When harvesting cardoon leaf stalks, they need to be blanched first. While some people eat the tender flower buds, most folks eat the fleshy, thick leaf stalks, which require plentiful irrigation for healthy growth. Other artichoke thistle info reinforces the cardoon size it is much larger and hardier than globe artichokes. Cardoon seeds are viable for around seven years or so once they ripen from September to October and are collected. As mentioned, they can be divided or planted by seed propagation. Mature cardoon plants should be divided and cardoon planting of the offsets accomplished in early spring, leaving plenty of space between for growth.Īlthough cardoons can grow in nutritionally poor soil ( highly acidic or alkaline), they prefer full sun and deep, rich soil. The “How To’s” of Cardoon PlantingĬardoon planting should occur via seed indoors in late winter or early spring and seedlings may be transplanted outside after the danger of frost has passed. The vibrant blooms are also great attractors of bees and butterflies, which pollinate the hermaphroditic flowers. The architectural drama of the foliage provides year-round interest in herb garden and along borders. Today, cardoon plants are grown for their ornamental properties, such as the silvery grey, serrated foliage, and bright purple flowers. Originally cultivated in southern Europe as a vegetable, growing cardoon was brought to the American kitchen garden by the Quakers in the early 1790’s. Native to the Mediterranean, cardoon plants ( Cynara cardunculus) are now found in dry grassy areas of California and Australia, where it is considered a weed. Large spiny perennials, cardoon plants flower from August to September and its flower buds may be eaten just as the artichoke’s are. So what is cardoon– weed or useful medicinal or edible plant? Growing cardoon attains a height of up to 5 feet (1.5 m.) tall and 6 feet (2 m.) wide at maturity, depending upon the cultivar. Considered by some to be just an invasive weed and by others as a culinary delight, cardoon plants are a member of the thistle family, and in appearance, are very similar to the globe artichoke indeed it is also referred to as the artichoke thistle.
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