I think that will work just fine. I did the exact same thing last year. I potted up some extras in June, grew them all summer in 1 gallons, overwintered them in my barely heated garage, kept around 40 degrees, with moderate light, and ran them on the dry side. I put them under growlights in the basement in late March and began watering, then out into the greenhouse in mid-April. They are wonderful, big tall happy plants with beautiful purple blooms right now (I can't bring myself to eat them, too pretty, I just used canned ones most of the time!).

They will survive temps to around the 25/26 in a pot without batting an eye, and probably at least 5 degrees lower than that. They would be about 8-10 degrees hardier in the ground, where the large soil mass shelters the roots from extreme temperature swings.

Didn't even think of potting up the ones i have growing now! Thanks for the input, i'll do some of those too!

I love the blooms as well, a real hummingbird magnet. I've rarely gotten a bud big enough to bother picking. Didn't even get blooms this year...

The ones I overwintered last year were potted out of cell packs, but I am going to dig some of my in-ground ones in October, cut the tops back short, and run them a little dryish so they don't get root rot, and I'll keep them in the greenhouse for a few weeks. I'm sure they'll survive. Then, I'm going to overwinter them the same way.

I think it may be THE way to grow these things here.

FWIW, I am growing Imperial Star and Emerald. The ones I started this spring from seed have made decent plants, but to date, only one of about 18 plants has made an artichoke. Of the overwintered ones, 6 of 6 are 'choking.

I grew Imperial Star this year. I sowed seeds in early April and transplanted outside in mid May. I guess I just lucked out because during the last two weeks of May, we had a stretch of miserably chilly weather with lows in the 35-40 range and highs in the upper 40s. I think it was perfect for tricking the artichokes into flowering in August. I also had one in a container that flowered earlier (July) but with smaller chokes. All are still producing but have slowed down now that fall has arrived.
Unfortunately I can't overwinter here because the warmest spot outside the home itself (the sunroom) gets down to 0 F during the coldest periods when it's 40 below outside.

I went out to see if i could get some splits off my unproductive chokes, and remembered that i mixed them with cardoon...and , of course, the tags are missing or faded away..oh, well, i'm sure cardoon will enjoy the same treatment, right?

I don't see why not, they are so very closely related. FWIW, my cardoon is a little bit more gray looking than the artichokes, the leaves aren't as deeply lobed, and the plants grow a little more upright, kind of like the shape of a trimmed celery in the grocery store versus a more open shape for the artichoke plants.

Cardoon is in the same family as Artichokes and taste similar. They are also similar in appearance but there are differences as can be seen in the Photos below.

Greg
Southern Nevada

Cardoon:

{{gwi:100870}}

Artichoke:

{{gwi:100871}}

Here in CA, artichokes go dormant for the summer and disappear (presumably to a root tuber), they sprout again when it cools down and starts raining in the fall. I'd think you'd be able to dig up the root and store it for the winter like you would a canna lily, I notice that dormant bare root artichokes are sold online...

They're quite large plants, I can't imagine overwintering more than one or two in pots.

Thanks for the really cool photo of the cardoon blooming. I've never seen one of these bloom. What an awesome thistle with nasty, nasty spines.

Although I have no experience of artichokes in a cold winter (they stay in the ground in my climate in the winter and do not die down in the summer either - they are basically evergreen) I would have though that you could pot up the off sets in the autumn and keep them going through the winter. Trying to pot up a whole plant would be a tall order. BTW with cardoons you eat the blanched stems whereas with artichokes you eat the flower buds - but I'm sure you are aware of that. Good luck with your experiment.

I am going to try to overwinter my small plants from seed this year. Can they be transplanted. Where I have them is not a big enough space. And when should they be moved?

Elliot Coleman has a technique for getting artichokes. Starting from seed indoors during the winter, putting out early spring so they feel a chill but no freeze, then they produce the artichoke during summer/fall or whenever they do. This only works for a single crop as they don't make the following winter...

This is described in greater detail in either the winter harvest or 4 seasons books of his...

I visited the Stone Barns Center in Tarrytown, New York, zone 6ish, last weekend. They were growing artichokes outdoors, probably started under glass as Eliot Coleman recommends, and the plants had plenty of nice buds (the artichoke). So it can be done.

T-bird, it's Eliot's vernalization trick that i was referring to, i've tried but never perfected it, apparently, so i thought i might just try to make the plants live two years.

Karen, I'm going to wait a bit, cuz it's still pretty hot here, and i don't think anything thistle-y like having it's roots disturbed, it may be cooler where you are. Then I'll keep them outside in the pots and keep watering them til it frosts, i think.

My plants in the garden are embarrassingly small, maybe already going dormant...there are some that would fit in a quart pot, only a couple that are gallon-sized, and thanks to the nice pics and descriptions, i think those are the cardoons...wow, those are some scary lookin thorns!!! I might try digging the roots of the ones I don't pot up as well...why not?

Good to know tho, denninmi, that if the garage freezes they'll survive. I did Belgian endive down there one year, they did fine.

Kinda exciting, my 28 y.o. vegetarian daughter is a big "fartichoke" (ok, so maybe she's not reeeal mature)fan, despite the flatulent aftermath. I had cardoon the first time at, of all places, Bonefish Grill, b'leve it or not, in a salad, yum!

I gotta go order some seeds...thanks for all the input!!!

No wonder you are getting burned out every now and again. Cardoon overwinters in MI (though I replant, because it bolts), makes it in shade, is trouble-free, and gives you a lot of food, which you can store as a whole plant in a dark root cellar for the winter. Cardoon is what's fresh in January.

It sure wants water during the growing season, but not a problem if you put it in the same bed as, say, celery or cabbage, and turn on the drip. Artichokes are just a pain unless you live in CA or within a 20 miles strip of the Mediterranean coast.

Hi Glib,

I will be trying to grow cardoons for the first time this year. Any tips? I've read that one shouldn't harvest it in the summer, because it turns bitter in the heat. Is that a major problem up north here? Or do the cooling temps in the fall and/or blanching take care of any bitterness?

Thank you!
Jill

I'm trying artichokes for the first time this year and so far the are doing well. I was wondering what would be the best pot size to grow them in for the first year?? I will put them in the ground next year and see just how big they can get. Then I may either dig them, cut back and repot for winter or start new seeds. Does this sound feasible??? Will they grow from cuttings??

I grow artichokes in Milwaukee with good success. I start them from seed in March and grow them under fluorescent lights. when it gets warm-ish during the days I put them outside when I go to work and bring them in when I come home. Then just before it's warm enough to plant them outside I put them in the refrigerator for a day at a time then back under the lights (and repeat). I plant them as early as I can outside and watch the weather (if it's too cold I cover them with a 5 gallon bucket).
I want to see if i can dig up the roots and keep them in my basement this year. I'll start seeds again in March just in case the roots die. Many of the early chokes are small (but I get a lot of them) and I'm hoping that If i start from a root my July chokes will be a bit larger. The August and September chokes are just a little smaller than you see in the store but it is still pretty cool to have a Wisconsin artichoke.