Cabbagehead!

Featured today in my fall foliage series is a favorite plant only seen at this time of year. Brassica oleracea, or Ornamental Cabbage, as pictured here, is a very cool looking and cool weather loving plant.

I choose it as part of this series due to the intensity of color, which increases as Fall progresses. The center of these ornamental cabbage and kale plants are usually shades of purple, pink and white, contrasting with the outer green and bluish foliage. As temperatures drop, this center area deepens in color!

Ornamental cabbage and kale are a seasonal plant in Connecticut. They will generally not survive the entire winter looking good and will not return as a perennial from year to year. However, they do tend to last into December or January looking quite good until they eventually become covered with snow and ice!

In the Spring, they can be pulled out as the ground thaws! Try these cool foliage plants, instead of, or in addition to mums! They last much longer than mums will and they really make a foliage statement!! They are best planted in mass or in containers. They prefer full sun to part shade and will eventually grow 18" tall and wide. Best to plant them after frost as they are less likely to be affected by cabbage loopers and other garden pests!