Artichoke Plants
Which Artichoke Plants Are Best For Your Garden?
Artichoke plants are perennial vegetables, but are a bit fussy about which climates they will do well in, and are therefore often grown as annuals. They can be started indoors in cool season areas, and prefer warm summer days where they will grow quite rapidly.
Although they are grown primarily as a commercial vegetable, artichoke plants have some landscape value as well, as the foliage is very attractive. Much of this country's artichoke harvest is from California, where the vegetable was first introduced from Italy. Needless to say, the artichoke plant is one of the mainstays of Mediterranean cuisine.
Seeds are best sown on a sterile seeding mix, and the soil temperature needs to be maintained at 65-75 degrees F for germination to occur, which takes about 10 days. Usually about 70% of the seeds will germinate, and 80% of these will produce high quality plants. When it's time to transplant the seedlings, after the danger of frost has passed, give them a good all-purpose fertilizer, and they should be on their way. Cool days are actually beneficial to the plant at this point, encouraging early budding. Plants are usually placed at least 3 feet apart, in rows three feet apart as well. Raking in chicken manure is recommended to get the plants of to a promising start. Dormant roots can be saved, and planted for the next year's crop. In mild winter areas they can be kept n the ground, but will not withstand hard freezes.
Depending upon your location, you will get foliage, some flower buds, and with some luck, a crop. Artichokes are a large fern-like plant growing to 4 feet in height and spreading up to 8 feet. The leaves are a silvery green and the plants have large flower buds, which is what you eat. If you choose not to harvest the buds, and let them mature and open, they will produce very attractive purple-blue thistle-like flowers which can be used in cut-flower arrangements. Artichoke plants are disease resistant, though an infestation of aphids can occur from time to time. Baiting in the vicinity of the plants will keep snails and slugs away.
The three commonly grown varieties are Green Globe, Imperial Start, and Violetto. Green Globe is a long-time favorite with gardeners, being the most hardy of the three varieties, and remaining productive for several years. Green Globe will overwinter in areas where winters are not too harsh. For those who live where artichokes cannot overwinter, Imperial Start is the artichoke plant of choice. It has the same flavor as Green Globe, and the buds, though slightly smaller, are still 3-4 inches in diameter. The Violetto is a favorite from northern Italy. It has slightly elongated flowers and is considered by many to be the best tasting of all the varieties.
Your local nursery can probably tell you which variety might do best in your area. In the very worst case, you might end up with an attractive, leafy landscape annual. Hopefully though you'll be rewarded with some nice buds, which can be harvested and served with melted butter and, as some will recommend, a touch of mustard.