What it is
Artichoke (Cynara cardunculus scolymus) is in the Asteraceae (Daisy) family. A dramatic, edible thistle. In Texas it's often grown as an annual from transplants for spring buds.
How to grow it
It wants full sun, water it moderate, and give it rich, well-drained soil. Target a soil pH around 6.5–7.5. Space plants about 36–48 in apart. Expect roughly 85–100 (annual culture). Tender perennial / annual in TX.
How it's used
Artichoke is used: steamed, grilled, braised.
🔎 How to identify it
- Huge silvery deeply-cut leaves
- Spiky green flower buds
- Purple thistle bloom if unharvested
Edibility
How to grow & propagate artichoke
Everything I've worked out about starting this one, keeping it alive through a Texas year, and turning one plant into many — free.
How to propagate artichoke
The daisy family is a seed family — those flower heads are seed factories, and most members come up fast and willing from direct sowing. The perennial members (coneflower, black-eyed Susan, the native sunflowers) also clump up over a few years and can be lifted and split in fall or early spring to make free plants and keep the center from dying out.
Growing artichoke in Texas
Give it full sun and rich, well-drained soil. Match the spot to the plant and most of the battle is already won.
Because it's a perennial, the work is mostly up front. Get it sited and established and it comes back on its own year after year — one of the best returns on effort in the whole garden.
Keep moisture even, especially while it's young — deep, less-frequent soaks build better roots than a daily sprinkle.
Harvesting
Figure on roughly 85–100 (annual culture) before you're harvesting. Harvest at peak and keep harvesting — most vegetables produce harder the more you pick, and one left to over-mature tells the plant its job is done. The part you're after: flower buds (heart and base of leaves).
Making more for free
Every seed we sell is open-pollinated, which means you can save your own from the best plants and it'll grow true next year. Let a few of your strongest plants finish and go to seed, dry it fully, and store it cool and dark. That's the whole point of heirlooms — buy once, grow forever.
Part of the free Texas Roots plant database, compiled by Jordan Polasek from his greenhouse in El Campo, Texas. Free to read and share. If it helped, the best thanks is to grow something.