Cardoon - Sowing Advice Please ?

[mikey]

Hi all,

PTP No. 6 just put back in the Post, need some advice please .....

Jackie (OH) has taken 4 seeds of 'Cardoon', we cannot find it in our RHS books (quite a surprise  ???) but located an article on the Web, which suggests the seed should be sown in Autumn, it makes Winter/Spring growth and dies back in Summer ???? sounds weird to us ... not to be too technical but A**e about Face  ;)

Can the 'Team' recommend the right way and time to sow these seeds.

thanks

Mikey

Sorry, put it in the wrong place, should be in Non-Edible (I think) but do not know how to move it

[mikey]

[flossie]

I got 3 seeds from seed swap too
Mine are in a pot in the cold frame - didn't think to check up on what I should do...
Will let you know if I have any success :)

[norfolklass]

found this, if it's any help, for growing as a crop?

http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/a/artic068.html

I bought a cardoon as a plant a couple of springs ago and harvested seed from it last year (and added some to a couple of swaps) which I sowed 10 of on Easter Monday and have 7 seedlings so far! mine are purely ornamental though, the flowers are AMAZING and the bees and moths love 'em ;D

[mikey]

Norfolklass,

your piccie did not/will not download, left PC on for last 1 1/2 hrs no result ???

no problem with other pages on A4A (as far as I know)

thanks for your response

Cheers
Mikey

[cleo]

The above article is pretty good-once a cardoon is established it`s easy to multiply by taking side shoots or root division.

I`ve never tried blanching them to eat though.

[norfolklass]

Norfolklass,

your piccie did not/will not download, left PC on for last 1 1/2 hrs no result ???

no problem with other pages on A4A (as far as I know)

thanks for your response

Cheers
Mikey

ooh, sorry about that!
it's just a pic of my cardoon in flower last year, nothing terribly exciting ;)

[Rohaise]

 Hallo Mikey, every garden I ,ve ever had I always plant a Cardoon as a beautiful flambouyant centerpiece .  with its gorgeous blue green leaves just screaming out "look at me I am absolutely fabulous !"  The flowers are just a bonus .  I have never braised the stems like celery,as I have read somewhere.  Up in the veg garden I grow Artichokes (same family) for eating...though mine are not quite mature enough yet..so I just enjoy their spectacular show for the time being also .  For me ,I found them easy peasy to germinate or take root pieces , protect them in winter if very cold where you are ,they dont always die right back .  Rohaise   :)

[shirlton]

I had some seed last year from Emma Jane and I sewed it 3 weeks ago and they still have one pair of leaves. They do l;ook well though. I shan't put them out until end of may though. I did notice that someone on our site had got some self sowers that had come up and they looked ok. In future year I will leave them to their own devices

[theothermarg]

just thought i,d have another go at sowing cardoon i put them in compost a few weeks ago and they are showing mean while the one i planted and thought i,d lost seems to be coming up!!hope it looks like yours norfolklass
marg

[Robert_Brenchley]

I planted some two or three weeks ago, and it's coming up happily.

[Eristic]

The cardoon plants surrounding my bananas were sown from seed at about this time last year. They probably would have been even bigger if they had not been transplanted a while back. Once their roots get down into the lower levels the growth rate can take you by surprise so make sure there is plenty of space between them.

[jennym]

Cardoons do look spectacular with those electric blue flowers!
The down side is that the stems taste like a cross between cardboard and string (IMHO)  ;D

[Robert_Brenchley]

I don't intend to eat them, just use them as ornamentals.

[Deb P]

I grow the ornamental variety 'Florist's cardy', it's really easy from seed, and mine keep some foliage all winter and get up to about 7-8' high in the summer.

[mikey]

Norfolklass,

your piccie did not/will not download, left PC on for last 1 1/2 hrs no result ???

no problem with other pages on A4A (as far as I know)

thanks for your response

Cheers
Mikey

your piccie loaded fine this a.m.  wow .... a startling plant

thanks everyone for comments, will sow seeds today

Mikey