Ornamental cabbage

Sun

Full sun gives the best colour and compact growth; light afternoon shade helps in warmer climates.

Water

Keep the soil evenly moist but not waterlogged; containers need checking more often than beds.

Soil

Fertile, well-drained soil, preferably neutral to slightly alkaline.

Height

1-1.5 ft (0.3-0.45 m)

Spread

1-1.5 ft (0.3-0.45 m)

Foliage

Broad, rounded, overlapping leaves with gently wavy edges; green outer leaves surround pink, red or creamy-white centres, depending on the selection.

Growth

Fast in cool to mild weather.

Care needed

Low

• Low allergen

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

Difficulty

Easy

Toughness

Fairly tough

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

1. Planting day

   0.5 ft (0.15 m)

2. After 1 year

   1.2 ft (0.38 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

Safe

Native to

the UK

Growth rate

Fast

• Plant in cool weather, spacing plants about 1-1.5 ft (0.3-0.45 m) apart; allow room for mature rosettes.
• Water at soil level whenever the surface begins to dry, keeping moisture consistent.
• Mix compost into poor soil before planting; feed container plants lightly with a balanced fertiliser according to its label.
• Apply a thin mulch around plants, keeping it away from the stem and lower leaves.
• Keep plants away from roof runoff and standing water, which encourage rotting.

Pruning. Remove yellowing, damaged or rotting outer leaves at their bases as needed, without cutting into the central rosette. Pull plants out when they become frost-damaged or send up a tall flower stalk in spring.

Summer

Sow seed roughly 10-14 weeks before the desired autumn display, keeping seedlings bright and evenly moist.

Late summer

Harden off young plants and plant out as hot weather eases; choose compact nursery plants without damaged centres.

Autumn

Keep watering during dry spells and check leaf undersides for caterpillars and aphids.

Late autumn

Allow cool weather to bring out the leaf colour; remove fallen leaves caught inside the rosettes.

Winter

Reduce watering as growth slows, but do not let containers dry out completely; remove plants spoiled by severe frost.

Spring

Remove plants as they bolt or lose their shape and replace them with the next seasonal planting.

• Repeat compact rosettes along the front of a cool-season border for a strong, regular pattern.
• Combine with pansies and violas in autumn and winter containers.
• Plant in blocks beside fine-textured grasses to contrast broad leaves with narrow blades.
• Use pale-centred selections in formal bedding or courtyard pots to brighten the shorter days.

Garden styles it suits: Formal, Modern courtyard, Potager (kitchen garden), Autumn colour, Winter interest and Small-space.

Plant it with: Pansies, Violas, Heathers, Coral bells, Carex and Dusty miller.

Wildlife: Leaves feed cabbage-white butterfly caterpillars and other brassica-feeding insects. Plants retained into spring can produce yellow flowers visited by bees, although flowering usually ends their usefulness as compact bedding plants.

• Cabbage caterpillars chew holes in the leaves: inspect frequently, hand-pick caterpillars, or use a labelled Bacillus thuringiensis product while larvae are small.
• Aphids gather on young leaves and in the centre: wash them off with water or apply insecticidal soap according to its label.
• Slugs and snails damage lower leaves: remove hiding places, hand-pick after dark, or use labelled iron-phosphate bait.
• Rot develops in saturated soil or water-filled rosettes: improve drainage, water at soil level and discard badly affected plants.

Not known to be poisonous to people, cats or dogs in ordinary small amounts; the leaves are edible but often bitter. Large amounts can cause digestive upset, and heavy brassica consumption can cause more serious problems in horses and other grazing livestock, so do not offer plants or trimmings as feed. Do not eat ornamental plants unless you know they have been grown with products approved for edible crops.

• Ornamental kale (Brassica oleracea)

  Most ornamental kales have deeply frilled, curled or finely divided leaves; Osaka cabbage has broad, relatively smooth leaves forming a rounded rosette.

• Heading cabbage (Brassica oleracea Capitata Group)

  Vegetable heading cabbages form a firm, tightly packed head rather than the open, coloured central rosette typical of ornamental cabbage.

Brassica is the Latin name for cabbage, oleracea means vegetable or kitchen-garden plant, and Osaka is the name of a Japanese city.

Propagation. Grow from seed, normally sown in summer for an autumn display. Buy named Osaka-series seed for predictable colours and form; saved seed may not resemble the parent plant. In Australia, use the same seasonal sequence rather than Northern Hemisphere calendar months.

Accepted botanical name

Brassica oleracea

In the US and Canada

Introduced in the lower 48 states, Pacific Basin and Puerto Rico.

Native range

France, Great Britain and Spain.

Measured

Soil pH 7 to 7.5. Average height 50 cm.

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