With a more delicate flavour than other artichokes, the globe artichoke Violet de Provence produces an abundance of tender and flavoursome purple heads year after year. Violet de Provence will produce an earlier crop than other varieties, so if you love artichokes as much as we do then team Violet de Provence with a later variety like Green Globe. This stunning architectural plant is as good in the herbaceous border as the vegetable garden as they will keep producing for up to 4 years. If the flowers are left to open you will be rewarded with stunning purple flowers. Pollinating insects such as bees and butterflies will also be attracted to your garden.
Planning your site
Plant your artichokes in good quality, well drained soil preferably in a sheltered and sunny site. Your plants will get big so you will need around 1m in between them. Artichokes look as wonderful in large pots and containers as they do along the back of a deep bed as a backdrop for your other plants. They are perennial plants meaning that they will keep growing in the same site year after year, so unless you want to move them, you do not need to dig them up at the end of summer.
Growing tips
Water your plants well until they have started to produce new growth, and make sure they have plenty of water in dry spells. In early spring put well-rotted manure on the ‘crown’ to give it a head start and in the first year nip off any flowerheads as they form so that the plant can put its energy into forming a strong root. In the second year, starting with the topmost first, harvest the flowers when they’re swollen, but before the scales have started to open. Take the side flowers once they have reached a decent size. In late autumn cut back all the spent stems and then protect the remaining crown over winter with a thick mulch of straw.
What to watch out for
Artichokes are pretty bomb-proof and relatively resistant to most pests and diseases. Watering and feeding them well with mulch will keep them looking their best.
What to do when your plants arrive
- Unpack them. Your seedlings will arrive carefully packed in bio-degradable straw, cardboard and paper. They may look a little bit bedraggled from their journey. Don’t panic – this is totally normal and they should soon perk up. Please try and unpack your plants as soon as they arrive, as every extra hour they spend in the box will add to the stress of travelling to their new home.
- Give them a drink. Having spent a day or two in the post, your new plants will be thirsty! Stand them up in some fresh water for a few minutes to make sure their roots have been thoroughly soaked before planting.
- Plant them out into their forever home! Your plants can’t wait to get their roots into the soil. Plant them out according to the instructions that will have come in the box with them. Make sure you water them in well, and give them plenty to drink until their roots have had a chance to get settled.
Substitutions
As you well know, plants are unpredictable creatures and so is the British weather. As such, we reserve the right to substitute items in your order for an equivalent variety. To find out more about substitutions, please take a look at our terms and conditions.
Delivery
We charge a flat shipping fee of £6.99 per shipping season. If you order everything from one season ie Spring you will be charged once, if you order Spring and Summer you will be charged twice etc. We do not ship outside of the UK.
Where can I send a gift card?
All of our products are available to send to UK addresses only. The products that the recipient can redeem their gift card on will only be mailed to a UK postal address. Postage is free for physical Gift Cards, as well as on the products that can be redeemed.
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