I've only grown Imperial Star. Planted the seeds in January, set out foot dia plants in early May when we still had frosts.

The first year I got maybe 10 flowers per plant. The second year, ba-boom, here they came and with 5 plants, it was more than I could eat.

What I found: learn to eat the small ones. By feel, you can tell when the heart is getting firmed up, the bottoms an inch in dia, maybe 2 inches long. Then eat the entire thing.

Wow, that's great to know artichokes will grow well in Zone 5! I bought some plants last year (didn't keep track of the variety name) and put them in very large pots instead of in the ground. They only grew a little bit that whole season and never flowered or fruited, and then they did not survive the winter (probably because I didn't have them in the ground and the roots got too cold).

I'll have to look for this variety, David, and give them a try again next year - this time planted in the ground. Any other tips on their care?

Thanks,
Marj

Hey David. What zone are you? How did you get them to overwinter?

Zone 5/6-ish. The problem isn't so much the cold, you can insulate them, its that the soil dries out and you don't know it.

I covered them with about a foot of leaves in the late fall - then its important to pour a bucket of water on them now and again to keep the soil damp enough.

There are a couple of fanatic artichoke growers around here, but they dig them up, trim them way back, pot them up, and bring them inside for the winter. I haven't done this, but it sounds pretty straight forward, its just keeping thing, particularly the roots, alive.

The things to keep in mind -

Think root structure - the bigger the better. You won't get much until the roots are well established, and that takes a season.

To get big ones, you have to prune off all the small ones. And thats when you realize its way smarter to eat the small ones.

Aphid magnets. Keep 'em hosed down with soapy water.

At the end of year two, you can start dividing the plant.

They get huge, 3 feet in diameter.

Freshly picked, rinsed off, and microwaved a couple min until they're piping hot, the small ones are something to remember.

The germination of the seeds is iffy, buy a couple packages of seed.

Start them early in Jan/Feb, and set them out early enough so that they catch a few frosts. - there is something about how the plants have to experience some frosts before they flower, but I dunno enough on that to pontificate.

They do best in high-organic, reasonably rich soil - like bags of aged manure and compost mixed in, then plant. Even moisture, use a mulch.

Its fun to try, anyway. I believe the varieties other than Imperial Star are usually done by division, and they take longer to get established, and they don't tolerate the cold. But don't quote me, those are vague memory thingies.

If I don't disremember, Steve/digit used to work in CA where they grew them, and when he wanders by, I hope he chimes in.

Thanks David!

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