artichokes

[Han]

What do I do with artichokes? The artichokes are not taken off this year and now the question is: do they need a cut back?

Han

[Han]

[Kleftiwallah]

Globe or Jerusalem?

Cheers,   Tony.

[Han]

I've no the slightest idea if they are Globe or Jerusalem. Some one asked me what to do about it and I answered that I will ask the specialists :-).
What's the difference in treatment between those two?

[pumkinlover]

Globe are big leafy cardoon type things with a purple flower and somewhere in the middle of this is a tiny amount of something edible.
Jerusalem grow huge stalks with a small sunflower like flower, the bulbous part is dug up to eat.

[ed dibbles]

You say the artichokes were not taken off this year so I think you are talking about globe artichokes. They have pointy grey/green leaves and large thistlw like flowers.

Cut them back now and they will send up new shoots from the ground.

[Han]

Thanks all! I've learned a lot (again) from you all!

[caroline7758]

As it looks as though you're as far north as me, I'd suggest giving them some protection over the winter as i lost all mine last year. I think straw is supposed to be good.

[antipodes]

Yes - cut all the actual stems off, right down at the base and leave the healthy leaves (they die back and regrow like rhubarb). Remove all the dead leaves and give it a good feed of manure this winter (pile it around it - as Caroline says you can also pile a little straw around them but I don't usually bother). They survive very cold snaps. However I recommend that you remove the artichokes next year because 1) they are extremely yummy! and 2) letting them flower weakens the plant. Harvesting the artichokes will make it give out a couple more as the season goes on, but if you let them flower it won't keep producing buds.

[lottie lou]

Was hoping to collect some seeds for a neighbour.  When do I do this?

[antipodes]

Theoretically when teh flower heads are well dead (probably about now). But they take ages from seed - you sow in summer of one year, plant them out then the next year you probably won't get flowers, until the second year. You can divide them pretty easily, like rhubarb and they take off much quicker than that. Now is a good time to divide them, or in the spring when they just come up again.