Tenderheart Cardoon

'Tenderheart' CardoonCynara cardunculus Cardoon is a clump forming tender perennial with pinnatifid (spiny) silver gray leaves that develop up to twenty inches long. Its purple, two to three inch flower heads develop throughout the summer growing season and attract many different pollinating insects. The plants can grow over seven feet tall and make an interesting and attractive addition as an edible ornamental in your beds and gardens.They were first cultivated as a vegetable by the French and said to have been brought to America in the 1790s by the Quakers. A relative of the artichoke, the growing characteristics and requirements are similar. However, instead of eating the flower heads, like you do with an artichoke, the thick, fleshy, leaf stalks are eaten. Some people tie and blanch them by mounding with soil. They have a slightly spicy, celery-like flavor. Check out the recipe in the Cultivation / Harvest Information tab.With a bit of care, some sources state that the perennial