Denise Kemp writes:
My brother-in-law gave me an artichoke plant this spring that was given to him. He told me that I need to lift the plant in the fall but didn’t have any details on whether to take the leaves off or leave it in dirt or newspaper or what so I’m not sure what to do with it after I lift it. I live in Michigan in Zone 5. Do you know what to do with the plant after it’s lifted?
Anyone who knows the answer (or wants to offer an educated guess) please respond in the comments. Thanks in advance.
Tagged as:
artichoke,
Vegetables
About the Author
Kathy Purdy is a colchicum evangelist, converting unsuspecting gardeners into colchicophiles. She gardens in rural upstate NY, which used to be USDA Hardiness Zone 4 but is now Zone 5. Kathy’s been writing since 4th grade, gardening since high school, and blogging since 2002. Find her on Instagram as kopurdy.
What differentiates a bulb from a perennial plant is that the nourishment for the flower is stored within the bulb itself.…There is something miraculous about the way that a little grenade of dried up tissue can explode into a complete flower.
~Monty Don
in
The Complete Gardener pp. 142
Does anyone have pictures of how they have cut back the plants and mulched them to show what you are doing that has been successful in zone 5b and 6a. NW Missouri. Thanks for any help 🙂
Learn How to Grow Artichokes – Instructions and advice for growing …
http://www.howtogardenadvice.com/vegetables/grow_artichoke.html Growing artichokes in cold northern climate gardens can be difficult, as they are not a very hardy plant. However, if you take measures to protect them in your …
The Urban Ton Project: Cold Climate Artichokes
http://www.urbanton.com/2010/04/cold-climate-artichokes.html Apr 6, 2010 – When most people think of artichokes they envision warm and sunny places. Few people know that you can grow them in cold climates like …
I grow artichokes on the Colorado plains (also Zone 5, but constant wind and little snow cover) and have had success overwintering by cutting back drastically (6-12 “), mulching about a foot deep with manure/shavings mix and covering that with remay or plastic, well pegged down. I grow three kinds – 2 Italian heirloom and 1 globe, and all will overwinter most of the time.
Dear Ingrid,
Manure and shavings are a pretty acid mulch. Did that ever cause any problems? Thanks.
Rick, you can reach Kenny directly at http://www.veggiegardeningtips.com/ . He has a very informative site. If the person commenting fills in the URL blank in the comment form, then everyone else can go to that URL by clicking on their name in the published comment. If you go back to Kenny’s comment, you will find that clicking on his name will bring you to his site.
This message is to Kenny… Where did you find the frost “resistant” artichoke. I’d like to try them too.
I live in Zone 6 and have overwintered globe artichokes in the garden by mulching and covering with clear plastic, but that’s pretty much hit or miss. I have also dug the roots and placed them in a five gallon bucket of soil kept in an unheated garage. Better success, but still not 100%.
This year I’m experimenting with an artichoke variey that is supposed to be much hardier and capable of surviving to zero degrees without protection. Yes, I’m sceptical, but giving it a shot. I have three plants in the garden, two are under a portable cold frame and I may place a wall-of-water around the third.
Thanks so much. I’ll give it a try.
Keep it potted. If you can, winter it over in a cold/not freezing greenhouse & keep it on the dry side (the crowns rot easily). Trim it back if necessary to make room for it but don’t cut it down to the soil.
Excess crown moisture & freeze thaw cycles seem to be their limiters here (z4)–I had a customer winter over a green globe for 4 years as she had planted it on a hilltop in a tire, and they mulched it when things froze up. She said the most chokes she had in one season was 26!