Ornamental Cabbage Flowers

Plant Characteristics

• The showy foliage and variety of colors make members of the ornamental cabbage plant family wonderful considerations to add to your garden and landscape design. Colors can range from white to pink and purple to red. The ruffled edges of the plants give them a somewhat variegated look, with tips that can be light and white or deeper in color with red tones. The colorations reach their peak once temperatures drop. This is why they make an exceptional choice to provide color to fall and winter gardens.

Site Selection

• Locate a space in the garden where the plant will receive full sun and little shade. This will allow plants to access sunlight when temperatures fall to enable them to continue to thrive. As the temperatures drop, you can consider protecting the plants with a covering of burlap or some fabric that allows for air and light to penetrate. You can also opt to remove plants when temperatures drop below 5 degrees Fahrenheit, since they grow annually, or remove them in the spring and replace with new plants.

Plant Selection

• Use similar, "tried and proven" techniques in selecting ornamental cabbage plants. Look for plants with a short display of rosettes on the stem, similar to the features you would look for in terms of having closed buds on a flowering plant. Even though a plant with open, flowering buds may look large, profuse and irresistible, a plant at this stage may in fact be root bound. Consequently, that could turn into a "what you see is what you get" proposition, and the plant may never produce much more than what it looks like, even after you plant it in your garden soil.

Planting Season and Soil Preparation

• Despite their color benefits, resist the temptation to plant ornamental cabbage during summer, as they do not tolerate hot weather very well. ornamental cabbage is acclimated for cold temperatures. These plants would much prefer making a home in your garden during the fall months because they are tolerant and acclimated for cold temperatures. Treat ornamental cabbage plants as annuals, and replace them in the garden during the fall of each year, beginning in late August at the very earliest. This will give the plant time to establish itself in the garden, soak-up soil nutrients and display a fall through winter show of growth and color. Prepare the soil so that it is rich in organic matter, such as manure and compost, and be sure to aerate the planting hole to allow for good drainage. Keep the soil moist, but be careful to never over water ornamental cabbage plants.