Ornamental kale is very cold-hardy; it does not taste good, yet it looks better than ordinary flowers

Ornamental kale is a very spectacular vegetable that can be grown into a bright and charming ornamental plant. It can not only be planted in the yard, but also planted directly into the soil. Although its taste is not very good, it is edible, but its ornamental value is especially good and it looks especially spectacular.

Most vegetables freeze to death in winter, but ornamental kale has excellent cold hardiness. It can still show charming colors in winter, and it is fine to plant it directly on a balcony. Ornamental kale has a great many varieties, and you can choose ornamental kales with different leaf colors and combine them to form a charming display.

Ornamental kale is grown primarily for its leaves, but its flowers are very poor ornamentally. The picture above shows the flowers of ornamental kale, which are generally a single upright yellow flower stalk; the flowers do not look very attractive. In fact, it rarely blooms, and it is generally grown as a foliage plant, with leaves in different colors.

Some people say ornamental kale cannot be eaten, while others say it can. In fact, ornamental kale can be eaten, but it tastes very bitter, and it is only suitable as a side dish in food. The leaves of ornamental kale are especially rich in color, and the edges of the leaves are colorful ruffled feather-like leaves.

The environment for caring for ornamental kale needs appropriate scattered light, and of course it is best to grow it in a position with more than 8 hours of direct light per day, keeping the environment ventilated and letting light through. The soil for cultivating ornamental kale should also be a loose, breathable, well-draining sandy soil, avoiding waterlogging. If it is grown in a pot, choose a relatively large terracotta pot or clay pot, with a relatively large drainage hole at the bottom.

Ornamental kale also needs a relatively large temperature difference between morning and evening. It is an extremely cold-hardy vegetable and can grow well even at temperatures of minus a few degrees, so do not be afraid that it will freeze to death. With higher daytime temperatures and lower nighttime temperatures, its leaves will turn a charming variegated color.

During the growing season, be sure to keep the soil moist for ornamental kale and avoid long-term drought in the soil, otherwise the leaves are prone to drying up.

If you want ornamental kale to grow better, you can plant some other companion vegetables beside it, and they can promote each other's growth, such as the common ones: artichoke, beet, celery, cucumber, garlic, basil, dill, mint, rosemary and thyme, etc.