Savoy cabbage

Sun

Full sun; light afternoon shade can help in warmer climates.

Water

Keep the root zone evenly moist, supplying about 1-1.5 in (25-38 mm) of water weekly during dry weather. Avoid alternating drought with heavy watering, which can split mature heads.

Soil

Fertile, moisture-retentive but well-drained soil, ideally pH 6.5-7.5. Avoid ground with a history of clubroot.

Height

1-2 ft (0.3-0.6 m)

Spread

1.5-2.5 ft (0.45-0.75 m)

Foliage

Broad, heavily puckered leaves, usually blue-green outside and paler toward the centre, enclosing a rounded head.

Growth

Moderate to fast in cool weather.

Care needed

Medium

• Edible

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

Difficulty

Moderate

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

   1.5 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

Safe

Native to

the UK

Growth rate

Fast

• Space plants 18-24 in (45-60 cm) apart in firm soil, following the cultivar's spacing guidance.
• Water deeply during dry spells, especially while heads are forming.
• Work compost into the bed before planting and apply a nitrogen-rich feed after transplants establish, following the label rate.
• Mulch around established plants to conserve moisture, keeping mulch clear of the stems.
• Cover plants with well-secured insect mesh immediately after planting to exclude cabbage butterflies and moths.
• Rotate brassicas with unrelated crops, leaving at least three years between cabbage-family crops where practical.

Pruning. No routine pruning is needed. Remove yellowing or diseased outer leaves as they appear, but retain healthy leaves to support head growth.

Cut the whole head with a sharp knife when it feels firm under gentle pressure and has reached the expected size for its cultivar, often about 80-150 days after transplanting. Leave a few wrapper leaves around the head and harvest before splitting or a prolonged hard freeze; light frost often improves flavour.

Late winter

In mild climates, sow early cultivars under cover for a spring crop; in colder regions, wait until roughly 6-8 weeks before outdoor planting.

Spring

Harden off seedlings, transplant into prepared ground and cover immediately with insect mesh.

Late spring

Feed established plants, mulch the soil and check leaf undersides for caterpillars and aphids.

Summer

Sow autumn and winter cultivars where the growing season allows, timing planting so heads mature in cool weather.

Autumn

Harvest firm heads as needed and remove any that begin to split.

Winter

In mild regions, harvest winter cultivars during thawed conditions; elsewhere, clear crop remains before the soil freezes.

• Plant in orderly rows in a kitchen garden, using the crinkled leaves as a repeated texture.
• Mix with lettuce and beetroot in a potager for contrasting leaf shapes and colours.
• Use a few plants along sunny edible borders where their broad rosettes provide seasonal structure.
• Grow compact cultivars in large containers near the kitchen, with room for their full leaf spread.

Garden styles it suits: Potager (kitchen garden), Edible landscape, Homestead, Cottage garden, Farmhouse and Green on green.

Plant it with: Lettuce, Beetroot, Onions, Swiss chard, Dill and Calendula.

Wildlife: Leaves feed cabbage butterfly and moth caterpillars, which can seriously damage the crop. Plants left to flower in their second year provide nectar and pollen for bees and other insects.

• Cabbage caterpillars chew holes and foul heads: use insect mesh from planting, inspect leaf undersides and remove caterpillars and egg clusters.
• Cabbage root fly maggots cause wilting and poor growth: use insect mesh or close-fitting cabbage collars, and avoid planting into recently infested ground.
• Clubroot causes swollen roots and stunted, wilting plants: remove affected plants, improve drainage, test soil pH and avoid brassicas on contaminated ground for several years.
• Slugs and snails damage seedlings and outer leaves: remove hiding places, hand-pick after dark and use locally approved iron-based bait if needed.

Not known to be toxic to people, cats or dogs in ordinary food amounts, though large servings can cause gas or digestive upset. Leaves and other parts contain compounds that can interfere with thyroid function when eaten in excessive amounts over time; do not offer cabbage as a regular or bulk feed to horses.

• Green cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata)

  Usually has smooth, waxy leaves and a tighter, smoother-looking head rather than Savoy's deeply puckered leaves.

• Napa cabbage (Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis)

  Typically forms an elongated head with pale, prominently white-ribbed leaves rather than a rounded head of blue-green leaves.

• Kale (Brassica oleracea var. acephala)

  Produces loose leaves along a stem rather than closing into a firm central head.

The common name and botanical epithet sabauda refer to Savoy, the historic region around the western Alps.

Propagation. Grow from seed, sowing about 0.25-0.5 in (0.6-1.3 cm) deep in modules or a prepared seedbed. Transplant sturdy seedlings after hardening them off; saved seed may cross with other flowering Brassica oleracea crops and may not come true.

Accepted botanical name

Brassica oleracea Brassica oleracea var. sabauda is an older name for 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.