A Most Beautiful Flower – Flowering Kale
A beautiful ornamental kale flower as an offering to Lord Buddha Shakyamuni at Kechara Forest Retreat, Malaysia. Click to enlarge.
Ornamental Cabbage and Flowering Kale
Ornamental cabbage and kale look and grow very much like their close relatives of edible cabbages and kale. They are the same species, Brassica oleracea, and although they are still edible, they aren’t as tasty and tender as their cousins. They have been bred for looks, not flavour.
Although sometimes referred to as flowering cabbages, it’s the leaves that give the plants their color and interest as ornamentals. Rather than the usual green or purple of traditional cabbages, the leaves of ornamental cabbages and kale have been hybridized to feature rosy and/or creamy white colors, making them look more like large flowers than vegetables.
Flowers make beautiful offerings to the enlightened beings.
- Ornamental Cabbage: The plants with smooth leaf margins are considered flowering cabbage. The plants in the photo include ornamental cabbages.
- Flowering Kale: Plants with serrated or fringed leaf margins are considered the flowering kales, which are further divided into the “fringed leaved cultivars” (those with ruffled leaves) and the “feather leaved cultivars” (those with more finely serrated leaves). These distinctions are not considered terribly important. The terms flowering cabbage and flowering kale are often used interchangeably.
Botanical Name
Brassica oleracea species
Common Names
Ornamental Cabbage or Flowering Kale
Seasonality
Just like their edible cousins, ornamental cabbage and kale or annuals. And like regular cabbage and kale, they are cool-season plants.
Mature Plant Size
Both ornamental cabbage and kale will grow approximately 18 inches tall and wide.
Lord Buddha at Kechara Forest Retreat, Malaysia
Sun Exposure
They will do fine in either full sun or partial shade. When grown in warmer climates, partial shade is preferable. Ornamental cabbages and kale don’t develop their full colors unless they get a good chill from a frost.
Bloom Period
It’s the leaves that provide the “flowers” in ornamental cabbages and kale, so there is no waiting for them to bloom. If you are buying plants, they will probably already be mature and open, although the color will probably intensify as the temperature drops. If you are starting them from seed, give them about 11 to 14 weeks to reach full size. That means you will need to start them in late spring / early summer, for a fall planting.
Growing Tips for Ornamental Cabbage and Kale
As with all Brassicas, ornamental cabbages and kales prefer to be grown in cool weather. Although you can plant them out at any time, the colorful pigmentation doesn’t develop until after frost or prolonged cold weather. If you plant them too early in the fall or late summer, the plants will get leggy and remain green. Besides, early plantings will be susceptible to cabbage pests like cabbage loopers. These pests will disappear after frost.
When buying plants, opt for larger plants, even though you’ll pay more. Once cabbages get root bound, the top portion becomes stunted. If this happens when they are small, they will never fill out the way you’d like. Look for plants with short stems and relatively uniform length leaves, no holes and at least a hint of color
Both cabbages and kale prefer a slightly acidic soil pH of about 5.8 to 6.5. They like to dry out slightly between watering but will suffer stress if left dry for prolonged periods.
Growing Ornamental Cabbage from Seed
Sow seeds 3-4 months before you need full-sized plants and at least 6-10 weeks before a frost is expected.
Caring for Your Ornamental Cabbage
Ornamental cabbages and kale can last throughout the winter, but their appearance depends a lot on the weather. Too hot and they will bolt to seed, too wet and harsh and they’ll look tattered.
Ornamental Kale and Flowering Kale require:
- cool temperatures (70-75F/21C)
- slightly acidic soil (5.8 to 6.5)
- full sun/partial shade
- prolonged cold weather/cold temperatures for colours to emerge and fully develop (50F and below)
Source: https://www.thespruce.com/ornamental-cabbage-and-flowering-kale-1402853
Ornamental cabbage and flowering and kale are wonderfully stunning and make great flower offerings to the Buddhas.
Making offerings to the Buddhas every day helps to accumulate spiritual merit necessary for our journey to enlightenment
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If you are in the United States, please note that your offerings and contributions are tax deductible. ~ the tsemrinpoche.com blog team
Thanks for the great idea of offering kale to Buddhas!
Great tips for those who wish to plant it too.
The Flowering Kale has got to be one of the most beautiful flowers I’ve ever seen! Thank you for this write-up. Very useful for those aspiring to grow this.
Very interesting knowledge about cabbage or kale ornamental flowers which i have never seen nor heard of. Thank you very much Rinpoche and blog team for this educational write up. As my beloved Grandma used to say, we learn more as we grow older. Dad always say knowledge is power????
Very interesting knowledge about gabbage or kale ornamental flowers which i have never seen nor heard of. Thank you very much Rinpoche and blog team for this educational write up. As my beloved Grandma used to say, we learn more as we grow older. Dad always say knowledge is power????
Thank you for the little article shared. It was a good read and to know both ornamental cabbage and kale are in the same species and kale belongs to vegetable family. The beauty of kale is the unique color of lavender, which very much soothing. I also had captured and view clear about the flower in this article. It looked very pretty and surprising that kale was offered as a flower to Buddha.
I too had a little knowledge about cabbage and kale, they both have many things in common. However, they are also quite different in some ways and they have been associated with a number of potential health benefits. Thank you for a wonderful method to plant and grow kale.
Stunning flowers of ornamental cabbage and flowering kale. First time coming across this beautiful flowering kale. These flowering cabbage and kale are quite similar in colour, appearance and size, but the main difference is that cabbage leaves have smooth edges and kale leaves are frilly. While ornamental cabbage and kale are edible, they have tend a bitter flavour and are often used as garnishes. Its nice to have this beautiful ornamental kale flower as an offering to Lord Buddha Shakyamuni at Kechara Forest Retreat.
Thank you for this wonderful sharing.
Thank you very much for this article. At first, I’ve no idea about flowering kale, but once i read the article, i can understand about what is flowering kale. It’s actually similiar to cabbage but not for eating purpose but can be offered to Buddha.
The flowering kale’s shot was actually very nice. The texture was so real. I get to know whats the tip to plant this flowering Kale. Thank you so much for the tips. It’s so helpful to me.