Planting and growing ornamental cabbage from seeds

Ornamental cabbage, or, as it is also called, ornamental princess, is a unique flower that you can use to decorate your garden or flower bed. The extraordinary beauty of the plant allows it to become the highlight of the site. If you organize the arrangement of cabbage in a flower garden correctly, you can be sure that the design of the flower bed will be stunning. In this article, we will show you how to plant a colored vegetable and take care of it afterwards.

Ornamental cabbage: flower or vegetable?

Ornamental kale is a biennial plant that essentially combines several types of kale. In the first year of its life, it amazes with its gorgeous external data. In the second year of life, its active flowering and the appearance of fruits begin.

A variety of varieties that belong to this group of cruciferous crops will allow anyone to find a plant that satisfies all his taste preferences. The height of the flower varies from 25 cm to 120 cm. Cabbage leaves can be of various shapes and colors. Elliptical and ovoid outlines look the most advantageous. The color palette of the plant has a huge number of tones from pale white to bright purple.

Is it okay to eat an ornamental vegetable?

Most varieties of cabbage are edible. The red and white type of leafy plants (Nagoya) are characterized by juicy and delicate leaves, which are often grown for sale as a side dish. Plant varieties with fringed leaves also have excellent taste.

Rinse them under running water. Do not soak in water for a long time, as the cruciferous culture will lose its beneficial properties. Experts advise pouring boiling water over the leaves instead of washing. A slightly withering leaf can be used when making a puree soup.

Popular varieties for cultivation

Each of the varieties of ornamental cabbage has a unique appearance. The most popular plant varieties for growing in your own flower bed include:

• Lace frill - a species that combines several colors that perfectly complement each other. The corrugated leaves are identical to the folded frill. Light lines and crisp lace are characteristic features of this variety. The plant reaches 50 cm in height.
• Peacock F1 - a variety with a varied palette of colors, while maintaining the clarity of the borders. The diameter of the cabbage is 70 cm, and the height indicator does not exceed 35 cm. The leaves located in the lower part are colored green, and the upper stems can be white, red or pink. In structure, the leaves are very similar to peacock feathers.
• Russian circle - cabbage of incredible beauty, which can resemble flowers of various varieties and types. The compact plant can be of any color.
• Lark tongue - a classic type of cruciferous crop, which has a green tint and several similar pigments. The leaves of the culture have a likeness of hanging tongues that seem to want to rise to heaven. The plant can grow up to 85-90 cm in height.
• Coral Queen - the main feature of this variety is the specifically thin cut of the leaves.The form of the culture bears a resemblance to growing coral in the midst of marine vegetation. The leaves are painted in light red tones.
• Piglon - a flower that resembles a luxurious rose. The rosette colors are generally creamy white, however there are other light colors available.

Planting rules in the garden or in the country

You can grow ornamental cabbage using the seedling method using seeds. Seedlings can be sown in:

• containers;
• greenhouses;
• open ground.

Sowing in containers

Having picked up small containers, we sow a couple of seeds in each of them. As a rule, embedding into the soil is carried out to a depth of 1 cm. It is preliminarily recommended to treat the soil with a fungicide, which will prevent the appearance of a black leg in seedlings.

After the seedlings appear, it must be transferred to a cooler room. Watering should be done in moderation. When the second leaf appears, it is necessary to feed the seedlings. The best way to do this is to use Kemiru Universal. For every sq.m. you need a spoon (st.) of fertilizer.

Closer to the beginning of May, the shoots should be planted in open ground. As a rule, during this period, each plant has about 5 leaves. If desired, you can initially sow seedlings in the garden, and towards the end of August, transplant them into a flower bed.

Sowing in a greenhouse

Before planting a plant in a greenhouse, it is necessary to prepare a soil mixture based on sand, peat and soil from the garden (proportion 2: 1: 2). The soil mixture layer should reach about 12-15 cm. Before sowing, the soil is treated with a solution of potassium permanganate, which will prevent the occurrence of a fungal infection in the future.

The seeds should be placed in small dimples (about 1 cm) in the amount of 2 pieces. and lightly sprinkled with well-fluffed earth. DTo accelerate germination, the crops are covered with foil. The temperature in the greenhouse should be within 20 degrees. As soon as the first shoots appear, the temperature regime drops to 12 degrees. The seedlings are watered sparingly, and the soil is loosened as needed.

Sowing in open ground

This method allows you to grow a hardened and temperature-resistant plant. The ideal time for planting seeds is mid-April. Before emergence, the sown area is covered with a film.

Seeds are sown in loosened soil, embedding them 1.5 cm deep. As soon as shoots appear, crops must be thinned out, leaving stronger flowers. Seedlings are transplanted to a permanent place after 30-40 days.

Timely care of the plant will allow you to get large lace rosettes.

Care

Caring for ornamental cabbage is easy. It is important to regularly:

• watering;
• weed beds from weeds;
• feed the soil;
• loosen up.

2 weeks after planting the plant in a permanent place, it is necessary to start feeding the young growth. For these purposes, urea and diluted mullein are used. It is better to select the proportion for feeding from taking into account the liter capacity of the mullein per 10 liters of water. This will provoke intensive foliage formation.

The next top dressing, as a rule, is carried out 14 days after the first. For this, mineral fertilizers are used. As soon as each of the bushes forms about 10 leaves, you can begin to loosen the earth around the flowers.

Use on flower beds in landscape design

Rose-shaped cabbage varieties are often used to create flower beds, ridges and borders. In this case, it is advisable to plant them next to annual plants. Also, flowers are successfully populated in places of faded spring flowers. An ornamental plant perfectly tolerates several transplants, it can even bloom with the onset of frost.

The flower perfectly tolerates not only frost, but also bitter frost at a temperature of -12, -14 degrees. The main advantage of planting ornamental cabbage in flower beds is cost-effectiveness. One plant takes up almost 50 cm of space, so this is ideal for owners of large areas.

Diseases and pests

Cabbage flies love to feast on ornamental cabbage. In order to protect your flowers, you need to make special paper collars. Cut out circles from paper, the diameter of which will be approximately 10 cm. Cut their edges to the center along straight lines. We thread the stems into the cuts and wrap the flowers tightly. As soon as the seedlings gain strength, the paper collars can be removed.

Ornamental cabbage is susceptible to several diseases, namely:

• fomoza;
• keel;
• diseases of the root system.

Observing all the recommendations of experts, you can decorate your own site and give it a zest. The plant looks especially gorgeous after the onset of frost. The frost on the leaves gives them a kind of crispness, and the ice between the leaves shines in the sun like diamonds.