Photos
I left two artichokes, to see how big they'd get. Well, they are enormous. This bumblebee really appreciated them and spent about half an hour feasting on the nectar.
[artichoke](/crops/artich…
Last edited by shiny on November 12, 2026. View history
Artichoke
Cynara cardunculus
WD
How to sow artichoke: Direct seed indoors. In warmer zones, propagate "pups."
Sun requirement for artichoke: Plant in Full Sun
The globe artichoke is a variety of a species of thistle cultivated as a food. The budding artichoke flower-head is the edible part of the plant. It is a cluster of many budding small flowers (known as an "inflorescence") and bracts on an edible base. Once the buds bloom the head becomes coarse and barely edible. Artichokes are perennials in Zone 7 and warmer. They normally produce edible flower-heads during their second year, but recent cultivars such as 'Imperial Star' have been bred to produce in the first year. Other cultivars, such as 'Northern Star', have been bred to overwinter in more northern climates. There are green and purple varieties of artichoke. They are often steamed, sautéed or braised, but can also be eaten raw.
- 18
- plantings
- 7
- harvests
- 3
- seed packets
Artichoke facts
Lifespan
Perennial
living more than two years
First harvest expected
28
weeks after planting
Height × spread
90cm × 120cmRow Spacing
90cm Members' seed packets: 200cmGermination
14–21 days median of members' seed packetsDays until maturity
300–400 days median of members' seed packetsWhen to sow
Southern hemisphere
Sep–Nov
Northern hemisphere
Mar–May
median of members' seed packets
Grown for
flower harvested 7 times
Optimal temperature
15–25 °C
Absolute temperature
5–30 °C
FAO EcoCrop
Optimal rainfall
900–1200 mm/year
Absolute rainfall
300–1500 mm/year
FAO EcoCrop
Optimal soil pH
6–6.5
Absolute soil pH
5.5–8.3
FAO EcoCrop
Crop cycle
210–270 days
FAO EcoCrop
Max altitude
2000 m
FAO EcoCrop
Optimal light
clear skies to cloudy skies
FAO EcoCrop
What are growing degree days?
A plant grows with warmth, not with days. A growing degree day is one day's worth of useful warmth: how many degrees the day's average temperature is above the lowest temperature the crop grows at. Add them up from planting and you know how far along the crop is, whatever the calendar says.
Say that lowest temperature is 10°C. A day averaging 17°C gives 7 growing degree days. A day averaging 8°C gives none, as it is too cold for the crop to grow. That is why the same lettuce takes about 50 days in a summer and 90 in an autumn: it needs the same total warmth either way.
For artichoke, the FAO EcoCrop database gives a lowest growing temperature of 5°C and a shortest growing cycle of 210 days at its best temperature, about 3150 growing degree days to a first harvest.
Where you've told us where your garden is, we use this and the weather there to predict when your artichoke will be ready to harvest. We don't use it for how long a plant lives or when it finishes: we go by what members have logged for that.
Growing artichokes
- Dig compost into the bed 2 weeks before planting out
- Set or refill beer traps for slugs and snails at planting out every week
- Water until established at planting out every week
- Mulch around the plants 4 weeks after planting out
- Check for aphids 6 weeks after planting out every 2 weeks
- Cut the heads while the scales are tight at first harvest every week
- Cut the stems down after harvest 2 months after first harvest
- Mulch the crowns for winter 4 months after first harvest
- Divide the clumps 36 months after planting out
How members grow artichokes
Sunniness
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Planted from
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Harvested for
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Photos
Artichoke crops
Artichoke plantings
Artichoke harvests
Video
Where artichokes grow
Only plantings by members who have set their locations are shown.
What people are saying about artichokes
Shakey SHakey Town
by shiny,
We've been rock and rolling with 7.7 Earthquake at midnight and i lost count of how many 6-pointer aftershocks - and a tsunami evacuation.
Super tired, this morning we went home for about 90 minutes sleep - and then went looking for something normal (instead of our wavy shaken up house). Sc…
tomatoes
artichokes
perpetual spinach
chives
Read more
tomatoes
Coming together
by shawnacscott,
This weekend I had two full days to really focus on the yard, and I made the most of it. With the intermittent help of several others over the course of the weekend, I got both easement planter boxes filled with compost and soil, cleaned up and weeded the alley, got the stump pulled from the coni…
lettuces
arugula
mustard
sunflowers
dill
onions
beets
tomatoes
fenugreek
bell peppers
okra
artichokes
mint
lavender
spinach
basils
thyme
parsley
zucchini
peas
calendulas
Read more
First strawberry!
by neotoma,
I had the first tiny strawberry of the season today! I'm looking forward to many more.
Also, I transplanted a lot of seedlings into the community garden today: 2 cucumbers, 3 green beans, 2 tongue-of-fire beans, an ornamental [sweet potato](/crops/swee…
cucumbers
green beans
sweet potatoes
artichokes
lettuces
radishes
carrots
parsnips
sunflowers
strawberries
Read more
Who's planted artichokes
- shiny Aro Valley · Wellington, NZ
- corvi Lower Stone Hill Plot · salt spring island
- pazinjanka Indoor · Almere, Netherlands
- bigblen Garden · Rapaki Road,...
- tegan garden - front yard
Artichoke harvests
-
bigblen harvested 2.
almost 7 years ago
-
shiny harvested not specified.
almost 7 years ago
-
bigblen harvested 3.
almost 7 years ago
bigblen harvested 2.
Find artichoke seeds
View all artichoke seeds
- Purchase seeds via Ebay
- Sign in or sign up to list your seeds to trade.
Nutritional data
A summary of nutritional data per 100g for Artichoke, globe, raw.
| Energy | 145.0 kJ |
|---|---|
| Protein | 2.8 g |
| Fat, total | 0.2 g |
| Carbohydrate | 1.3 g |
| - Sugars | 0.9 g |
| Fibre | 8.1 g |
| Sodium | 6.0 mg |
Time to harvest
If sown now, expect a first harvest in about 210 to 270 days.
From the growing cycle in the FAO EcoCrop database, which is the same wherever it is grown.
Ecological requirements
Data from the FAO EcoCrop database for Cynara scolymus
| Family / Taxonomy | Magnoliopsida Asteridae Asterales Compositae |
|---|---|
| Killing temperature | growth: 0 °C, rest: 1 °C |
| Life form | herb |
| Life span | perennial |
| Habit | erect |
| Optimal soil depth | medium (50-150 cm) |
| Optimal soil texture | medium, light |
| Optimal soil fertility | high |
| Optimal soil drainage | well (dry spells) |
| Optimal soil salinity | low (<4 dS/m) |
| Photoperiod | short day (<12 hours), neutral day (12-14 hours), long day (>14 hours) |
Learn more about artichokes
Resources outside Growstuff.
