Ornamental Cabbage

While most gardeners think of mums as the flower of choice for fall garden color, there are other candidates that provide interesting and dependable color, and remain colorful well past autumn and into early winter. Consider ornamental cabbage and kale, Not only do these plants provide bright vibrant color, they like cool, even very cold, weather.

Ornamental cabbages and kales produce foliage that comes in shades of magenta, purple, red, rose, green, and cream. They are great accent plants for the garden and also work well in containers by themselves or mixed with other plants.

Container Plant Revival

Summer containers often have plants that have lost their appeal or died, but the container itself is not bad looking and just needs a fall upgrade. Remove the tired plant material and insert a few ornamental cabbages or kale. What you have is instant revival.

Purchasing Cabbage and Kale

Cabbage and kale will start to show up in garden centers in very late summer and early fall. These plants are short, often under 12 inches, about the size of a very large dinner plate. While they may be have some color when purchased, they will be ever more vibrant when temperatures start to cool.

Plants such as mums depend on flowers for their color, and once they get done blooming there is not much left to look at but a green mound of leaves. With cabbage and kale, the color lies in the foliage and they never will be without color. 

Cabbages and kales offer a variety of leaf sizes and textures. While many will display traditional cabbage-type foliage, some varieties have very fine cut edges and narrow leaves that almost look like feathers.

Caring for Cabbages and Kales

Cabbages and kales do well in nearly any well-drained garden soil in full to part sun. If planted in containers, be sure to water them well. They need a lot of water and will wilt if the soil dries out. 

These plants continue to provide reliable color and good looks when temperatures go down into the 20s, even well into the New Year.

Put a group of them in the garden where something may have been killed by the heat. Put a few in pots around the patio or porch for some welcoming color. When it comes to a plant that will give you your money’s worth, the cabbages and kales are hard to beat.