I planted two patches (purple and white varieties) last year, and both overwintered successfully during our very cold winter. If they can thrive in Peace River (and mine are now about 7 1/2 feet tall), they'll probably survive anywhere south of here.

My Jeruselum Artichokes need a lot of water to flower. We had some under the drip of a failing eavestrough. They grew 10 ft plus and flowered from late August to frost. Currently, we have some in a south facing dry garden. I get good growth and no flowers. I gave some to a friend who put them in small pots, waters daily and gets flowers. It's hard to live that down.