About growing Artichokes, etc.

This year I decided to start planting a few veggies among our regular landscape. A rhubarb plant purchased with only one stalk now has eleven stalks. I was told not to pick this first season, as they are heavy feeders and need these new stalks to pull them into the next growing season. At the same time, we brought home an artichoke plant, which was to go into a large 24 inch pot next to our raised beds. I picked up a small plant in a one gallon pot, with three leaves. On the way out of the nursery, I noticed larger artichoke plants for 30.00 that were huge. Guess what...in less than one month, my artichoke plant is hanging out over the 24" pot and growing by leaps and bounds. I gave it a mixture of sea kelp and fish emulsion about two weeks ago. Does anyone know if artichokes send up a stalk the first year?
Several years ago, I grew fennel with success in my raised beds, for the feathery tops that I could use in salads, etc. I was amazed at the huge bulb like thing that grew below and had no idea what to do with it. That was before I knew anything about fennel. I love the idea of fill-in veggie planting and want to experiment with it this season. Anyone else doing this?

Artichokes are pretty robust. We grow them in our garden. You ought to get thistles the first year. I recommend getting them out of the pot and into the ground. They propagate via their roots. My wife does this. Once the mother plant dies back, it will have sent up a few daughter shoot from the roots. Cut these away from the main plant and you can plant them elsewhere. A full-grown plant will be about 3 feet high, 5-6 feet wide, and will produce 4-10 chokes.

Artichokes are pretty robust. We grow them in our garden. You ought to get thistles the first year. I recommend getting them out of the pot and into the ground. They propagate via their roots. My wife does this. Once the mother plant dies back, it will have sent up a few daughter shoot from the roots. Cut these away from the main plant and you can plant them elsewhere. A full-grown plant will be about 3 feet high, 5-6 feet wide, and will produce 4-10 chokes.

Our fast growning plant has already sent up a baby that is growing rapidly, as well. When the mother plant dies back, does it sprout up next season?

Karen,
I ALWAYS mix it up with my edibles....non runner strawberries make beautiful ground cover in the front of a border; I love the color and leaf shape of sage in the mid border; garlic chives have a beautiful delicate flower and the leaf spears mix well with any variety of flowers; bronze fennel is spectacular towards the back of a bed- looks especially ethereal backlit by the sun. Okra has a spectacular leaf and flower that is totally appropriate as ornamental in the flower bed. Etc.....you really can't go wrong if you know something about what a plant likes and will look like when it grows up.
Rhubarb, horseradish and lovage are spectacularly ornamental in flower beds.

As far a artichokes go....my season is not long enough for the fruit but that doesn't stop me from planting it for the leaves - this year I put a few around the base of my mailbox - between the hyacinth bean vines which create a virtual jungle around the mailbox - and a telephone pole covered with 2 varieties of clematis. The serrated, stiff artichoke leaves are too architectural not to use ornamentally. My plants need to be hardy to minus 30 for over wintering.

I have had to struggle a bit for this aesthetic....my husband used to argue " no one puts fruit trees in the front yard and vegetables in the flower beds". I got away with the trees by claiming the Russian Quince was "just" an ornamental flowering tree..... and it is..the beauty of the blossoms and now the prospect of having enough quince for cooking has changed his perspective. He has gotten used to looking for herbs in the flower beds.

So... go for it

Our fast growning plant has already sent up a baby that is growing rapidly, as well. When the mother plant dies back, does it sprout up next season?

Karen, where you are, artichokes should be perennial - in other words, it should be back next spring. The normal practice would be to cut the stalk off near the ground once the leaves yellow in the fall/early winter. In colder areas people would also mulch heavily to insulate the roots and increase survival chances but you shouldn't need to do that.

I appreciate all the information, thanks to everyone. Growing in Redding is an experiment for many things because of the intense summers we have.

I have had to struggle a bit for this aesthetic....my husband used to argue " no one puts fruit trees in the front yard and vegetables in the flower beds". I got away with the trees by claiming the Russian Quince was "just" an ornamental flowering tree..... and it is..the beauty of the blossoms and now the prospect of having enough quince for cooking has changed his perspective. He has gotten used to looking for herbs in the flower beds.

So... go for it

Christina, tell your husband Bulls--t! I mix edibles and ornamentals all the time, although the edibles in the flower beds tend to be the odd capsicum or mint & herbs.