Rules for growing unusual ornamental cabbage

Many gardeners are engaged in the cultivation of ornamental cabbage in the garden. This inconspicuous plant in early summer surprises in autumn with its unusual leaf shape and brightness of color. It can be planted as a single plant, composed of different varieties, and even grown in bowls and flowerpots. This cabbage is unpretentious, but, like many plants, it has its own requirements. If you take them into account when planting, then leaving will not be difficult and tedious.

Varieties of ornamental cabbage

Two types of ornamental cabbage are cultivated by gardeners: tall and rosette (undersized).

Tall varieties grow up to 1 meter in height, have a steady straight stem. The plant looks like a small palm tree. The leaves are elongated, arcuate. The color is green and white, the shades may be different. The leaves have an unusual shape: corrugated, openwork, curly.

The rosette type has a short thick stem, which is almost invisible due to the abundance of foliage collected in the rosette. The shape depends on the variety. It can look like a rose, carnation, chrysanthemum. A wide variety of colors: white and yellowish, pink and crimson, lilac and burgundy. Leaves can be either straight or wavy, corrugated, feathery.

Cabbage varieties differ in size. Large plants, up to 1 meter in diameter, are best grown in the center of the flower bed or as a tapeworm. There are small varieties and hybrids, it is possible to plant them in flowerpots or create unusual compositions.

Growing seeds in a permanent place

Ornamental cabbage is grown from seeds. Their germination capacity lasts up to four years. Planting is carried out both in open ground and for seedlings in special containers.

Sowing seeds in open ground has disadvantages.

• Seeds germinate at a temperature of about 20 ° and high humidity. This microclimate is difficult to maintain outdoors. Nighttime cooling slows down germination;
• The optimum temperature for young seedlings should be at least 10 °. Spring frosts provoke the growth of peduncles to the detriment of decorative leaves;
• If the seeds are sown later, after the threat of frost, the plant gains decorativeness only in September. If seedlings are planted, then the cabbage dissolves beautiful leaves in July.

Important!

Planting seeds directly on a flower bed is more suitable for warm regions where spring comes early.

If sowing in open ground is chosen, then it is best to carry it out immediately to a permanent place so as not to disturb the root system during transplantation. Small holes are made, the distance between them should be:

• 50 cm for large varieties;
• 30 cm if the diameter of an adult plant is small.

No more than 2-3 seeds are placed in each hole. Before germination, the bed is covered with a film, and after the appearance of seedlings, it is removed. One of the strongest sprout is left, the rest are removed.

Caring for young seedlings in a flower bed is to keep the soil moist. In addition, you need to follow the weather forecast. In case of expected night frosts, it is advisable to cover young plants with agrofibre.

If the spring is hot, the seedlings are sprayed with water in the morning and evening.

Such care is carried out until a rosette of leaves begins to form on the cabbage.

Growing seedlings

Seeds for seedlings are sown in mid-March - early April. Before sowing, they are etched in a weak solution of potassium permanganate to prevent possible diseases. After that, it is placed in a solution of any growth stimulator for 2 hours.

Seedlings are best grown in separate cups.This will make it easier to transfer to a permanent location. If the root system is not damaged during planting, then the plant immediately starts to grow.

The soil can be purchased at the store, or prepared by yourself. Ornamental cabbage is not demanding on the soil. Leafy humus, sod land is suitable. Add some peat and sand. For seedlings, you can use the soil from the flower bed, where the cabbage will be grown in the future.

If you are not sure about the quality of the soil, then before sowing it is recommended to steam it, warm it up in the oven, or spill it with "Fitosporin". This will kill the pathogens of fungal diseases.

You can achieve 100% germination by placing already germinated seeds in the soil. For germination, they are wrapped in a damp cloth and left for a week. Care must be taken to ensure that the fabric does not dry out. After a week, the seeds that have sprouted are used to grow seedlings.

The seeding depth of seeds is 1 cm. After sowing, they are covered with cling film, and not removed until shoots appear. Seedlings usually appear in 4-5 days.

Temperature conditions for growing seedlings:

• before germination - 20-22 ° С;
• after germination for 3-4 days, the temperature is lowered to 10-12 ° C;
• further growth of seedlings takes place at a temperature of 15-18 ° C.

Important!

A lot of light is needed to grow seedlings. If it is not enough, the stem will stretch out, and in the future will not be able to hold the heavy rosette of leaves.

Seedling care consists in watering. The soil should be moist, but not wet. If the ground does not dry out, then the seedlings can get sick with a black leg.

Ornamental cabbage seedlings respond well to spraying. The water should not be cold.

Planting seedlings

When three true leaves appear on the cabbage, you can plant it in the garden.

The choice of location must be approached responsibly. Mandatory conditions:

• the place should not be flooded with water after rains;
• the sun should illuminate the plantings all day. Ornamental cabbage will grow in shaded areas, but it will not have bright leaves.

Landing is carried out taking into account design ideas. Sometimes small varieties are planted closer to each other so that the ornamental cabbage forms a continuous carpet. Very large specimens are recommended to be planted singly and surrounded by smaller varieties or other flowers. When forming a flower bed, it is necessary to take into account the dimensions of an adult plant, declared on the package with seeds.

Since cabbage is not attractive at the beginning of summer, early flowering annuals can be planted around it: undersized bells, verbena, marigold, lobelia, petunia. When ornamental cabbage reaches its size, annuals can be removed from the flower bed.

Caring for ornamental cabbage

Caring for mature plants is simple. Watering is carried out abundantly, but rarely. It is recommended to spray the leaves early in the morning or in the evening.

While the plants are small, weeding is necessary. When the leaves grow, the weeds between them hardly grow. Weeding can be reduced by mulching the soil. For these purposes, sawdust, wood chips, decorative mulch are suitable. Dry grass or straw in a flower bed does not look very nice.

Care includes loosening the soil. This is especially important during the rainy season to prevent root rot.

Ornamental cabbage has a heavy rosette with leaves. In order for the stem to be able to hold it and not bend, it is necessary to feed. It is enough to feed twice a summer with a complex mineral fertilizer at the root, and once to spray the foliage with fertilizer.

Care is to prevent pest attacks. Ornamental cabbage is loved by the same insects that damage regular cabbage. These are caterpillars cabbage scoop, slugs, aphid. Any insecticide is suitable to combat them. Despite the fact that ornamental cabbage is an edible plant, it is rare that anyone grows it for human consumption.Therefore, chemical treatment is possible at any time during the growing season.

Quick Memo

Agrotechnical techniques used in the cultivation of ornamental cabbage:

• it is preferable to grow seedlings, sowing seeds in separate cups from mid-March to early April;
• planted in the garden when at least three leaves appear on the plant;
• ornamental cabbage is watered infrequently, but abundantly;
• feeding is necessary for the formation of a strong, strong stem;
• for pest control, you can apply various pesticides according to the instructions.

Ornamental cabbage adorns the garden in autumn, until the frost. It looks spectacular even if the leaves are covered with snow.