Among the pots and pots of fall mum’s, small pots of Ornamental Kale were hiding at our local grocery store today. I (Litsa) was unaware of Ornamental Kale as a seasonal annual plant. In the south—-at least in our southern, west Tennessee town’s mums win the most seen plant! However, there are few that buy Ornamental Kale. One buyer took time to answer my questions about Ornamental Kale. She noted that it’s a beautiful purple fall plant that lends itself to feeding the birds in the winter. That sounded like two seasons of treats to me! Thus, I looked up a little more information about Ornamental Kale. She said it was not edible. However, I learned that it is indeed edible!?!
Here’s the scoop from The Georgia Gardner:
“[These] foliage plants often get overlooked when it comes to flowerbeds and containers. This is especially true during fall planting schemes. Ornamental kale is one of the easiest bedding plants to grow, looks great all through the cool season, is bothered by few pests – and it’s edible!
The large plants cover a lot of space quickly for a small investment, and require very little maintenance. The colorful foliage also makes a beautiful backdrop for flowering plants such as pansies, violas and tulips. The terms “ornamental kale” or “ornamental cabbage” and “flowering kale” or “flowering cabbage” can be misleading. First, none of them is grown for its “flower,” but the attractive colored winter foliage. Secondly, kale and cabbage (whether ornamental or not) are genetically the same plant. The only difference is cabbages make heads, and kale do not. All “ornamental” cabbages and kales are really kale, since they do not form heads.”
For a newbie with this fall foliage, I made note of this information too:
- “Kale transplants in the fall will usually be green in color. The bright foliage colors will only appear after the first hard frost. For the best foliage color grow them in full sun. Plants will tolerate some light shade, but usually will not be as colorful and tend to lean away from the shadows. Kale are very heavy feeders, so fertilize them frequently to keep them in good growth.”
- “When purchasing your plants, I would not recommend planting from 4-inch pots. Those smaller plants usually become stunted and do not grow as large as 1-gallon transplants. Once kale plants begin to “head-up” they do not grow much wider.”
The pots of Ornamental Kale that I saw today were priced at $2.99 each. Thus, I think for this price—$6 total plus tax, I can take a risk and field test what Ornamental Kale does in our large petunia pots that are empty and ready for fall foliage!
Ornamental Kale Credit was found HERE
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