Hey! Thanks for responding. This is only my second time growing them. I put two Artichoke plants per 3 gallon container and they love that. I did 4 per 5 gallon and they were fine. I figure...survival of the fittest, but all plants survive and lovebeing close to eachother... i think it keeps them warmer in my seattle climate. They seem to love dry-ish soil. I use potting soil and mix in peat moss and some bark. I mix in organic vegetable fert. every few weeks because in containers...that is a must...they need extra food. i water at night...and watch 'em grow in the day. ;) Koreyk - I plant them in containers because in the winter I can bring them close to the house or in the garage to keep them "warmer". This might be the best thing for you. When the plants grow larger...they will shed there "Big" leaves right before they start to grow their stalk. They get skinny leaves like the one in the pic. (The plant is just starting to stalk in the pic) About there root system, i think its more of a 'ball'...not wide and spread out. More of a reason they are great for containers. About the plant, 3-4 feet high...and a few chokes per plant...And I'm using Imperial like you. SO, Good luck! I'll post more pics soon!

What an excellent thread. Thanks to everyone who has been here before me. Gophers rule here, so my artichokes are planted in raised (really really raised at 2' off the ground) beds with gopher wire on the ground under the whole bed. For me the whole point of growing my own artichokes is to get them when they are young and small and I can steam 3-4 of them for myself....yum. Here are my questions: In my Zone 8b, should I cut the whole plant all the way to the ground about now, or just the old blooming stalks? I just went out today and pulled out all of the dead and dying leaves from the outside and there are still a lot of healthy primary plants or crowns in there. Clearly this bed is overcrowded. Should I try to dig the whole (please please please say "no") plants out and reduce them in size, or can I just take the pups off of the outside (oh that would be sooooooo much easier). Any help would be appreciated. Susan

Several points: 1) Artichokes i containers require a large container, at least 5 gallons or larger. 2) Artichokes are not very hardy. You are in zone 7b, so leaving them outdoors over the winter will kill them. You could probably put the containers in an unheated garage and they would survive the winter. 3) In order for artichokes to bloom, they need to be exposed to 38-50 degree temperatures for 2-4 weeks. They are a cool weather plant so if you are going to grow them, in colder climates, you have to grow them as an annual. What I have done this year is that I transplnted my chokes into my raised garden about March 30 and covered them at night in order to vernalize them. I am in zone 7a. Here is a picture of my raised garden with chokes in 2013. I did not vernalize them and they did not bloom. I am trying again this year.

I am currently germination about 20 Italian purple artichokes in a small indoor greenhouse in my basement. Most have sprouted and it looks like I will have more than I have room for in my raised garden shown here. My raised garden is about 4 feet by 18 feet and since the chokes need to be about 3 feet apart, if I stagger them towards the sides, I can plant about 8 plants. That leaves me needing a home for a bunch of small artichoke plants. I plant my garden chokes as annuals and I am considering trying to plant a few in containers and grow them as perennials, placing them in my unheated shed in the winter. Question - Any suggestions on cost-effective containers?