Ornamental cabbage and flowering kale are cool-season brassicas grown for their rosettes of purple, rose, and creamy white foliage rather than for the table. They belong to the same species as edible cabbage and kale, Brassica oleracea, but selective breeding has emphasized color and leaf shape over flavor. In horticulture, the smooth-leaved types are called flowering cabbages, while the serrated, fringed types are known as flowering kales. Because they are true brassicas, they share the same insect pests as the vegetable garden, so knowing how to identify and eliminate cabbage worms matters for anyone growing either form. Planted in clusters, they read as flowers from a distance, which is why they appear in beds, borders, and planters across the fall landscape.
Why Plant Ornamental Cabbage and Kale
These plants deliver color in the weeks when most gardens are winding down. They are at their best in cool weather, with color intensifying after frost, which makes them a staple of fall and winter beds.
Color When Everything Else Fades
Fall mums and pansies carry the early season, but ornamental brassicas hold their color long after other annuals collapse. The rosettes form tight, sculptural heads that stand up to light frost and keep their hue into winter in mild climates. Unlike many fall annuals, they tolerate repeated frosts without browning, and the color deepens as nights turn cold. Mature heads hold their shape for weeks, which makes them a dependable anchor for porch pots and entryway urns.
Pairing With Shrubs and Perennials
Ornamental cabbages work as a seasonal layer beneath permanent plantings. Beds that hold spring-blooming shrubs, such as azaleas, get a second act when the azalea care season ends and the brassicas move into the space for fall color.
Edible but Ornamental
The leaves are technically edible, and young leaves can be used like regular cabbage or kale, though breeders have made them tougher and less flavorful than culinary varieties. Most gardeners grow them strictly for looks.
Flowering Cabbage vs. Flowering Kale: Choosing Varieties
The two names describe the same species with different leaf forms. Knowing the difference helps with plant selection and with placement in the garden.
| Type | Leaf Shape | Color Range | Typical Height |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flowering cabbage | Smooth, broad, ruffled edges | White centers, green or purple outer leaves | 10-12 inches |
| Flowering kale | Serrated, fringed, deeply cut | Cream, pink, rose, purple | 12-18 inches |
| Tall kale types | Curly, feathered | Mixed pastels | 18-24 inches |
Smooth-Leaf Flowering Cabbages
These look like oversized, flattened rosettes with creamy centers and colored outer leaves. They read as bold and graphic, which suits formal beds and symmetrical containers.
Serrated Flowering Kales
Fringed kales have feathery, cut leaves that give a softer, more textured appearance. Their height makes them good backdrop plants and useful cut stems for arrangements. Seed catalogs list dozens of named selections; compact cabbages suit the front of a bed, while tall kale types stand behind shorter companions. Reading the mature height on the label before buying prevents the tallest plants from swallowing the display.
Pairing With Ornamental Grasses
The stiff rosettes contrast well with the soft, moving texture of grasses. Planting them beside perennial ornamental grasses pairs a structural anchor with motion, an arrangement that holds interest from late fall through early spring.
Foliage Color Triggers
Cold triggers the color development. Plants that look mostly green in the nursery bench color up after several nights near or below 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Buying plants in fall guarantees you see the final color.
Planting and Care Requirements
Ornamental brassicas are easy to grow when given the basics: full sun, well-drained soil, and cool temperatures. They perform best in the same conditions that suit edible cabbage.
Sun, Soil, and Spacing
Give plants at least six hours of direct sun. Soil should be rich, moist, and well-drained with a neutral to slightly acidic pH. Space plants 12 to 18 inches apart so the rosettes have room to size up. Work an inch or two of compost into the bed before planting, and avoid ground where cabbage family crops grew the previous year to reduce disease carryover.
Watering and Feeding
Keep the soil evenly moist; plants that dry out stress and stop coloring. A light feeding at planting helps, but heavy nitrogen pushes leafy growth at the expense of tight rosettes.
