The ornamental cabbage provides color in the garden, on the balcony or terrace when the summer flowers have long since faded. We'll show you how to cultivate it properly.
Cabbage is not only on the table, it has also made it into the flower bed and can become an eye-catcher in the ornamental garden. The rosette-shaped ornamental cabbage (Brassica oleracea) provides colorful contrasts and makes an impressive statement in the autumn garden. When the time for the summer flowers is over, the ornamental cabbage begins to glow in intense colors and can be an eye-catcher well into winter. Ornamental cabbage is particularly impressive when planted in groups and in combination with filigree grasses.
Small description of plants
The ornamental cabbage grows in a rosette shape. Some varieties also form stems. The impressive plants can grow to heights of between 30 and 50 centimeters and grow considerably in width. You should consider this when planting so that the plants have enough space.
The ornamental cabbage impresses with its strikingly colored leaf rosettes. The color palette ranges from cream and yellowish to pink and violet variations. The sheet edges can be smooth or slit.
Between May and June, yellow inflorescences appear on the ornamental cabbage, which develop on long stalks and tower over the leaves. After flowering it develops pods.
If the temperature drops below ten degrees, the coloring of the ornamental cabbage appears most intense. Then the plant is often cut for the flower vase.
Origin
Ornamental cabbage is one of the cruciferous plants and is closely related to the traditional cabbage vegetable. The ornamental cabbage is originally native to the Atlantic coast. Over time, more and more decorative forms developed, which have long since left the vegetable patch behind and are convincing in the flower bed, but also on the balcony and terrace as well as in the tub.
Cultivate Ornamental Cabbage
Find a suitable location
A sunny location should be found for the plant. The cabbage otherwise lacks its intense leaf colour. At night the plants like it cooler and temperatures can drop to ten to fifteen degrees.
The cruciferous plants are among the heavy consumers. Therefore, it isnot recommended to plant them in the same spot for years. If you follow the crop rotation and only plant the ornamental cabbage in the same location again after a three-year break, this strengthens the plants and makes them more resistant to pest infestation and diseases.
Tip: Nightshade plants and legumes are suitable as plant neighbors. The ornamental cabbage harmonizes less well with strawberries and other cruciferous vegetables.
Choose the right substrate
Ornamental cabbage needs a permeable and nutrient-rich soil. The substrate is ideally slightly alkaline to slightly acidic. A clay soil is also gladly accepted. The heavy feeder benefits from enriching the substrate with manure or compost.
If ornamental cabbage is cultivated in a tub, conventional potting soil is suitable. Before planting, you should put drainage in the bottom of the container to avoid waterlogging. Because the ornamental cabbage does not tolerate these at all.
Planting decorative cabbage - step by step
1. Select location2. Prepare soil
3. Upgrade substrate
4. Dig planting hole
5. Observe planting distance6. Plant
7. Fill up the substrate
8. Press the soil down
9. Water the soil
You can even plant out plants that you have brought early from May. Alternatively, young plants are commercially available. These can be placed outside until September. The soil must be loosened and supplied with natural fertilizer. Lime should be added to acidic substrates.
The planting distance should be at least 35 centimeters. Ornamental cabbage in different colors looks very decorative in group plantings.
Tip: Long-stemmed species grow better into the desired shape if the lower leaves are regularly removed from a growth height of 20 centimeters.
Water the ornamental cabbage correctly
Cabbage needs regular watering. Hobby gardeners need a bit of tact here, because the soil must not dry out. Waterlogging is also not tolerated. Therefore, let the top layer of soil dry out a little before you water the ornamental cabbage again.
Container plants need more frequent watering. Make sure that the liquid can drain off easily.
Fertilize ornamental cabbage correctly
The heavy feeder depends on a regular supply of nutrients. Every two to four weeks, the ornamental cabbage receives liquid fertilizer, which is added to the irrigation water. From autumn on, fertilization will be stopped and watering will also be slowly reduced.
An overview of the most important planting and care tips
| Activity | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Select Location | • bright • sunny • cooler at night |
| Prepare the ground | • loosen up • supply with nutrients • lime acidic soil |
| planting | • note planting distance • water well |
| Casting | • do not let it dry out • avoid waterlogging |
| Fertilize | • supply liquid fertilizer regularly • stop fertilizing in autumn |
Propagating ornamental cabbage
The ornamental cabbage can be propagated by sowing between May and June. If you start growing too early, you have to expect that the coloring will be less intense.
Hint: It is only possible in very few cases to collect seeds from existing plants. You can also get these in stores:
Put the seeds in a shallow planting tray and let them germinate at around 18 degrees. Later, the seeds can also cope with ambient temperatures of ten to twelve degrees.
When the first cotyledons appear, you can separate the young plants into pots. If the ornamental cabbage is to be cultivated as a container plant, the appropriate size of the planter must be selected. In smaller pots, the young plants can easily survive the few weeks until they are planted in the bed.
Recognize diseases and pests on ornamental cabbage
The ornamental cabbage is a fairly robust plant that is rarely visited by diseases or attacked by pests.
Occasionally the following types of damage occur:
- Aphids
- Cabbage White
- Clubroot
Aphids on ornamental cabbage
Aphids don't stop at ornamental cabbages either. Combating it is relatively easy and there is no need to resort to chemical pesticides. In the case of a lighter infestation, hosing it down with a hard jet of water is usually sufficient. Heavier infestations can be combated with nettle broth. However, the plants should not be treated with soft soap. The solution causes unsightly stains on the leaves.
Tip: In nature, parasitic wasps, ladybirds and lacewings are natural predators that fight aphids.
Cabbage white butterfly on ornamental cabbage
If the cabbage white butterfly takes radical action, only a skeleton can be seen of the ornamental cabbage and fighting it is no longer worthwhile. You can preventivelyIn summer the undersides of the leaves are checked for eggs. The yellowish eggs are collected and discarded. The caterpillars that have already hatched must also be removed immediately from the ornamental cabbage.
Clubroot on ornamental cabbage
This fungal disease is common in cabbages and other cruciferous plants. The slime mold Plasmodiophora brassicae survives in the soil for many years. The damage appears in the form of bulbous root thickening. As a result, the plant can no longer absorb enough water. The leaves wither and the ornamental cabbage dies.
The disease is very stubborn and is often recognized too late, so that it is difficult to combat it and the plants have to be disposed of so that the fungus does not spread to neighboring plants.
» Reading tip: Prevent cabbage hernia - How to protect your cabbage
Overwinter ornamental cabbage
Ornamental cabbage is conditionally hardy. In severe frosts, winter protection from leaves or brushwood can be recommended. Temperatures of up to minus ten degrees are easily tolerated. If you cultivate the ornamental cabbage in a bucket, overwinter the plant in a bright and frost-free place in the house.
Potted plants are generally more susceptible to frost damage, as the pot freezes through quickly and the roots can no longer absorb nutrients from the frozen substrate.
Harvesting and use of ornamental cabbage
In late autumn, the ornamental cabbage has reached its most beautiful foliage color and can be harvested. It doesn't just look great as a decoration in vases. It is also suitable for consumption.
Tip: The coloring of the ornamental cabbage is lost during cooking.
The taste of ornamental cabbage is reminiscent of broccoli or cauliflower. The leaves are tender and easy to prepare. Before doing so, however, the ornamental cabbage must be thoroughly rinsed under running water and the soil and insects removed.
Warning: Ornamental cabbage that you plant yourself can be eaten without hesitation. Varieties cultivated for decorative purposes are often contaminated with pollutants and are not suitable for consumption.