Collection of Flowering Kale at Dallas Arboretum

Flowering Kale in Container

Creating both edible and ornamentally pleasing vegetables has been a goal of plant breeders. Flowering cabbage and kale (Brassica oleracea) are a new landscaping niche in the autumn garden. Plants develop huge leafy rosettes and eventually form heads. Color patterns on leaves include white, cream, red and purple shades. The younger center leaves of the heads are mostly edible.

Grow ornamental types like you would their edible cousins in garden beds or in containers. Plants are cold hardy and make it through winter without injury in zones 7 and 8. Further north in zones 5 and 6, winter treats the foliage more harshly and plants start to decline around Thanksgiving. A touch of frost brings out the blues and purples of leaf color.

In most growing regions growing ornamental kales and cabbages in full sun is preferred. Further south, take into account the intense sun in south Florida, Texas, and California; light afternoon shade is the rule for heads to reach maximum size. Mature plants may measure 1 to 1½ feet across.

In late summer transplants are set out and should be watered, fertilized, and sprayed for insects. Set plants about 1½ feet apart in a garden (or containers) when summer heat begins to moderate and cool nights have returned. Lightly fertilize plants monthly with water soluble fertilizers such as Miracle Gro®, Daniels®, or Nature’s Source®.

If white cabbage or sulfur butterflies are still fluttering around, spray with a biological insecticide such as Bacillus thuringiensis (BT) or other pesticides sold at most independent garden centers. An alternative to spraying pesticides is to cover plants with a row tunnel or finely spun fabric netting in late summer while caterpillar activity is still high. Choose a different planting spot each year so that soil-borne diseases do not build up in the soil.