Quite often we overlook some of the really showy plants for fall color in the garden. One such plant is the beautiful flowering kale, which has very attractive leaves in late summer, fall and early winter.
The attractive leaves of this plant range in shades of pink, rose, magenta and white to creamy-yellow. The outer leaves are often in shades of blue-gray-green to bronze. The two-toned or multi-colored leaves are really outstanding. Leaf color usually intensifies after a light fall frost. The broad leaves are usually wrinkled along the edges, giving the plants an attractive, ruffled appearance.
Flowering kale is a species of the kale family, but is also known as a flowering cabbage.
Very decorative in the garden, the attractive leaf heads are also showy in flower arrangements in the home. Some home gardeners find it a good practice to pot up the plants in late fall for use as indoor flowering plants and as decorative holiday plants.
This plant has unlimited uses in the landscape. It is attractive for borders or can be used very effectively an group plantings of three, five or more plants.
Flowering kale is a good plant to use in containers or window boxes. When they are grown in six or seven inch pots, it is easy to move them from one area to another for seasonal color. For example, one week they can be used in the entry area; another week they can brighten the patio or deck. They are also colorful is low rockeries or rockery outcroppings. Actually, they will thrive in a sunny or semi-shaded spot anywhere in the garden.
The plants grow about a foot and a half to two feet high under normal growing conditions. For best display, plants should be set about twelve to eighteen inches apart.
Simple to grow, they are usually stated from seed in late spring. Once the seedlings are established, they are transplanted into a permanent planting spot. They are not fussy about soil, as long as it is well drained. However, for container or pot culture, they prefer a loose, friable, sandy loam soil with peat moss added.
When you prepare the soil for planting, it is a good practice to give them a helping hand by mixing peat moss, compost or leaf mold with the existing soil. Also, mix a well-rotted organic manure or all purpose rose or garden type fertilizer with the soil. Although they are not fussy, they will grow better if given nutrients at planting time.
Actual growing conditions and requirements are about the same as those for growing cabbage. Their biggest enemy is aphids, which you can control with an organic insecticide. Slugs should also be eliminated in areas where flowering kale is grown.
Large sized flowering kale plants, in pots or containers, are available in the fall, at many nurseries, garden centers and garden departments in this area. Fall is a good time to buy them because you can select them for their leaf color. They can be set out in the garden or can be put in the pots for use as container plants.
Take time out this fall to become acquainted with the showy flowering kale. It is a fine plant to add color to your garden during the fall and early winter months.
History of Kale
Kale is one of the oldest forms of cabbage, originating in the eastern Mediterranean. Kale is thought to have been used as a food crop as early as 2000 B.C. Theophrastus described a form of kale in 350 B.C. Travelers and immigrants through the ages have introduced this green vegetable to many parts of the world.
The curly leaves of kale are among the most nutritious vegetables. One 3.5 ounce serving of kale provides all the adult daily requirement of vitamin A and C and 13 percent of the calcium requirement. Kale is used as a green vegetable, steamed and served with butter or vinegar, or in soups. Much of the present production is used as decoration on salad bars since kale is less likely to wilt than lettuce or other greens.
Kale is tolerant of cold temperatures and is sweet following a light frost. Production is mainly from Norfolk, Virginia to Long Island, New York where it can be spread over a long, mild winter season. Smaller production areas are scattered throughout the U.S.
There is a renewed interest in growing ornamental or flowering cabbage and kale. I bought some flowering kale last week to add to my mum collection for fall color in my garden. I'll let you know how my first experience goes with them. Known by a number of names, such as floral kale, decorative kale, ornamental-leaved kale, and flower kale, ornamental cabbage and kale belong to the Brassica oleracca Acephala Group. It should be noted that vanities sold as "flowering kale" are used as ornamental plants for decoration. Although edible, it is not as palatable as regular kale. Seed of 'flowering kale" is available through flower seed dealers rather than vegetable seed dealers. However, I found it in both Johnny's and Burpees seed catalog. Some of the information I was reading for this article mentioned that flowering kale is used as a garnish to help make dishes look good since it holds up better than other greens.
Flowering cabbage and kale are divided into groups based on the shape of the leaf. Cultivars with smooth leaf margins constitute the flowering cabbage group while those with divided or "fringed" leaf margins are considered flowering kale. Within the kale group there are two types: the most common are the "fringed leaved cultivars" which have finely ruffled leaf margins and a smaller number which are called "feather leaved cultivars" have leaves that are finely serrated and deeply notched. Cultivar selection will depend on growth habit and coloration. Within each series there is normally a white, pink, and red cultivar.
The interesting thing about flowering cabbage and kale is that its appearance improves after a frost or two. Leaf color usually intensifies after a light fall frost. Plant breeders have been active in developing new cultivars of Brassica Oleracea which have good growth habits and strong foliar coloration. The "flower" of ornamental cabbage and kale consists of the central leaves of the plant. These leaves will lose chlorophyll after several days of night temperatures below 50 degrees F to reveal the coloration which ranges from white to pink to red. It will take 2 to 4 weeks to develop intense coloration from the start of cool night temperatures.
Flowering cabbage and kale offer the consumer a plant which is both colorful and long-lasting in the landscape. While many of our flowering plants, including garden mums, lose their flowers and/or color after several frosts, flowering cabbage and kale will intensify in color and last up until the first December snowfall in our region.
