I hope to enjoy these plants for a while. The snow and freeze did not kill my plants but it's only December. It generally gets down 5-10 degrees Fahrenheit and even lower some winters. I think last winter was -5, but I'm trying to block that memory. Most artichokes might die below 15 so today I dug up 3 of my plants and put them in my cold room.
The remaining 4th, I covered with a large pot. The festive artichoke leaves surrounding the pot I trimmed from the plants. You'll notice that despite the several days of 20 degree weather that they are still looking alive. Today has been a balmy cloudy 50 degreeish day, typical of Pittsburgh. I am hoping that as these leaves look dead that they will mulch the air gaps that this pot did not seal. My understanding is that in challenging climates, heavy mulching keeps many artichokes alive in winters worse than here. This is my guinea pig plant.If it survives it will probably be happier than the others because I haven't really disturbed its soil.
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