Vegetable · Asteraceae
Globe Artichoke
Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus
Offer it full sun, deep soil, and a cold winter spell, and the artichoke thanks you with tender buds.
Full sun
Every 3–7 days
45–84°F · 7–29°C
85–110 days
Overview
Think of the globe artichoke as a tall, sculptural thistle raised for its immature flower buds, the part you steam and eat long before the bracts ever spread open. Leave a bud in place and it unfurls into a bold purple bloom. It shares a family with daisies and sunflowers, and you can see the kinship in the silvery, deeply notched leaves that fan out a good few feet across.
Where winters stay kind, most gardeners keep it as a perennial that returns, with a planted crown cropping faithfully year after year. In colder country you raise it as an annual from seed started that very spring. The one wrinkle to remember is that a first-year plant only forms buds after it has felt a cold spell, so getting the timing right really does pay off.
This plant eats hungrily and asks for deep, rich, well-drained ground with even moisture all through the season. Give it sun, plenty of elbow room, and water that drains away rather than pooling at the crown, and you will gather buds from summer into fall. Skimp on drainage, though, and the crown can rot before a single bud reaches your plate.
Care
The short version: full sun, deep rich soil that drains freely, and even moisture from start to finish. Feed it regularly, allow each plant 3 feet of spreading room, and treat young plants to a cold spell so they set buds.
Light
Give your artichokes full sun, since they have little patience for shade. These are sizeable plants that lean on every hour of light to power their buds, so settle them in the most open, sunniest patch you can offer.
Water
Hold the soil evenly moist right across the growing season, because deep, steady watering is what gives you full, tender buds. Water down at the base and never let the ground dry out completely between drinks. Just as crucial, keep water from gathering around the crown, since soggy soil invites rot.
Soil
Set your plants in deep, rich, well-drained loam packed with organic matter, since this hungry plant carries a hefty root system. Shoot for a pH between 6.5 and 7.5, and lift the bed if your ground holds water, because good drainage is what keeps the crown safe.
Temperature
Artichokes are happiest somewhere between 45°F to 84°F (7°C to 29°C). They also count on a spell of cool near 50°F (10°C) to spark budding, so the cooler end of that span is a helpful part of the plan, not a worry.
Humidity
Everyday outdoor humidity suits them fine, so there is no figure you need to chase. Good airflow counts for more, since damp, crowded leaves tend to draw the pests and rots that bother this plant.
Feeding
Your artichoke is a hungry feeder. Mix compost into the bed and feed it monthly through spring and summer with a nitrogen-rich balanced fertilizer to keep those broad leaves and buds coming along.
Pruning
Snip the buds while they are still firm, before they open. Once you have harvested, cut the spent flowering stalks back to the base. Where winters are cold, take the foliage down to the ground and mulch the crown for protection, and in mild areas tidy old growth in late winter to coax out fresh shoots.
Repotting
Artichokes are not usually grown in pots, so there is little repotting on your plate. What they ask for instead is dividing every 3 to 4 years, lifting and splitting a settled crown to keep it lively and cropping well.
Size & spacing
A grown plant reaches 3 to 6 feet (90 to 180 cm) tall and spreads roughly the same. Allow each one about 3 feet (90 cm) of space so the broad leaves can stretch out and air can pass freely between them.
When to plant
Artichokes ask for warmth to grow and a little cold to bud. Sow seed indoors toward the end of winter, give the young plants a chill, set them out once the last frost has passed, and gather those tight buds from summer right through fall.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Sow: Start seed indoors 8-10 weeks before the last spring frost, then chill/vernalize the seedlings (expose to roughly 50°F / 10°C for 10 or more days) so they will form buds the first year.
- Plant: Transplant after the last frost once soil has warmed, in spring.
- Harvest: Harvest the immature flower buds in summer (and into fall) before the bracts begin to open.
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 7–11
Temperature: down to -18°C
Troubleshooting
Most artichoke worries turn up on the new leaves, the buds, or the crown sitting just below the soil. Spot the early clues and you can step in well before a plant is past saving. Find what matches your plant below, then act while there is still time to turn things around.
A drooping plant whose crown has turned dark and soft
If your plant slumps even with damp soil all around it, the likely cause is crown and root rot taking hold in ground that stays too wet. This one cannot be nursed back once the crown goes soft and blackened, so lift it out and dispose of it. Be gentle with yourself, this happens to many growers: just improve the drainage before replanting, and choose a fresh, drier spot for the next artichoke.
Fix:
- Remove and destroy affected plants
- Improve soil drainage before replanting
- Avoid replanting artichokes in the same wet site
Soft little bugs and a sticky film coating the freshest leaves
What you are seeing here are aphids, gathering on the youngest leaves and shoot tips for an easy meal. Keep an eye out for ants too, because they tend and guard these colonies. Take heart, this is easy to handle: rinse the bugs off with a firm spray of water, treat with insecticidal soap, and pull away any leaf that is truly overrun.
