Artichokes
 

I have five artichoke plants in my container garden. The foliage is
lush, but no sign of any artichokes. I seem to recall reading that it
takes two years to form artichokes. Should I just let the plants
winter over and see what happens next year?

Artichokes
 

On Sun, 06 Sep 2009 15:11:51 -0400 in Richard Evans wrote:
I have five artichoke plants in my container garden. The foliage is
lush, but no sign of any artichokes. I seem to recall reading that it
takes two years to form artichokes. Should I just let the plants
winter over and see what happens next year?

It's a perennial.
But appears to only be hardy to Zone 8a.
If you can plant them in the ground close to the house on a southern exposure
you probably won't need to do more than put a sheet over them on the coldest
nights this winter.
Otherwise, pull them inside just before the first night it's due to hit
25F.
--
Chris Dukes

What kind of artichokes are you growing?

If you are growing Jerusalem artichokes, and are looking in the roots for some tubers to eat, then you dug them up too early, they form in autumn. They are very hardy.

If you are growing globe artichokes, and are looking for a large thistle bud, then those should have started forming back in the spring ready for harvest from late spring through to autumn. If you planted a small plant this spring, you were probably too late to get any crop this year. From personal experience, they are hardier than Mr Dukes says. Wikipedia says zone 7. Since they are commonly grown in France and (less commonly) England, both now and in mediaeval times, that must be true.

If you have something that looks like a sunflower and are looking for something that looks like a globe artichoke growing on it, then you bought the wrong plant.

Artichokes
 

echinosum wrote:

What kind of artichokes are you growing?

If you are growing Jerusalem artichokes, and are looking in the roots
for some tubers to eat, then you dug them up too early, they form in
autumn. They are very hardy.

If you are growing globe artichokes, and are looking for a large
thistle bud, then those should have started forming back in the spring
ready for harvest from late spring through to autumn. If you planted a
small plant this spring, you were probably too late to get any crop
this year. From personal experience, they are hardier than Mr Dukes
says. Wikipedia says zone 7. Since they are commonly grown in France
and (less commonly) England, both now and in mediaeval times, that must
be true.

The tag says Green Globe. The plants are clusters of thistle-like
leaves, sort of grayish green.

Good, that's a globe artichoke. Probably it was too small to produce this year. It will probably die back over winter, shoot in the spring, and give you globes next year. A bit of fertilizer would help if you want some big ones. And keep an eye out for aphids, they can so completely infest a globle if you don't keep them under control that you wouldn't want to eat it.

Artichokes
 

On Mon, 7 Sep 2009 21:14:51 +0000 (UTC),
wrote:

On Sun, 06 Sep 2009 15:11:51 -0400 in Richard Evans wrote:
I have five artichoke plants in my container garden. The foliage is
lush, but no sign of any artichokes. I seem to recall reading that it
takes two years to form artichokes. Should I just let the plants
winter over and see what happens next year?

It's a perennial.
But appears to only be hardy to Zone 8a.
If you can plant them in the ground close to the house on a southern exposure
you probably won't need to do more than put a sheet over them on the coldest
nights this winter.
Otherwise, pull them inside just before the first night it's due to hit
25F.

Too late for that. The exposed foliage is already dead.

They are in containers, on a south-facing deck, about eight feet off
the ground. I did a quick Google and found something that says I
should prune the dead foliage and mulch the surface and they will come
back in the spring. Guess I'll do that and keep my fingers crossed.

Artichokes
 

On Wed, 06 Jan 2010 12:19:48 -0500 in wrote:

Too late for that. The exposed foliage is already dead.

They are in containers, on a south-facing deck, about eight feet off
the ground. I did a quick Google and found something that says I
should prune the dead foliage and mulch the surface and they will come
back in the spring. Guess I'll do that and keep my fingers crossed.

The trouble is in a container in the weather
we've been having it'll freeze through and through.
And it's not been pleasant weather. My collards are unhappy,
my mustard greens are unhappy, and I just don't want to look under
the row cover to see how fried the romaine lettuce is...
Hopefully the broccoli is doing good.


--
Chris Dukes

Artichokes
 

On Wed, 6 Jan 2010 17:28:03 +0000 (UTC),
wrote:

On Wed, 06 Jan 2010 12:19:48 -0500 in wrote:

Too late for that. The exposed foliage is already dead.

They are in containers, on a south-facing deck, about eight feet off
the ground. I did a quick Google and found something that says I
should prune the dead foliage and mulch the surface and they will come
back in the spring. Guess I'll do that and keep my fingers crossed.

The trouble is in a container in the weather
we've been having it'll freeze through and through.


Yeah, I worry about that, but I have no place to put them in the
ground where they will get any sun. If they die, they die. I've
already cut in half the list of things I'll plant next year, so maybe
artichokes will not make the cut either.

Artichokes
 

On Wed, 06 Jan 2010 12:53:04 -0500 in wrote:


Yeah, I worry about that, but I have no place to put them in the
ground where they will get any sun. If they die, they die. I've
already cut in half the list of things I'll plant next year, so maybe
artichokes will not make the cut either.

Well there are tricks for overwintering plants in containers.
Essentially you dig a trench, put the containers in the trench
(Laying on their side if it's something tall like a tree),
back fill with dirt, and cover with leaves or straw for insulation.

Dig them up and put them in their proper places once it gets warm enough
that the soil in the containers won't freeze solid.
--
Chris Dukes