Globe Artichokes, related Cardoons, are thistle like plants 2-5 feet tall are grown for their edible flower buds. Normally raised from rooted suckers taken in spring or sown in April and transplant the following spring at least a foot apart. The delicious traditional green heads can be eaten cooked or raw.
The flowers develop in a large head from an edible bud about 3-6 inches diameter with numerous triangular scales. The individual florets are green-purple. The edible portion of the flower buds consists primarily of the fleshy lower portions of the bracts and the base, known as the “heart”. The immature flowers in the center of the bud is called the “choke”.
Though technically perennials which normally produce the edible flower only during the second and subsequent years, certain varieties of artichoke can be grown from seed as annuals. Some varieties produce a limited harvest at the end of the first growing season even in regions where the plants are not normally winter hardy. This means that home gardeners can attempt to produce a crop without the need to overwinter plants. The recently introduced seed cultivars ‘Imperial Star’, ‘Northern Star’ and ‘Green Globe’ or ‘Purple Globe’ are organic varieties.
The plants have enough character to be grown in an ornamental garden if space is limited.
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