Cunning control to lock outside a plant (9)
I believe the answer is:
artichoke
'a plant' is the definition.
(artichoke is a kind of plant)
'cunning control to lock outside' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'cunning' could be 'art' (I've seen this before) and 'art' is located in the answer.
'control' could be 'choke' (choke is a kind of control) and 'choke' is located in the answer.
A single letter 'i' remains which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for artichoke that I've seen before include "Plant with large edible flower-head" , "vegetable's served?" , "something to eat" , "Plant with edible flower heads" , "Vegetable could give you a thicko ear" .)