During the heat of August my plants were sorely neglected. I had this and it's sibling in small pots and somehow they survived. In Sept I transplanted them to large pots and they are just loving every minute of it. I moved them into the heated bloom house during the recent freeze and I would swear they grew larger while in there. Instead of putting ID tags on or in the pots, I wrote on the pots with a Sharpie....that didn't last so now I am not sure what they are.
I would tend to agree. They are pretty tough plants you know. Hardy down to well below freezing. It is winter wet which kills them.
It does look like it could be Cardoon Toni. I've learned that lesson about labeling plants with Sharpie's too!
Here are a couple that I planted this past summer. I agree that the plant that you showed is a cardoon, although the larger leaves seem to be a bit broader than mine. Perhaps it's a varient. We just harvested the last of our cardoons this past weekend. They were delicious. Good luck with that little thing.
The Cardoon I planted is Cardoon Porto Spineless Cynara cardunculus.....it's a Seed product of Holland, had not noticed that on the packet before. Edited to add....your pictures look just like another one I have planted in the ground. It hasn't grown any where near as large as the ones in the pots but it's newer leaves are beginning to change from the jagged edges to the ones like the bigger plants.
Hiyah Toni, Good "detective work", Tomi. I don't know the latin name for the one that I have, as the seed pack came from Morocco and there was just the word, "Kardoon" on it. Here's a piccy of what they look like cooked. I don't have a foto of the actual ones that we ate a couple of nights ago, but these are the ones off my website. The cardoon was surprisingly not bitter, and quite delicious to eat.
No Wrennie, it's a plant that is related to the globe artichoke. You know what they are, right? Well the cardoon is a really tall one species. They can grow to 10 feet in height. Folks eat the bracts of thew globe artichoke and their hearts, It's the low,internal stems that you want with cardoon. The glowers are a bit exotic...beautiful.
Thanks Sjoerd. My friend in California read somewhere that you blanch and eat the leaves only. :?: I guess its a regional thing? I dont know.
Well, I have never heard of blanching and eating the leaves. It sounds interesting. I wonder how they taste. Thanks
I started the plants for the purpose of having something interesting on the south side of the house. It is pretty neglected over there, not much room but I thought filling it up with Cardoon plants would be pretty.
Well, if they bloom, the blooms will be beautiful and attract lots of bees and butterflies. I find the tint of blueish-purple very nice. The plants can get pretty tall and wide. I made a metamorphosis foto of this plant's flower once, but it's too wide to show you on here, sadly.
