Ornamental cabbage is a unique decoration for any area. It is often used by landscape designers when implementing their most daring projects. There are a huge number of varieties of this vegetable. They all differ in plant height, leaf color and shape. Growing and caring for ornamental cabbage is not at all difficult, so it can be a real boon for beginners. Find out more about growing ornamental cabbage and caring for it, as well as see photos of different varieties of this amazing crop in the article below.
Variety of varieties
Ornamental cabbage has been known to man since the 4th century. e. Already at that time it attracted the attention of admirers of natural beauty. Today, various breeding companies are engaged in breeding and obtaining new varieties of this vegetable. Farmers are offered a huge variety of ornamental cabbage, which includes improved varieties with a spreading rosette resembling a palm tree, and beautiful, originally ornamental varieties with a closed, classic rosette, rounded in shape.
Palm varieties
More than half a century ago, domestic breeders developed a number of forage varieties of cabbage, which were improved over time and are today used to decorate flower beds, lawns, and gardens. As a rule, such plants are quite tall, have several long petioles and curly leaves.
Lark's tongue
This cabbage is not at all similar to its white cabbage “relative”, which is familiar to many. It forms a main stem with a height of 50 to 130 cm. It contains a large number of petioles up to 20 cm long. The leaves of this decorative “beauty” are curly and quite large. Their color is green. The Lark's Tongue variety is grown from early spring until late autumn. In the second half of summer, the vegetable grows and exhibits all its decorative qualities.
Red curly
Flower growers and landscape designers are offered two varieties of curly cabbage. These are the varieties “Tall Red Curly” and “Low Red Curly”. From the name it is clear that these two species differ in plant height. Low cabbage does not exceed 60 cm in height, high cabbage grows up to 130 cm. The leaves of these varieties are spreading. The diameter of such a plant reaches 1 m. The color of the decorative crop is dark purple.
Kai and Gerda
This variety is represented by decorative cabbage in two colors: green and emerald. The height of adult plants “Kai and Gerda” reaches 50 cm. Their leaves are funny, elongated in shape with curly edges. This ornamental vegetable can be grown in a sunny area or in partial shade.
Red kale
This wonderful cabbage has not only excellent decorative properties, but also benefits for the human body. It contains 9 essential and 18 nonessential amino acids. In terms of protein, it can surpass meat. “Red Kale” also contains vitamins B, PP, K, C and a complex of minerals.
It’s not difficult to grow such healthy cabbage in your garden or flowerbed. At the same time, the leaves of a beautiful, curly plant, up to 1 m high, have a pleasant, fresh, sweetish taste.
The above decorative cabbage varieties are spreading and massive, so they are rarely used as an independent design element. More often, such varieties are complemented in the flowerbed with other ornamental plants.
Cabbage with a closed rosette
Decorative cabbage with a closed rosette looks original and interesting in a flowerbed. The variety of such varieties allows you to choose a vegetable with leaves of the required color to create any flower arrangement.
Nagoya
This variety is highly decorative and resistant to adverse weather conditions, frosts and other troubles. The cabbage leaves are arranged quite densely, forming a beautiful “basket”. The edges of the leaves of the Nagoya variety have very curly edges. Their color is combined: the lower leaves of an ornamental vegetable can be green, and the inner leaves red or white. The height of the plant is up to 60 cm. You can see a photo of such an original cabbage below.
Tokyo
Cabbage variety "Tokyo" is a low plant up to 35 cm. Its leaves are rounded, with slightly curly edges. The color of the leaves is combined: the outer leaves are green, the inner ones can be white, red, or pink.It is this type of ornamental cabbage that can often be seen in flower beds and lawns. It is used to frame paths.
Piglon
Cabbage variety "Piglon" has very interesting rosettes that resemble roses in appearance. The leaves of this ornamental plant are oval with perfectly smooth edges. Their color combines 3 colors at once: green, cream and pink. The height of cabbage does not exceed 30 cm. You can see such a unique plant in the photo below.
Coral Queen
This variety is the antipode of the Piglon variety: the leaves of Coral Queen are very dissected and look like corals. The height of such cabbage does not exceed 20 cm, while the diameter of the rosette can reach 30 cm. The outer leaves of the ornamental vegetable are purple, the inner leaves are crimson in color.
In addition to the above varieties, “Osaka”, “Princess”, “Mosbakhskaya”, “Colors of the East” and some other types of cabbage are decorative. Thus, by selecting different varieties of ornamental vegetables according to height, color, and leaf shape, you can create an original composition. At the same time, the “Red Kale” variety can become not only a unique decoration, but also a tasty, healthy treat for surprisingly family and friends.
