Grow Flowering Cabbage/Kale
Flowering kale and cabbage are classics in the
fall garden, adding intriguing autumnal colors
to both flower and vegetable gardens. Flowering
kale and cabbage need full sun and do best in
the cooler temperatures of fall.
Steps:
1. Read labels carefully. All kales and cabbages
are edible, but some varieties are grown more for
their color than for their flavor or tenderness.
2. Check your nursery for seedlings in late summer
and early fall. Or, start from seeds in midsummer
in the North and late summer in the South.
3. Sow seeds in a corner of the vegetable garden.
Plant 1/2-inch deep and 3 inches apart. Then
transplant to their final place elsewhere in the
garden.
4. Plant seedlings or mature plants in average,
well-drained soil, spaced 10 to 12 inches apart.
5. Keep soil moist.
6. Trim fading or diseased leaves as needed.
7. Pull up and discard plants in early winter
once they’ve faded and withered.
Tips:
Flowering cabbage and kale are beautiful in flower
beds, but are especially nice in pots close to the
house, where their gorgeous color variations can
best be appreciated.
If planting from seed, be sure to keep the soil
moist at all times - a challenge in midsummer
or the cabbages and kale won’t germinate.
Warnings:
Don’t plant flowering kale or cabbage too early
or it will "bolt;" that is, hot weather will make the
stem elgonate and create a gangly, unattractive plant.
Propagate Sedum 'Autumn Joy'
Although my reliable autumn performer Sedum 'Autumn
Joy' self-seeds quite readily, and stem cuttings
can be taken in summer to root in the fall, an 85
year-old neighbor told me about another easy way to
produce dozens of new plants from just a few stems.
I take cuttings to clone my 'Autumn Joy' just as
the plants are starting to bloom. Instead of
taking just the top four inches, I take the entire
stem (a), cutting as close to the base of the plant
as I can. I remove all the leaves and flowers, tie
the stems loosely in bundles of six (b), and hang
them upside down in a cool, completely dry place.
Propagate Sedum 'Autumn Joy' from stem cuttings.
It's easy to produce dozens of plants from just
a few stems.
In six to ten weeks, tiny-leaved plantlets appear
in the leaf nodes toward the end of the stems (c).
When the plantlets reach 1/2 inch long, I cut the
stems into pieces between the leaf nodes. Each
stem piece should contain a plantlet. I then
transfer the stems to pots of sterile potting mix
with the bases of the plantlets touching the soil
(d), place the containers under fluorescent lights
in my basement or in a cool greenhouse, and keep
them moist. The plantlets gradually turn green and
start growing, and should be ready to go into the
garden come spring.
