How to Plant and Grow Flowering Kale

With its ruffled leaves drenched in pinks, purples, and reds, flowering kale is a decorative and easy-to-grow addition to container gardens and garden beds. Also called ornamental cabbage, flowering kale is in the same plant family as edible cabbage, cauliflower, and broccoli. It thrives in cool weather, often taking center stage in the garden during spring and fall. It will tolerate light frost with ease, keeping its good looks through winter in Zones 8 and above.

Where to Plant Flowering Kale

Plant flowering kale in a location with full sun, either in containers or in fertile, well-drained, slightly acidic soil.

This frilly, colorful plant will amplify interest in early- and late-season gardens when perennials are slow to emerge in spring, and annuals and perennials are languishing at the end of the growing season in fall.

In early spring containers, pair flowering kale with pansies and other spring bloomers. Once the flowering kale is past its prime, remove the plants and replace them with a warm-weather-loving plant, such as begonia, coleus, or geranium. In the fall, flowering kale adds texture to pretty pots of chrysanthemums, black-eyed Susans, and ornamental peppers. Flowering kale is right at home in garden-bed plantings, too. Use it as a statement plant near entryways or patios.

How and When to Plant Flowering Kale

Flowering kale has two planting seasons, early spring and fall when nighttime temperatures dip below 50 degrees F. It grows slowly, so purchase large plants if you plan to enjoy them for just a few weeks in spring or fall. Or start your own plants from seed (see below for instructions).

Dig a hole deep enough to sink the plant into the ground and bury the stem so the lowest leaves are flush with the soil surface. Space plants 6 inches apart. You can space them apart further but then the heads will grow too large to be used as cut flowers.

Flowering Kale Care Tips

Flowering kale is easy to care for as long as you keep its special temperature requirements in mind.

Light

Flowering kale grows best in sunny locations. It will tolerate light shade but develops richer color in full sun.

Soil and Water

Plant flowering kale in moist, fertile, well-drained soil with a pH between 5.8 and 6.5. Keep it well-watered and give it at least one inch of water weekly if it doesn’t rain.

Temperature and Humidity

Plants begin to develop their colorful foliage when temperatures dip below 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Once acclimated to a site, flowering kale can withstand frost. When nighttime temperatures reach the 60s on a regular basis, kale will begin to look bedraggled.

Fertilizer

Fertilizing the plants with a balanced fertilizer once at planting time is fully sufficient. Do not fertilize them afterwards, which can lead to poor coloration and leggy growth.

Pruning

If you are growing flowering kale for cut flowers, you want ornamental kale to grow taller rather than wide. To achieve this, remove the lower leaves when the plants are 10 to 12 inches tall, and repeat this three or four times as the plants grow taller. Other than that, remove any broken, diseased, or unsightly leaves.

Potting and Repotting Flowering Kale

Potted flowering kale looks better in a large container combined with other plants than as a single plant in its own container. For a mixed planter, use at least a 3-gallon or 5-gallon container with large drainage holes. Fill it with well-draining potting mix. Keep in mind that potted plants need more frequent watering than plants in the garden soil.

Because flowering kale is an annual that rarely outgrows its pots during its life cycle, it won’t need repotting.

Pests and Problems 

As a member of the cabbage family, the plants are prone to get cabbage worms, cutworms, aphids, and slugs, but especially when planted in the fall, many of these pests are not present or active any longer. 

How to Propagate Flowering Kale

Flowering kale can be grown from seed. Because ornamental kale is a hybrid, start with fresh seeds purchased from a seed company—seeds that you collect from your own plants will not produce plants that are true to the parent.

Flowering kale takes 90 to 110 days to mature. Starting the seeds indoors four to six weeks before transplanting them outside in the early spring is recommended. Sow seeds ¼ inch deep in pots filled with damp potting mix. Keep them evenly moist. At a temperature of around 70 degrees F, they will germinate in 10 to 14 days. The ideal temperature for the seedlings to grow is around 60 degrees. Harden the seedlings off before transplanting them outside.

For fall planting, start the seeds three months before your average first fall frost. You can either start them in pots or direct seed them, following the instructions above. Make sure to transplant the seedlings several weeks before the first fall frost.

Types of Flowering Kale

'Chidori White' Kale

'Chidori White' offers blue-green heads with large, bright creamy-white centers.

'Glamour Red' Kale

This is an All-America Selections award-winning ornamental variety with great heat tolerance, intense red-purple coloring, and glossy, frilly leaves. In warmer climates, it keeps its shiny leaves from November through March.

'Peacock Red' Kale

'Peacock Red' offers feathery leaves with rich purple-red centers.

'Pigeon Red' Kale

'Pigeon Red' offers purple-tinted leaves with rich purple-red centers.

Crane

This series of ornamental kale comes in different colors: Crane White, Crane Red, and Crane Pink. The plants have uniform 6-inch heads on 24-inch stems.

Flowering Kale Companion Plants

Leadwort

For a fall show, plant leadwort. Its gentian-blue, late-season flowers often continue to bloom even as the foliage turns brilliant red-orange in fall, making an outstanding autumn display. This plant is also sometimes called plumbago, but it's different from shrubby tropical plumbago. Use it as a groundcover that spreads well when in conditions it likes—dry sites in full sun to partial shade.

Chrysanthemum

Chrysanthemums are a must-have for the fall garden. No other late-season flower delivers as much color, for as long, and as reliably as good ol' mums. Beautiful chrysanthemum flowers, available in several colors, bring new life to a garden in the fall. Some varieties have daisy blooms; others may be rounded globes, flat, fringed, quill shape, or spoon shape. They work exceptionally well in container plantings and pots.

Pansy

From tiny, cheerful Johnny jump-ups to the stunning 3-inch blooms of Majestic Giant pansies, the genus Viola has a spectacular array of delightful plants for the spring garden. They're must-haves to celebrate the first days of spring since they don't mind cold weather and can even take a little snow and ice! They're pretty planted in masses in the ground, but also cherished for the early color they bring to pots, window boxes, and other containers.

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