Plant of the Week----Ornamental Cabbage and Kale

 

Ornamental Cabbage and Kale 

Fall's favorite flowers are undoubtedly mums and pansies. Both are cold-tolerant and great for cool weather color. Add a cool-weather leafy plant that will brighten up the garden with remarkable color as other plants fade. Ornamental cabbage and kale, Brassica oleracea, are the same species as their vegetable cousins, but they've been bred for color over taste. Instead of producing a cabbage-like head, these plants form a tight rosette of leaves that may be broad, flat or frilly like the kales we know and love. The plants will grow to about a foot high and a foot and a half wide.

Mixed fall container

Our growers start ornamental cabbage and kale in late summer. By early fall, plants are shipped to the store with just a hint of color. As the weather cools, the cabbage and kale come into their own, increasing in size and color as mums start to fade. 

Ornamental Cabbage and Kale

When shopping for the plants, look for large, compact plant with leaves covering the top of the pot. To transplant them, loosen the roots a bit. If lower leaves have yellowed, pull them off and bury the stem to the lowest leaves. Give them some fertilizer to get them growing and water well. On warmer, bright days, be sure to water thoroughly. 

We grow a nice assortment of ornamental cabbage and kale, including:

 Coral Queen

Coral Queen photo courtesy Pinewood

Glamour Red

Glamour Red photo courtesy of  AAS

Kamome Red

Kamome Red photo courtesy of  Ball Seed

Nagoya White

Nagoya White photo courtesy of Sakata Seed

Osaka Dynasty Red

Osaka Dynasty Red photo courtesy of Ball Seed

Osaka Pink Bicolor

Osaka Pink Bicolor photo courtesy of Ball Seed 

Peacock Red

Peacock Red photo courtesy of Lucas Greenhouses

Pigeon Purple and White

Pigeon Purple (our best seller) photo courtesy of Harris Seed

Songbird Red

Songbird Red photo courtesy Takii Seed

Compliment the plants with pansies on a front border, with ornamental grasses behind them, or decorate planters with cut evergreen boughs for the winter holidays. 

Use the leaves for flower arrangements and/or as a garnish on plates at dinnertime.

Do keep an eye out for holes in the leaves that may be a result of slug damage or cabbage worm. They may be removed by hand, sprayed with water or a safe, organic pesticide. 

Enjoy the ornamental cabbage and kale this fall and winter.