Romanesco, minaret or tower cabbage: the special cauliflower. We show pictures, give variety and cultivation recommendations. Find out more here.
The extraordinary Romanesco (Brassica oleracea convar. botrytis var. botrytis), also called minaret cabbage, has just as unusual synonyms as minaret or tower cabbage. It is named after the tower / minaret-like bulges of the inflorescences. An extreme peculiarity of this type of cabbage is that the inflorescences show a self-similarity. The so-called Flower of Romanescos has Fibonacci spirals and fractal structures. Even if you read it again and again: The Romanesco is a natural variety of cauliflower and not a cross between broccoli and cauliflower and thus a real miracle of nature.
Romanesco is particularly aromatic, which is due to the chlorophyll content of the inflorescences. It is also significantly richer in vitamins A and C than white cauliflower. The flowers usually ripen a little later and are also somewhat smaller than those of modern cauliflower cultivations. Good news for anyone interested: We can do this too Cultivation of Romanesco problem-free with a little skill and compliance with the relevant installation instructions.
Varieties of minaret cabbage
- Romanesco: Name of a very old variety; the variety is vigorous and requires a lot of space (70 × 70 cm); medium-sized flowers.
- Celio (F1): vigorous variety for year-round cultivation; safe and good yield.
- Veronica (F1): Minaret cabbage variety for late summer and autumn cultivation with uniform and visually appealing flowers; resistant to powdery mildew; a popular variety in commercial growing.
- White gold: Minaret cabbage variety for late summer and autumn cultivation; regular and high quality flowers; high yield and robust in cultivation.
- Navona (F1): Variety for autumn cultivation; evenly shaped flowers of heavy weight; quite robust in culture.
- Gitano (F1): new variety suitable for autumn cultivation; compact growth and good yield; high resistance to downy mildew.
If you want to know more about the different Romanesco varieties want to find out, take a look at this article.
Diseases and pests
Romanesco is a little more compact and has smaller flowers than the common white one cauliflower. As a variety of cauliflower, it is not surprising that it suffers from the same diseases and pests as cauliflower.
Young seedlings should be prepared when planting out Snails to be protected. The common cabbage diseases can also cause problems for Romanesco, such as the dreaded fungal disease Carbonic hernia, Earth fleas (perforate leaves), Cabbage whites (Leaf damage) and Cabbage flies.
If you are interested in other types of cabbage, this article will give you an overview of them Variety of cabbage.
Special thanks go to the photographers: aimee rivers, timquijano, Valleybrook Gardens and graibeard.