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Plant profile - cynara
POSTED 27th November 2025
Found around the Mediterranean, cardoons thrive in warm, sunny conditions. Because of their size, they prefer deep, fertile soil, while lighter soils tend to produce smaller plants. Certain varieties of Cynara cardunculus (cardoon) are cultivated in vegetable gardens, where the edible leaf stalks are blanched to reduce their bitterness.
Wildlife credentials
The large, rounded flower heads, made up of many small blossoms, produce abundant nectar and pollen, attracting a wide range of pollinators including bumblebees, honeybees, leaf-cutter bees, butterflies, moths, hoverflies and beetles.
After flowering, the seeds are a valuable food source for goldfinches, linnets and other seed eating birds, while the soft thistledown is often used for nest lining. The intricate structure of the flower and seed heads also provides shelter for spiders and other small invertebrates, and insect eating birds can frequently be seen foraging among them.
In Beth's words
‘It was with relief that I came across a bag of seed of Cardoon, Cynara cardunculus. This huge artichoke-like plant looks spectacular in the dry garden, as effective as Gunnera in the damp garden. With any piece of planting, if the foliage is all much the same size, with leaves no larger than privet, the overall effect will be fussy. By the introduction of a plant which is spectacular in form, such as the fine grasses, Stipa gigantea or Miscanthus sinensis, or very bold foliage like Acanthus, Cynara or the large leaved hostas and bergenias, a more restful design emerges, depending on long-lasting foliage rather than occasional splashes of colour. By the use of old forms to outline or add weight to the design, the effect of flowering plants will also be increased.'
Perfect companion plants
Calamagrostis
Eryngium
Verbena
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