Ornamental Kale
Brassica oleracea
Ornamental Kale is grown for its foliage rather than flowers, giving the garden structure and color all season long.
Mature size, hardiness zones, sun and the trait tags were checked against named botanical sources for this plant. The bloom months and water need on this page were not.
Growing Ornamental Kale
Plant it in full sun. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 2–11. Expect it to reach about 12 in tall and 1.3 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 1 year.
When to plant Ornamental Kale
Wait until all danger of frost has passed, then plant out Ornamental Kale into warm soil; in most zones that means late spring.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar: for the middle of its range, start with zone 6 in April.
Comes in 4 varieties
Same plant, same care - pick the variety you are growing.
Good to know about Ornamental Kale
Curated from university extensions, botanic gardens and other primary sources, with the source named on every note.
Worth knowing
You plant it into the cold and lose it to warmth: the pink and purple color only develops as temperatures fall and frost arrives, then spring warmth makes it bolt. per NC State and Wisconsin
Actually edible, just bitter
It is a true Brassica oleracea: the leaves are edible and non-toxic, just more bitter than culinary kale, so it is grown for looks not the plate. per NC State and Wisconsin
Same pests as cabbage
Being the same species as edible cabbage, it gets the same pests: imported cabbageworms, cabbage loopers, and cabbage aphids that hide deep in the leaf folds. per NC State and UC ANR
Very cold-hardy
Once they have settled in, the plants shrug off hard frost, are cold-hardy to about 5 F, and hold their color well into November and December. per NC State and Wisconsin
Plant it deep
Wisconsin advises burying the stem so the lowest leaves sit flush with the soil surface, which keeps the low rosette stable. per Wisconsin
What pairs well with Ornamental Kale
Good companions share its growing conditions and add something it lacks: an earlier or later bloom, a lower carpet in front, or structure through winter.
Sneezeweed
Shares full sun and moderate water; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds; taller at 3.3 ft, for the layer behind it.
Perennial Sunflower
Shares full sun and moderate water; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds; taller at 4.9 ft, for the layer behind it.
Joe Pye Weed
Shares full sun and moderate to high water; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds; taller at 5.9 ft, for the layer behind it.
Feather Reed Grass
Shares full sun and moderate water; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds; taller at 4.9 ft, for the layer behind it.
Switchgrass
Shares full sun and low to moderate water; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds; taller at 4.9 ft, for the layer behind it.
Boxwood
Shares full sun and moderate water; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter; taller at 3.9 ft, for the layer behind it.
Fountain Grass
Shares full sun and low to moderate water; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds; taller at 3.3 ft, for the layer behind it.
Gardenia
Takes full sun to part sun and moderate to high water; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter; taller at 3.9 ft, for the layer behind it.
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