Globe or cardoon

[peasmad]

I was given some seeds a couple of years ago and was assured they were globe artichokes. So i grew them. Planted them out in the borders, no room at veg plot,  They all looked the same last year. But this year some are 4' with globe type heads,  But the others are 6' and some have cardoon heads others have globe heads. Is there any difference in the flower or distinguishing features of the leaves. I'd be grateful if someone could give me a pointer.
cheers
jules

[peasmad]

[realfood]

My globes have much bigger flower heads up to 15 to 17 cm across, while the plants get to 1.5 m high.
The cardoons tend to have flower sprays with individual flower heads some 4 cm across, and the plants are up to 2.5 m high this year.
If you go to my web site you will see photos of both.

[rosebud]

iF YOU LOOK IN THE GALLERY , UNDER THE POST
"EMMA`S CUTTING YOU WILL SEE MY CARDOON I HOPE THAT HELPS REALFOOD.
OPPPS sorry uppercase unintended. ;D ;D

[Robert_Brenchley]

Flower size is the obvious thing. Cardoons have big thistle-type flowers, artichokes gigantic ones.

[Ishard]

My cardoons have slightly more silver in their leaf colour than either of the artichokes. I can only tell though if they are side by side. :-\

[peasmad]

cheers everyone, that's made things more clear. So I assume my plants are doing a over t. What looks like globes are taller than the thinner longer flowering heads of what I assume are the cardoons. As they're side by side, I will have to wait to see if one gets taller than the other.
j

[Kea]

Cardoon heads are very prickly. If you bought Globe artichoke cuttings from Wilkinson's you tend to get Cardoons instead, I did. One of my plot neighbours got an Echinops from Wilkinson's as a Globe artichoke, which really confused him. He was asking me which bit he was supposed to eat! He's puzzled over it for 2 years poor guy.

[Robert_Brenchley]

I got globes from Wilkos, and they were dead sticks. I got horseradish, and it was scorzonera.

[ceres]

Robert, you've just solved my mystery!  I too bought horseradish from Wilko's and I thought it looked odd - not like any horseradish I've ever seen before.  That's because it's scorzonera!   

[Ishard]

OOH I wondered why my horseraddish looked odd from Wilko's lol

Now off to look up scorzonera!

5 mins later............

Mine are scorzonera humilis, I just google'd images.Huh!!

Now to find out if they are even edible.

5 mins later.........

It seems as thought they arent edible  and are classed as a perrenial weed!!!!

Now how do I complain to Wilko's?

[tim]

We assume that this is a Cardoon.

Why do so many leaves always go blotchy brown & die off?

[ceres]

Ishard,
http://corporate.wilkinsonplus.com/corp/wilkinson_forms.asp?SubMenu=AboutUs&formtype=CustomerService

I still have the packet - the barcode is 01936711 and it's called Cream of the Crop Horseradish.

D'you think the supplier was having a laugh???!!!!

[Robert_Brenchley]

What size are the flowers, Tim? It's hard to tell from the pics.

[Ishard]

Thanks Ceres, thats just what I needed.  ;D

[Kea]

They look much like mine Tim and I have proper globe artichokes next to them and they look different and they're taller than the Globe about 8ft. i've left them in they look spectacular when they flower....which the globe don't get to do as I eat them.