Fix:
- Dislodge with a strong jet of water
- Apply insecticidal soap
- Remove and destroy heavily infested leaves
A leafy, healthy plant that simply will not produce a bud
A first-year artichoke piling on leaves but no buds nearly always skipped its cold spell. To flip the switch toward budding, the plant wants a stretch near 50°F (10°C) for 10 or more days. There is an easy path forward: chill the seedlings before they head outside, lean on an annual-type cultivar like Imperial Star, or simply keep the plant through winter so it rewards you next season.
Fix:
- Vernalize transplants for 10 or more days near 50°F / 10°C before setting out
- Overwinter plants as perennials in mild zones to bud the following year
Hidden aphids found nestling among the bracts of a picked bud
Aphids like to shelter down inside the forming flower head, often staying out of sight until you cut the bud open. Do not let that put you off the harvest: a good rest in cold salted water draws them right out before cooking. Picking your buds while they are firm and tight, and clearing aphids from the plant ahead of time, keeps these little visitors away.
Fix:
- Soak cut buds in cold salted water to flush out insects
- Harvest buds promptly while still tight
- Control aphids on plants before they enter the bud
Torn holes in the foliage paired with shiny trails
Those glistening tracks tell you slugs and snails have been dining once the sun goes down, and earwigs may lend a hand. The fix is simple and forgiving: head out with a flashlight in the evening to gather them by hand, or scatter iron-phosphate bait. Tidying away the cool, damp corners near your plant removes the cover they rely on.
Fix:
- Handpick at night
- Set out traps or iron-phosphate slug bait
- Remove damp hiding places near plants
Toxicity
Here is some reassuring news: the artichoke is an edible vegetable with nothing poisonous to fret over for pets, livestock, or people. The only genuine concern is a physical one, since spiny cultivars carry sharp tips on the bracts that can nip bare hands. Pull on gloves with those types and you are all set.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats None
You can relax here, as the ASPCA does not name artichoke among the plants that poison cats. A nosy taste will cause no harm, and honestly the prickly leaves tend to send most cats off before they bother.
Dogs None
This plant is safe for dogs and holds nothing toxic to trouble you. If a dog wolfs down a big mouthful of the fibrous leaves, the worst you might see is a soft stool, the same as with any rich green.
Horses Safe
There is no toxin in the plant to worry a horse. The rough, prickly leaves are unpleasant enough that most horses choose to walk on by all on their own.
Rabbits Safe
Rabbits are welcome to nibble the soft leaves with no danger at all. Just offer fresh greens a little at a time, since a sudden heap can upset any rabbit's tummy, whatever the plant.
Livestock Safe
Cattle, goats, and sheep can graze artichoke and its relative the cardoon without coming to harm. The only thing to keep an eye on is the sharp bracts found on spiny types.
Birds Safe
Nothing in the plant is toxic to birds, and chickens will gladly peck at bits of leaf and stem. You have no part you need to keep out of their reach.
People Safe
Those flower buds are exactly what you are growing this plant for, cooked and enjoyed the world over. The single real hazard is a physical one, since spiny cultivars carry sharp tips on the bracts, so slip on gloves while handling them.
The bracts of some varieties have sharp spine tips and the foliage is bristly, which can prick or irritate skin during handling and harvest. This is a physical hazard, not poisoning.
Varieties
Just a few artichoke varieties cover most gardens, sorted mainly into the perennial green kinds and the annual cultivars bred for colder ground. These are the ones well worth knowing by name.
Green Globe
The best-known of the green-budded types, and a dependable choice for perennial growing wherever winters stay gentle.
Imperial Star
An annual-type cultivar developed to form buds in its very first year from seed with hardly any chilling, making it the friendly pick where winters run too cold for a perennial.
Violetto di Romagna
A heirloom from Italy that bears slender, drawn-out purple buds in place of the familiar green ones.
Green Globe Improved
A refined version of Green Globe selected to give you steadier, more generous plants.
How to propagate
You can raise artichokes either from seed or from pieces of a crown you already have, and the two routes hand you quite different outcomes.
SeedModerate
Start indoors 8-10 weeks before last frost, then vernalize seedlings before transplanting · First buds in roughly 85-110 days from transplant when seedlings are vernalized
Sow your seed indoors 8 to 10 weeks ahead of the last frost, then treat the seedlings to a cold spell before they move outdoors so they will bud the same year. Once that chilling is behind them, you can look for the first buds about 85 to 110 days after transplanting. Because seed-grown plants differ from each other, an annual-type cultivar like Imperial Star is your friend when you want a reliable first-year crop.
DivisionEasy
Late winter to early spring · Rooted offshoots establish within one growing season
Dividing a settled crown is the most certain way to copy a plant just as it is. During late winter or early spring, ease a rooted sucker away from the parent and pot it up. These rooted pieces take hold within one growing season and grow up true to the plant they came from.
Myths
Artichokes will poison your pets.
The globe artichoke is a common edible vegetable, and the ASPCA leaves it off the list of plants that are toxic to cats or dogs. What you actually need to watch is physical, not poison, since the bracts on certain types finish in sharp spines that can give a prick.
Artichokes come true from seed just like other garden vegetables.
Seed-raised plants differ quite a bit from one to another, which is why splitting rooted offshoots from a parent crown gives you matching plants. Only a handful of cultivars, Imperial Star among them, can be trusted to bud in their first year straight from seed.