Napa cabbage

Sun

Full sun in cool weather; light afternoon shade can help in warmer conditions.

Water

Keep evenly moist, supplying about 1-1.5 in (2.5-4 cm) of water weekly, including rain; avoid waterlogged soil.

Soil

Fertile, moisture-retentive but well-drained soil, ideally pH 6.0-7.5.

Height

1-2 ft (0.3-0.6 m)

Spread

1-1.5 ft (0.3-0.45 m)

Foliage

Broad, wrinkled, pale to medium-green outer leaves surround yellow-green inner leaves, with wide white ribs forming an elongated or barrel-shaped head.

Growth

Fast; many varieties reach harvest in roughly 60-90 days from sowing, depending on conditions.

Care needed

Medium

• Low allergen
• Edible

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Moderate

Toughness

Needs looking after

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   0.5 ft (0.15 m)

2. After 1 year

   1.5 ft (0.45 m)

   full size

Full size in one season.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Mildly toxic: may upset a stomach

Growth rate

Fast

• Mix mature compost into the bed before planting; space plants 12-18 in (30-45 cm) apart.
• Water at soil level before the root zone dries out; drought can prevent firm heads.
• Apply a balanced vegetable fertilizer according to its label, with a further feed during early growth if needed.
• Mulch around established plants to conserve moisture, keeping mulch away from their bases.
• Cover seedlings with insect mesh, securing the edges and allowing room for growth.
• Choose a variety suited to your season; prolonged chilling of young plants and later long days can trigger bolting.

Pruning. No routine pruning is needed. Remove badly damaged or diseased outer leaves, but retain healthy leaves to support head development.

Cut the whole head at soil level when it feels firm under gentle pressure, before it splits or sends up a flower stalk. Remove damaged outer leaves and refrigerate promptly; loose young leaves are also edible before the head forms.

Late winter

Choose spring-suitable varieties if planning an early crop, and prepare a fertile, well-drained bed.

Spring

Sow or plant out once prolonged cold is unlikely; protect young plants with insect mesh.

Early summer

Harvest spring heads promptly and remove plants that begin to bolt.

Late summer

Sow the main autumn crop, allowing the variety's maturity period plus extra time as days shorten.

Autumn

Keep plants evenly watered as heads fill, and harvest firm heads before severe frost.

Winter

In mild climates, harvest protected crops; elsewhere remove crop debris and plan a rotation away from other brassicas.

• Plant in orderly rows in a potager, where the upright heads give a strong repeated shape.
• Use in raised vegetable beds alongside lower-growing lettuce and spring onions.
• Fill spaces left by harvested summer vegetables with an autumn crop.
• Grow in large containers in sunny courtyards, allowing room for a full-sized head.

Garden styles it suits: Potager (kitchen garden), Edible landscape, Homestead, Cottage garden, Small-space and Family-friendly.

Plant it with: Lettuce, Carrots, Beetroot, Spring onions and Coriander.

Wildlife: Leaves feed caterpillars and other insects. Plants allowed to flower provide nectar and pollen for bees and hoverflies, but bolting ends useful head production.

• Cabbage caterpillars and flea beetles: fit fine insect mesh immediately after sowing or planting, and inspect leaves regularly for eggs and larvae.
• Slugs and snails: check plants after dark, remove hiding places near beds and use wildlife-conscious controls where needed.
• Clubroot: swollen roots and wilting indicate a persistent soil disease; remove affected plants, avoid moving contaminated soil and use resistant varieties where available.
• Bolting or loose heads: choose a season-appropriate variety, avoid prolonged chilling of seedlings, and prevent drought and excessive heat.

The leaves, ribs and flowers are edible for people. Napa cabbage is not known to be toxic to cats, dogs or horses in small amounts, but large quantities can cause gas and digestive upset; substantial, prolonged brassica intake can also affect thyroid function. Do not use it as a major part of an animal's diet.

• Pak choi (Brassica rapa subsp. chinensis)

  Pak choi has separate spoon-shaped leaves on thick stalks in an open rosette, rather than an elongated, tightly packed head.

• Savoy cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. sabauda)

  Savoy cabbage usually has a rounder head with darker, more strongly blistered leaves and less prominent broad white ribs.

The name pekinensis means 'of Peking', now Beijing, while 'napa' comes from a Japanese word for leafy vegetables.

Propagation. Grow from seed, sown about 0.25-0.5 in (0.6-1.3 cm) deep directly into the bed or into modules. Transplant young seedlings before they become root-bound, disturbing roots as little as possible.

Accepted botanical name

Brassica rapa Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis is an older name for Brassica rapa.

In the US and Canada

Introduced in Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Hawaii and the lower 48 states.

Native range

Albania, Algeria, Bulgaria, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Kriti, Lebanon-Syria and Libya.

Measured

Soil pH 5 to 8. Average height 80 cm.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0), USDA PLANTS and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.