{"id":8145,"date":"2017-10-27T12:00:05","date_gmt":"2017-10-27T16:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/?p=8145"},"modified":"2017-10-27T11:22:12","modified_gmt":"2017-10-27T15:22:12","slug":"tis-the-season-for-ornamental-kales-and-cabbages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/2017\/10\/27\/tis-the-season-for-ornamental-kales-and-cabbages\/","title":{"rendered":"Tis The Season For Ornamental Kales and Cabbages"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Flowering<\/a>

Flowering kale and cabbage and pansies in container at Biltmore Estate, Asheville, NC<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>

December at the Dallas Arboretum<\/p><\/div>\n

Ornamental cabbage and kale (Brassica oleracea<\/em>) are very close related to the same vegetables that we eat at\u00a0our kitchen table. They are edible, just not as tasty. Plants are biennials, e.g. they produce leaves one year and flower the following spring. Ornamental kales have deeply cut serrated or ruffled leaves while leaves of ornamental cabbage are rounded leaves. Rosy\u00a0to\u00a0creamy white leaf\u00a0colors are at their finest in full sun and temps\u00a0fall into the upper 20\u2019s and low 30\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Plants grow 18 inches tall and wide in either full to partial sun. When grown in warmer climes (zones 8 and warmer), partial shade is preferable.\u00a0Kales and cabbages prefer a moderate acidic soil pH between 5.8 – 6.5.\u00a0 Irrigate plants weekly if rainfall is subpar.<\/p>\n

By early spring plants have bolted (flowered), and leaves become torn and\u00a0ragged. Aphids, cabbage loopers, and leaf rollers are troublesome in many growing areas. Mildew may cover leaves if fall weather is warm and humid. Cabbage loopers may destroy the foliage.\u00a0An \u201cowlet moth\u201d deposits her eggs on foliage and the green worms (larval stage) quickly chew into the leaves. Frequent spraying with Sevin\u00ae or dusting with Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis<\/em>), a natural bactericide, is effective. Insects are\u00a0fewer in the cooler months. Rabbits are a secondary problem and\u00a0should be fenced out.<\/p>\n

Plants are very heavy feeders, and should be fertilized frequently for optimum growth. Plants properly hardened off plants can usually survive most winters in zones 7b and points further south. Drastic sub-freezing dips in temperature may burn\u00a0leaf edges. Ice storms can destroy the planting.<\/p>\n

I strongly urge the purchase of one gallon size plants over six packs of 4-inch pots. Smaller plants rarely reach full size before the biting cold wintry air arrives.<\/p>\n

Leading varieties:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kale:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018Red Bor\u2019 grows up to 3 feet tall with deep purple ruffled leaves.<\/p>\n

\u2018Peacock Red\u2019 and \u2018Peacock White\u2019 form large open plants up to 2 feet across with feathery leaves.<\/p>\n

\u2018Red Feather\u2019 and \u2018White Feather\u2019, similar to \u2018Peacock Red\u2019 except leaves are larger and less serrated.<\/p>\n

\u2018Nagoya Red\u2019 and \u2018Nagoya White\u2019 strut heavily ruffled foliage.<\/p>\n

Cabbage:<\/strong> \u2018Osaka Red\u2019, \u2018Osaka Pink,\u2019 and \u2018Osaka White\u2019 – colorful wavy-edged leaves on tightly packed, 12 inch high compact heads. Top center rosettes turn bright purple, pink, or white with green outer leaf edges.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ornamental cabbage and kale (Brassica oleracea) are very close related to the same vegetables that we eat at\u00a0our kitchen table. They are edible, just not as tasty. Plants are biennials, e.g. they produce leaves one year and flower the following spring. Ornamental kales have deeply cut serrated or ruffled leaves while leaves of ornamental cabbage […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[444,1439,1124,1218,707,1438,749,1005,1150,605,674,665,816,1279,853,551,1288,1030,843,1059,729,933,777,1210,630,113,819,455],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8145"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8145"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8145\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10120,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8145\/revisions\/10120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}