Crop type: Globe artichokes
Cynara cardunculus (Scolymus Group) 'Gros Vert de Lâon'
Common name: globe artichoke 'Gros Vert de Lâon'
Crop slug: globe-artichokes
This Allotment Pro editorial draft summarises the cited RHS cultivar profile.RHS cultivar profile
1 - Overview
'Gros Vert de Lâon' is a hardy French globe-artichoke cultivar with an RHS Award of Garden Merit. This tall architectural perennial carries grey-green, deeply divided leaves and is grown for large edible green buds with fleshy green scales and excellent flavour. Buds are produced on upright stems that can reach about 1.8m.
Unharvested buds open into purple thistle-like flowers in summer, adding ornamental value and supporting pollinators. The cultivar's hardiness, large green crop and imposing columnar form distinguish it from less hardy or purple-scaled selections.
2 - Size
- Ultimate height
- 1.5–2.5m
- Ultimate spread
- 1–1.5m
- Time to ultimate size
- 2–5 years
3 - Growing conditions
- Suitable soils
- Chalk, loam and sand
- Moisture
- Moist but well-drained or well-drained
- Soil pH
- Acid, alkaline or neutral
4 - Position and hardiness
- Light
- Full sun
- Aspect
- South-facing or west-facing
- Exposure
- Sheltered
- Hardiness
- H5 — hardy in most UK locations even during severe winters, tolerating the RHS band of about -15 to -10°C; dry mulch remains useful in very cold or northern districts
5 - Colour and seasonal interest
| Season | Flowers | Foliage | Fruit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | — | Green, grey and silver | — |
| Summer | Green and purple | Green, grey and silver | — |
| Autumn | — | Green, grey and silver | — |
| Winter | — | — | — |
Green in the flower column includes the tightly scaled edible buds; purple records the thistle-like flowers that open if the buds remain uncut.
6 - Botanical details
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Native to Great Britain and Ireland
- No
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Habit
- Columnar upright
- Name status
- Unresolved
Genus
Cynara species are robust thistle-like plants with grey-hairy, pinnately lobed leaves and globose purple flower heads. Globe artichokes have been selected for their fleshy unopened flower buds.
7 - How to grow
Cultivation
Grow 'Gros Vert de Lâon' in fertile, freely drained soil in full sun and shelter its tall stems from strong wind. Although hardy, the profile advises dry bark or straw mulch in very cold winters or more northern locations.
Use the parent globe-artichoke guide for sowing, generous spacing, first-year establishment, watering, division and harvesting. Cut the large green buds tightly closed to preserve their excellent flavour.
Propagation
Propagate by seed. Division and offsets from a selected mature plant can later preserve the exact cultivar identity.
Suggested locations
- Architectural planting
- Cottage and informal gardens
- Cut flowers
- Flower borders and beds
- Wall-side borders
Pruning
After cropping ends, cut down flowered stems and old foliage in autumn. Use spent foliage or dry mulch to help protect the perennial crown.
Pests
The profile lists snails, slugs and blackfly. Protect young plants and inspect developing buds, where sap-feeding colonies may be concealed among the scales.
Diseases
The profile describes this cultivar as generally disease-free.