has suddenly become more serious as a small weed that was growing in a side planter was recently identified as Cnicus benedictus or Blessed thistle. A weed that originates from as far away as Iran. Once it sets flowers and blooms it will send million and millions of seeds to colonize other unsuspecting areas. As you can see, this one is truly a monster.

I never would have let the plant get this large had it not been for my neighbor, who asked that I let it grow so we could see ‘what happens’! What happened is it got big…really big! Now if I were a sick person, you know mentally unstable. I would wait for the plant to set seed, then in the dark of night I would drag it all over my neighbor’s immaculate lawn. Later, I would bring him this ‘article’ I found on the net describing how it is a good idea to let your lawn ‘go to seed’ during the summer, so as to allow the grasses to become better entrenched. You know, I’m like the good neighbor…from Hell. After a few weeks it would then fun to sit outside, beer in hand, and watch that lawn go progressively downhill! “Uh hey neighbor”, I would chortle over the phone. “Looks like you got a heck of a weed problem on your hands!