Important to remove Cardoon flower heads before harvesting?

Hello Folks,

I have a question about the growing of Cardoon to eat:
Is it important to remove the flower heads at some point prior to harvesting?

 

The info below is paraphrased from this site.

 

I like toni never heard of this plant.I have heard and eatten artichoke.I just don't care for it.Good articals to learn from.

 

I grow this every year just for fun. It's interesting and ornamental as well as edible. Try it if you come across it. The leaves are very pretty. It looks good in the back of the flower bed. 8)

 

Thanks so very much, folks. I have read and read and read over the past three weeks. WHEW! Heh heh heh. There are reams of info isn't there; however, I don't know of one person on our lottie complex that grows this. I have been thinking about trying it and then writing a small article for my website showing how I did it. I will be growing the cardoon to be harvested and prepared like celery, in that I shall only go for the bottom bit of the stems. In all that I read I couldn't find anywhere if it helped to remove the flower buds or not. The flower buds are gorgeous, but I don't want to keep them to the detriment of the stalks that I'm trying to grow.
Well, I appreciate all your help and advice.
Cheers

 

Hiya Sjoerd! I grow it on my plot, but purely for ornamental reasons. Always seemed a bit of a carry on getting it ready to eat. I grow enough globe artichokes to provide us with more flower heads than we can eat, but Cardoons make the most impressive plants and mine last year was about 10 foot tall.

 

Holy Cow, E.J.!
What a monster. Well My brother-in-law and wife went to Morocco a few weeks ago and brought back seeds for us...and they were the cardoon. Naturally I sorta feel like I have to grow them at least once. I will grow them for the lower stalks and see what they are like. I love the globe artichokes boiled and then to dip the leaves in melted butter then pull the leeflets through my teeth to get the "meat", as it were. Absolutely delicious.... but these "stalks" sound interesting and a challenge.
If they can get 10 feet tall, how wide do they get? I don't want to plant too many, as their flavour is unknown to me.
Ina and I were able to rent another small plot on our lottie complex, so there will be more room, I don't want to plant too many though, if they will be as wide as they are tall ;-)
Anyway thanks for your input here.
BTW Ina and I went out this mornin g and got a HUGE amount of wood chips for the paths...I think I over did it....but they are soooo handy.

 

That sounds good! I am really anxious to see how they will do this year. If they get as large as EJ's...It'll be the talk of the town (lottie complex). ha ha ha. WEll, the flowers are are exotic-looking and quite beautiful especially when seen /photographed up close.
Good luck with them this year, Toni

 

Never heard of them.They look interesting though.

 

The flowers are a real insect magnet. The bumble bees get drunk in the flowers. In the first years, ours only reached about 5 foot, so I could see into the flowers. Last year I didn't think they were ever going to stop going up! Also they have a wide spread - their leaves are similar to globe artichoke. I have a cage - recycled supermarket milk trolley taken apart - around the base of mine in a circle to stop the leaves smothering everything around it. I only have one plant, and it is a monster!

 

Well, I've never heard of cardoon, so I'm afraid I can't help you. Sorry! If I knew something about cardoon, I would be glad to assist you!

Good luck, and happy gardening!

 

EJ, your story makes me a bit nervous. Ha ha ha...well, but then I shall only grow them for the one year, so maybe they won't get too large. We may not like the taste of those stalks.
I have one globe artichoke plant that I grow only for the flowers and I finf the flowers very beautiful and exotic, EJ is right, they do attrwect loads and loads of bees and butterflies. That tint of purple is so delicate and lovely.
Thanks everyone.