(120 days) Open-pollinated. 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, most plants will bear 2–4 chokes during cool fall weather. Northwestern growers report 6–12 chokes per plant! 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. ③
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