For an artichoke plant to form a bud, they must experience 200 to 1,300 hours of temperatures below 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Here in Florida, that poses a challenge to anyone wanting to grow these beautiful and tasty plants. Shinsuke Agehara, a University of Florida (UF) associate professor of horticultural sciences, has found that using gibberellic acid, a plant-growth hormone, can produce higher yields of the “Imperial Star” and “Green Queen” artichokes.