I’ve heard that artichokes are good for their buds and cardoons are good for their stems. Do cardoons make edible buds? Can artichoke stems be cleaned and eaten? I have what I think is a cardoon and it got pretty big, but no buds. I’m just not sure what to expect. Thanks! Dan
I believe most cardoon and artichokes won’t flower until their second year—was your plant started this year? I’ve not had success growing artichokes, but cardoon is pretty easy and the stems are quite tasty.
I planted it Spring of ‘20. It got about 4’ in diameter and 30" tall and then our 9° Winter melted the top to the ground, but it is back about like last year again, but still no flowers. That’s why I was wondering if it was a cardoon. Can artichoke stems be used like a cardoon? Thanks Dan
From what I’ve read, all parts of the artichoke are edible—flower stems, leaf stems, in addition to the flowers.
To prepare cardoon stems that haven’t been blanched/shaded from the sun, I remove the leafy parts, peel, devein as as best I can, and parboil ~5 min. If it’s still bitter, you may need to repeat the blanching with fresh pot of water. This removes the bitterness, and the finished stems are meaty with a nice artichoke flavor.
Hope this works for your mystery plant.
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Thank you. I will try it out! D