Ornamental Cabbage & Kale
Brassica oleracea
Annuals
Used as cool-season annuals, ornamental cabbage and ornamental kale inject a dose of color into otherwise dormant Winter landscapes with rosettes of purple, green, white, and/or gray foliage. In the Spring, their yellow flowers bolt upward to provide a secondary element of interest.
(Detailed plant information can be found at the bottom of the page.)
Brassica oleracea Photo Gallery
Brassica oleracea Plant Information
| Classification | |
|---|---|
| Scientific Name: | Brassica oleracea |
| Common Name: | ornamental cabbage ornamental kale |
| Family: | Brassicaceae |
| Suggested Uses: | biennial used as an cool season annual beds & borders, container plantings |
| Characteristics | |
| Plant Form: | rounded |
| Height: | 10 - 15 inches |
| Spread: | 10 - 15 inches |
| Foliage: | large, coarse-textured leaves that form a loose rosette leaves are tinged with purple, white, and pink colors and provide the ornamental value |
| Flower: | flowers are not the primary ornamental value small, yellow flowers on terminal racemes |
| Bloom Period: | Spring |
| Environment | |
| Sun: | light shade |
| Water: | medium water requirement |
| Soil: | well-drained, moist soils |
| Heat Tolerance: | low heat tolerance |
| USDA Zone: | zones 8 - 9 |
| Native Range: | Europe Asia |
| Care | |
| Maintenance: | plants bolt with warming temperatures in spring decaying leaves put off sulfurous smell propagation by seed |
| Additional Notes: | Ornamental cabbage differs from ornamental kale by the ruffled nature of the leaves
and that it forms a head (Capitata Group). Ornamental kale has dissected leaves and does not form a head (Acephala Group). |
TTU Plant Resources
-
Address
Texas Tech University, Department of Plant and Soil Science, Box 42122, Lubbock, TX 79409 -
Phone
806.742.2838 -
Email
Melanie.Jackson@ttu.edu