Ornamental Cabbage

Ornamental Cabbages are unusual or unique, perky, healthy-looking and a nice change of pace for something lovely to look at. And it is said they can be eaten. More on that below.

Here are the needs of ornamental cabbage to make it in Phoenix and the surrounding areas located in the valley.

Light- meaning FULL sun

Well-watered consistently moist, but not soggy. They can get yellow or start root rot if left too damp consistently and they can develop a fungal or bacterial infections.

Watch for yellow leaves as this means they need fertilizer and nitrogen is the fertilizer of choice for ornamental cabbage

Use all-purpose potter mix. No need to really amend soil using additives. They can be placed in older pots with older soil. I do it al the time.

They don’t grow much more than 7-9 inches across or high so usually one medium size pot will suffice and/or sporatdically placed along the edges of a garden plot or planter really works best.

They will send up flower stalks. Your choice to leave the stalks in place or cut them. I cut mine. You can collect the seeds from the stalks and use as starter plants if you are into that. I am not.

Cabbages are subject to pests, caterpillars, slugs and aphids and this is always evident from holes in the leaves.

To eliminate pests, spray hard with water and possibly a mixture of a light pesticide or horticultural oil or make your own. I use vinegar and a drop of dish washing liquid.

We grow them all through autumn and winter, and I personally like to plant them again, after the last frost. Then enjoy them through the first part of summer. I plant mine both in ground and in pots.

They blend well with pansies, dusty miller , snapdragons , asters, ornamental grasses and mums .

I don’t recommend using these plants as indoor plants as they really need that bright, bright sun and fresh air.

We don’t eat ours but I understand that some have a sweet taste and others a bitter flavor but all do have some nutritional value, that is, if the have been raised totally organically.

We get a lovely off-white or creamy looking varietal called the Pigeon White Flowering Kale, with serrated green foliage and also have the absolutely gorgeous purple/lavender cabbage with minty green leaves called the Emperor Red; an uprising flower with a tiered silhouette similar to a wedding cake and has firm curled foliage. The flower part will rise about 8-10 inches. Ours are shown below. I planted them in January. The Emperor Red has not yet shot up from the center to its maximum height. They make me smile when I see them. There are several varietals including the Osaka Red which is my favorite and I snap them up when I find them, but unfortunately was unable to find any this year. So these below will suffice for the remaining winter/spring. Ornamental cabbages can survive up to 2 years but I will probably pull mine at the end of May and plant others next fall as I am not in Arizona enough to maintain them, and by that I mean, moving them out of the hard core afternoon August sun.

But for now, they are a pleasant site.

Post Script … 4/6/22– now the first week of April, The Emperor Red has sprouted and turned into a tall spike. Making a fun discussion topic and always a surprise to see for non-Arizonans.

Desert Gardening Tips (37 years experience)