Lack of chilling hours is one reason Florida will have trouble producing and growing artichokes -- the other is too much sun and heat. Artichokes like the milder, mistier mediterrannean climate and it seems like you have to force it to grow them successfully in any other kind of climate.
That’s absolutely right! We use three strategies to grow artichokes successfully in Florida: 1) use early varieties that are more adapted to our climate, 2) plant in Oct-Nov, so harvesting will occur during cool winter months, and 3) use gibberellic acid (plant hormone) to replace winter chilling and artificially induce bud formation. Our winter is dry and cool, so it’s somewhat similar to the Mediterranean climate, except that winter chills are still not sufficient. Our goal is to make artichoke Florida’s new winter specialty crop🙂
kool!! very interesting
Lack of chilling hours is one reason Florida will have trouble producing and growing artichokes -- the other is too much sun and heat. Artichokes like the milder, mistier mediterrannean climate and it seems like you have to force it to grow them successfully in any other kind of climate.
That’s absolutely right! We use three strategies to grow artichokes successfully in Florida: 1) use early varieties that are more adapted to our climate, 2) plant in Oct-Nov, so harvesting will occur during cool winter months, and 3) use gibberellic acid (plant hormone) to replace winter chilling and artificially induce bud formation. Our winter is dry and cool, so it’s somewhat similar to the Mediterranean climate, except that winter chills are still not sufficient. Our goal is to make artichoke Florida’s new winter specialty crop🙂
🤤 promosm