Growing
Ornamental cabbage is distinguished by its unpretentiousness. It tolerates frosts, lack of sunlight and transplants well. The crop is grown in two ways: by sowing grains in open ground or by seedlings at home. It is worth noting that cabbage acquires its decorative qualities only in the second half of summer, starting in August. That is why many farmers prefer to grow vegetables as seedlings or in the backyard, replanting them in a flowerbed after acquiring decorative properties.
Sowing a seed in the ground
It is recommended to sow ornamental cabbage in open ground in April - mid-May, depending on weather conditions. The time of sowing the crop should coincide with sowing the radish seeds. Plant grains are sown in holes at a distance of 7-10 cm from each other. The seed placement depth is no more than 1.5 cm. After sowing, the beds should be watered and covered with polyethylene. When overgrowth appears, the protective material should be lifted onto the arches. After a month, young plants can be planted in a permanent place of growth. In some cases, ornamental cabbage is grown in backyards before “blooming.”
Growing seedlings
The classic seedling method of growing is also great for ornamental cabbage. In this case, planting ornamental cabbage begins in mid-March. Sow the grains of the crop in separate containers. Soil for filling containers can be prepared by mixing garden soil with sand and peat. You can remove the larvae of possible pests in the soil by heating it in the oven or pouring a solution of potassium permanganate.
Place 2 seeds in each container filled with nutrient soil to a depth of 1 cm. To maintain the best microclimate, crops should be covered with plastic film or glass. The temperature for cultivating seedlings must be maintained at +18-+200C. The appearance of the first shoots in favorable conditions begins after 2-3 days, after which the protective material should be removed and the containers installed in a room with a temperature no higher than +160C. The grown seedlings are thinned out, leaving only one strongest sprout in the pot.
Young ornamental cabbage in pots should be watered as the soil dries out. At the same time, increased soil moisture can provoke the development of a fungal disease - blackleg. To prevent it, in addition to regular moderate watering, ash dusting of the soil is used.
Plant care
Planting and caring for ornamental cabbage is not particularly difficult. During the growing season, the plant can be replanted several times in different places. So, home seedlings should be planted in open ground with the appearance of 3-4 true leaves. You can plant cabbage directly into a flowerbed or into a bed for temporary cultivation. When planting plants, maintain a distance between seedlings of at least 20 cm.
The soil for growing cabbage can be any kind, but it is preferable to use loam and sandy loam with a high organic content. The acidity of the soil should be low. To do this, you can add dolomite flour, slaked lime or wood ash to the soil.
Ornamental cabbage is particularly demanding of moisture, so the plants in the garden should be watered regularly and abundantly, preventing the soil from drying out. The crop is also demanding when it comes to fertilizing. To fertilize vegetables, you can use organic or mineral complex fertilizers containing nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. During the entire growing season, plants can be fertilized 3-5 times, depending on the fertility of the soil. The interval between feedings should not be less than 10 days.
You can learn some other nuances about growing ornamental cabbage by watching the video:
Pest Control
The effort devoted to growing and caring for ornamental cabbage can be wasted if pests encroach on the vegetable. These include slugs and caterpillars. To prevent them from spoiling the beautiful leaves, they should be combated by mulching the soil with pine paws. Sprinkling the root area of the ground with ash is also a preventive measure in the fight against slugs.
You can scare off the caterpillar butterfly using superphosphate. This substance is diluted in water in a ratio of 1:100 and used for spraying plants. This procedure must be performed every time after watering or rain.
Cabbage in a flowerpot
The high decorative qualities of cabbage can be used not only to decorate flower beds and lawns, but also for windows, balconies, and apartment rooms. So, cabbage can be grown in pots or flowerpots. For one plant you need to select a container with a volume of 3-5 liters. Drainage holes must be made at its bottom to drain excess water. In general, growing ornamental cabbage at home is not difficult. The culture is undemanding to the amount of light, so it can be placed away from windows.
This planting method can also be used in open areas of land. In this case, the flowerbed will be mobile and can be moved to different parts of the site without replanting the plants themselves.
Conclusion
Thus, the article provides a description of the most common and popular varieties of ornamental vegetables, as well as a detailed description of how to grow this unique crop on your plot or in your apartment. Having familiarized yourself with the information, all that remains is to purchase the seeds of the variety you like and start sowing them.Soon cabbage will delight and surprise you with its beauty, making your garden, vegetable garden, or flower bed interesting and unique. Until the onset of severe winter frosts, the colored vegetable will remind you of a warm, sunny summer.
