imperial star artichoke

A harvest of beautiful artichokes is well worth the fuss of persuading this Mediterranean biennial into behaving like an annual. The plant-breeding efforts of Wayne Schrader and Keith Mayberry of California Cooperative Extension made this delicious flowerbud accessible to northern gardeners in 1991. In New England, plants tend to bear 2–4 chokes during cool fall weather; however, with climate change, our plants in central Maine are tending toward 6–8 chokes per plant, closer to West Coast standards. Left to bloom, the buds open into massive otherworldly blue flowers that dry well. Overwintering with care is possible in mid-Atlantic states. Caution: May not produce in Zone 4 and colder.