Ornamental cabbage: a great play of colors for your own garden

Ornamental cabbage: its time is autumn and winter. Then the Krauskopf develops its splendid color. We show how your garden shines with rich colors!

Ornamental cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. acephalad) delights every garden owner in late summer and autumn. The crinkled and variegated leaves come in different shapes and, above all, colors, from rich orange to pink and purple to deep green, everything is possible. The Japanese in particular have discovered ornamental cabbage for themselves in recent years. It is therefore hardly surprising that many of the selected varieties come from the land of the rising sun.

Contrary to popular belief, ornamental cabbage is edible!

If you attract ornamental cabbage yourself, you have the advantage that it can also be processed into cabbage dishes. The young leaves in particular have a delicate and aromatic taste. If you get the ornamental cabbage from a flower shop or from a garden center, it may have been sprayed with chemical pesticides. In this case: hands (and mouth) away and enjoy with your eyes.

How to grow in your own garden

Ornamental cabbage, like many other types of cabbage, is a biennial crop. It only blooms in the second year of location and dies after blooming. Due to the moderate winter hardiness, ornamental cabbage must be protected with fleece in mild regions or in a cool place (cellar, garage, gazebo, tomato house, etc.).

The cabbage species needs a sunny to partially shaded location. The sunnier the location, the more intense the color of the leaves. It thrives in almost any garden soil. If the soil is poor in nutrients, high-quality potting soil like our peat-free Plantura can be used Organic potting soil be mixed in. Ornamental cabbage is a medium to heavy eater.

Seeds of different varieties can be obtained without any problems. The seeds can be planted on the windowsill from the end of March. When sowing, the seeds are covered with a little soil. When watering, care should be taken not to wash the seeds to the surface. A special cultivation soil such as our Plantura is suitable as a medium Organic herb & sowing soil, as this promotes rooting. If you have the time, you can prick out after the first correct pair of leaves has formed. This promotes the development of strong root growth and is a guarantee for large and magnificent heads. After the plant has spent a few weeks on the warm and protected windowsill, the young plants can be put in their final place after the ice saints. The space requirement is 30-50 cm x 30-50 cm depending on the variety.

The colored representative of cabbage also cuts a very good figure on the terrace or balcony. If the culture takes place in a vessel, sufficient drainage must be provided. The plant does not tolerate waterlogging well.

Cabbage needs regular watering during the growth phase. It is true that you should not pour too much, but you should also avoid drying out the soil. Ornamental cabbage can be fertilized with a complete fertilizer every three weeks.

You can find detailed step-by-step instructions here: Growing ornamental cabbage: sowing, care and harvest time.

When the nights get colder, the ornamental cabbage becomes more colorful

When the days get shorter and the temperatures lower, the ornamental cabbage develops its most beautiful colors. From this point on, you should no longer fertilize. After the first night frosts, it either belongs in its winter quarters or when it is harvested. Even grown cabbage can be used in the kitchen without hesitation: Either as a decorative garnish for buffets or cooked. The only downer: the brightly colored leaves unfortunately lose their significant colors when they are cooked.

Ornamental cabbage varieties

• Attraction: quite hardy smooth-leaved variety with white leaves.
• Child red: smooth-leaved variety with red-purple leaves.
• King White: smooth-leaved variety with white inner leaves.
• Red & White Peacock: intensely slit and jagged with white inner leaves.
• Sunrise: long-stemmed variety with creamy white inner leaves; partially speckled pink.
• Sunset: long-stemmed variety with pinkish-purple inner leaves.

If you want to know more about the Ornamental cabbage varieties want to find out, have a look at this special article.

Diseases and pests

In general, ornamental cabbage is robust and easy to grow. In the beginning especially young plants of Nudibranchs haunted. Here, when it rains, you either have to diligently collect or close Slug pellets to grab. Even Aphids occur especially with a culture in the home four walls or on the balcony. These can be biologically and effectively with our Plantura Organic pest-free neem a natural remedy made from the seeds of the neem tree. Like all types of cabbage, ornamental cabbage has problems with that Cabbage white butterfly and the Cabbage fly. Also against those that do not occur too often in the home garden Carbonic hernia is he not armed.

If you do not yet know what to decorate your bed for the upcoming gardening season, then give the ornamental cabbage a try - a tasty and eye candy at the same time!