Using Them in Landscape Design
Ornamental cabbages earn their keep in massed fall beds, container groups, and entryway displays. The same principles behind using ornamental grasses for landscape design apply to brassicas: repetition, contrast, and seasonal timing drive the effect. Mass a single variety for the strongest impact, or alternate two colors in a checkerboard for a formal look.
Container Growing
These plants grow well in pots, where the rosettes become the centerpiece. Use a container at least 10 inches wide, keep the mix evenly moist, and move pots to a sheltered spot during hard freezes.
Propagating and Growing From Seed
Ornamental cabbage and kale grow easily from seed, and starting your own plants opens up many more varieties than garden centers stock.
Starting Seeds Indoors
Sow seeds indoors six to eight weeks before the last expected frost for spring color, or in midsummer for fall planting. Seeds germinate in 7 to 14 days at 65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit, and seedlings grow quickly once they have true leaves. A reliable seed-starting sequence:
- Fill trays with moist seed-starting mix.
- Sow two or three seeds per cell at 1/4 inch deep.
- Keep the mix at 65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit until germination.
- Thin to the strongest seedling per cell.
- Harden off for a week before transplanting.
Direct Sowing and Timing
In mild climates, seed can go directly into the garden in late summer. Set transplants out in early fall so they establish before heavy frost. Plants mature in about 10 to 12 weeks from seed. In warm fall regions, direct sowing in late August to mid-September produces plants that color up naturally as nights cool; hot climates can hold seed until early October, since the plants need cool nights to develop their best color.
Planning Mixed Plantings
Seedlings raised at home make it easy to plan layered beds. Coordinate the brassicas with shrubs and perennials that flower at other times of year, the way selecting flowering shrubs for home landscapes is done, so the bed has color in every season.
Hardening Off
Move seedlings outdoors gradually over a week before planting. Cold-hardy though they are, an abrupt shift from a warm windowsill to the garden stresses young plants.
Pests, Diseases, and Common Problems
Because they are brassicas, ornamental cabbage and kale attract the same pests that plague the vegetable garden. Early action keeps damage cosmetic rather than destructive.
A weekly inspection catches most problems early. Look for:
- Ragged holes or skeletonized leaf edges
- Clusters of aphids on young leaves and buds
- Yellow spots or a powdery coating on foliage
- Wilting despite evenly moist soil
Cabbage Worms and Aphids
Cabbage worms chew ragged holes in the leaves, and aphids cluster on new growth. Check the undersides of leaves weekly, remove worms by hand, and wash aphids off with water or treat with insecticidal soap.
Fungal Diseases
Dense planting and wet foliage encourage fungal issues such as leaf spot. Space plants for air movement, water at the base, and remove affected leaves promptly.
Dividing and Refreshing Beds
Ornamental brassicas are annuals, so they are replaced rather than divided, but the bed maintenance around them follows the same timing and soil considerations used when dividing ornamental plants for residential landscaping. Clear spent plants after they bolt, refresh the soil, and replant for the next season.
Bolting and Leggy Plants
Warm spells or late planting push plants to flower and set seed, which ruins the rosette. If plants bolt, replace them; for seed savers, let the flower stalks mature and collect seed.
Overwintering and Seasonal Displays
In mild climates, ornamental cabbages can sit in the garden through winter, providing months of color. Where winters are hard, they are treated as seasonal annuals.
Overwintering Options
Plants survive light frost easily and can take dips into the teens when hardened off. In colder zones, grow them in containers and move pots to a garage or cold frame during deep freezes. In very mild areas, a fall planting can hold color through late winter. A cold frame adds several weeks on either end of the season, and an unheated garage works for potted plants in the hardest zones. Plants that survive winter often send up flower stalks in spring, a sign the display has run its course.
From Ornamental to Edible
The ornamental forms share their growing needs with the vegetable garden. Gardeners who enjoy the family connection can put the same timing and care to work on a food crop, using a cabbage growing guide for planting, care, and harvest of edible heads.
Extending the Season
Plant in waves a few weeks apart to stretch the color window, and pair early and late varieties. With staggered planting, ornamental brassicas can anchor the fall bed from first frost to early spring.