Cardoon Foliage - Re-Emerging in Late Summer - September 2024

Late last year, I planted a singular Cardoon IB2DWs after seeing some of them growing in the Fragrance Garden at the Morton Arboretum.  It was eaten a little bit by rabbits, but I ended up protecting it over the winter with a ring of chicken wire.  I wasn't sure what to expect, but it seemed to survive all Winter and then grew in Spring and Summer.  By July, it was good-sized and started to bloom.  The blooms were these out-of-this-world purple-spiked blooms that look like they belong on Pandora (Avatar).  

After it bloomed, I decided to cut it back to the ground.  I left just a short segment of the stalk that seemed to die-back to the ground.  That was it, I figured.

But...something has happened recently.  Foliage started to emerge from the mulch.  What the what?  Have a look at the current state of my cardoon - coming back in late Summer/early Fall.  Is this thing confused?  Will it survive the winter?  Will it bloom again? 

The orange zinnias next to these are doing really well - note to self for next year.  I should plant these in the front porch beds instead of the tiny marigolds.  To do that, I'd have to extend the bed out a little bit, too.  #2025 to-do.