Moxie Gardener

Ornamental cabbages sold in a bouquet of cut flowers at the farmer's market.

Ornamental cabbages are one of the last spots of fresh color in the landscape at this time of year.  Although they are edible, ornamental cabbages are grown for their colorful leaves.  They come in colors ranging from reds, to purples, to pinks, to whites, with ruffled foliage that is much fancier than regular cabbage.

Ornamental cabbages share the same botanical name as edible cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower—Brassica oleracea. The ornamental varieties are edible too, but they are not as tasty and tender as their “edible” counterparts.

Grow ornamental cabbages the same way you grow regular, edible cabbages.  Plant in full sun in rich, fertile soil.  While ornamental cabbages can be started in individual pots and transplanted to the garden, the plants will grow better and produce healthier and larger cabbages if direct seeded in the garden where they are to grow.  Plant seeds 6 to 10 weeks before your first anticipated fall frost.

Plant seeds 6 inches apart in rows 18 to 24 inches apart.  Because the seeds need light to germinate, barely cover them with less than 1/8 inch of soil and do not firm the soil down.  When the plants are 3 inches high, thin to stand 18 to 24 inches apart.  Ornamental cabbages reach 18 to 24 inches in diameter, and 18 to 24 inches high.

Ornamental cabbages don’t develop their characteristic colors until touched by frost.  Subsequent frosts will intensify the colors.  Ornamental cabbages can withstand temperatures down to 5 degrees F., but must be gradually acclimated.  A sudden cold snap will be fatal.  If you watch the weather and cover the plant if large changes in temperature are expected, your ornamental cabbages can last well into early winter in the north, and even all winter in milder climates.

One caveat about ornamental cabbages:  used as a cut flower, it starts to stink like cabbage after a few days.  Get around this by cutting the ornamental cabbages for arrangements early in the day you plan to use them and discard within a day or two.

Extend your garden’s growing season with ornamental cabbages.  They are one of the last purely “for show” plants left growing in the garden at season’s end.

Plant bittersweet for stunning fall displays.

Fall has an abundance of natural materials for seasonal decorating.  Bittersweet vines, with their orange and scarlet berries, are a real knockout in fall seasonal displays.

Bittersweet vines make an even more stunning display in the fall landscape.  Their brightly colored berries really “pop” next to their vivid yellow foliage.  Bittersweet berries stay on the vines well into winter, providing visual interest and food for the birds.  Unfortunately, bittersweet vines are rather uninspired looking during spring and summer.

The berry-covered vines we see every fall in seasonal displays and at florists are actually one of three different types of vines, all commonly called “bittersweet.”

The American or “false” bittersweet, is a native species.  The Latin name is Celastrus scandens.  The berries on this variety of bittersweet appear at the tips of the vines.  Considered an endangered species, its habitat is being overrun by the invasive Oriental bittersweet.

Oriental bittersweet, Celastrus orbiculatus, is similar to American bittersweet in appearance and habitat.  One difference is the berries on Oriental bittersweet grow all along the vines, rather that at the tips, like American bittersweet.  Because of its vigorous growth habit, Oriental bittersweet is in some places considered an invasive species with restrictions on planting.  Oriental bittersweet grows so vigorously that it chokes and ultimately kills any tree unfortunate enough to play “trellis” to it.

The third bittersweet, the “true” bittersweet, is actually in the Nightshade family, classified as Solanum dulcamara.  This bittersweet was classified after the other two, so even though it is thought of as the “true” bittersweet, that name was already taken.  True bittersweet produces berries that start out green, change to yellow, then orange, then scarlet.  It is not unusual to find berries in all four colors on a single vine.  It makes a stunning fall display.

Solanum dulcamara is the bittersweet that was used medicinally.  The taste is reported to start out bitter, then finish with a sweet aftertaste, hence the name “bittersweet.”  NOTE:  All members of the Nightshade family are poisonous.  Consult a knowledgeable professional before using any herb medicinally.

Bittersweet vines grow vigorously and require diligence to contain their growth habit.  They will reward you in fall with a stunning display of the yellow-orange fruits that burst open to reveal the scarlet seed pod, set off by their vivid yellow foliage.