Decorative cabbage - growing and care

Everyone wants his site to be the brightest and most beautiful. To date, this is easy. On the market there is a large assortment of flowers, trees and shrubs. Especially appreciated is the beauty of the garden, which pleases with its colors until the winter. To achieve the desired effect, more people prefer a decorative cabbage.

Is cabbage decorative - a vegetable or a flower?

A few years earlier, few people thought that cabbage can decorate their garden plots. Everyone knew it as a delicious vegetable, which is distinguished by its variety of varieties. But few people thought that cabbage decorative exists already from the 4th century of our era. Then it was a common weed.

Now this is a two-year-old plant. After planting for the first year, leaves form in it, and the next cabbage starts to bloom and bear fruit. The maximum height of the plant can reach 130 centimeters, and in diameter one meter. Decorative it is considered due to its leaves and their amazing coloring. With the help of such cabbage, you can solve the problems with decorating and filling the voids on the site. Leaves can be smooth or curly. In size, they can grow up to 60 cm in length and 30 cm in width. There is a large number of colors of cabbage decorative. It can be combined with various varieties of flowers and shrubs.

Decorative cabbage in landscape design

To ensure that the decorative cabbage is in harmony with the site, it is worthwhile to take into account all the details, for example, such as:

1. Parameters and dimensions of the garden.
2. Pick a good prominent place for the plant.
3. Arming with imagination.
4. Choose the variety you like.

And, of course, do not forget that such a cabbage is a decorative plant, and not edible, so it should be treated properly.

If you decide that the site needs this particular plant, then it is worth knowing how and with what to combine it:

• Decorative cabbage goes well with bright orange marigolds and saffron or physalis.
• This plant can be used as a decorative curb.
• To flower beds are not empty when the annual plants have faded into their place, one can plant such cabbage.
• Such plants are suitable for growing in pots or containers of large size.

Few people know, but the cultivation of ornamental cabbage in landscape design is unpretentious. She is not afraid of moisture, sun or strong frost. From such cabbage it is possible to make bouquets. In this case, they are cut off at the root and put in a vase of water. Such a bouquet will stand a long time, if the water is changed every day and slightly sweetened it. Decorative cabbage in landscape design can be used as you please. There is no need to resort to some rules. You can independently make beautiful flower beds, planting plants in the form of certain shapes and patterns.

In order to have an idea about the plant, you can see the photos of the decorative cabbage. That's how she looks on the ready-made flower bed:

And now it is worth considering the main common varieties.

Varieties of ornamental cabbage

In order not to get confused in the variety of species it is worth to learn more in detail some varieties of ornamental cabbage:

• "Garden curly." The homeland of this cabbage is Western Europe. The plant reaches a height of 60 cm. Has dark purple or gray-green leaves. This decorative cabbage grows with a rosette of leaves, which can be pink, white or purple. The leaves are located close to the stem and have a green color. The edges have a corrugated shape.
  
• "Green Curly". This variety can be either low - or tall. Leaves are fluffy curly, green in color.
  
• "Green branchy". Cabbage grows to a height of not more than 70 cm. Leaves are gray-green in color. There are several subspecies of this variety: rosette, needle, kochannaya and poluchochannaya. This plant can be of any shape, for example, round, flat or columnar. This variety has a huge palette of flowers near the leaves: yellow, red, green, white and pink.
  
• "Robin". This is a mid-ripening variety. The plant can reach a height of up to, meters, and in diameter - 40 cm. Leaves are rounded with corrugated edges. Their color is red-violet. This variety of decorative cabbage well tolerates low temperatures and is resistant to various diseases.
  
• "Colors of the East". This is the latest grade. Decorative cabbage has a semi-spreading rosette of a gray-green hue, which gradually grows into a violet color. It tolerates frosts well and is resistant to various rodents.
  

This is the five main varieties of cabbage decorative. Each of them may contain additional subspecies. Next is a photo of decorative cabbage of different varieties on one flowerbed.

Cultivation of decorative cabbage to decorate the plot

To grow at home in such a dacha, this beauty is worth to begin to purchase seeds. In the open ground it is better to plant the prepared seedlings, so first we will understand how to grow it correctly. To do this, prepare the container, which must be filled with a ready-mixed soil mixture.
If the soil is recruited from the dacha, then it is necessary to disinfect the land, and then it is already possible to plant the seeds. Care of seedlings is carried out in the usual way. In the open ground it can be planted from the middle of May. Do this in special wells, at a distance of 30 cm from each other. Growing decorative cabbage to decorate the site is not an easy matter. The main thing is to take care of the plant in the usual way in a timely manner:

• Watering.
• Fertilizer.
• Weeding.
• Loosening.

So, let's analyze each item separately. Cabbage loves constant watering and sprinkling. It is better to do it in the morning or evening hours. If the weather is arid, then water cabbage is needed every day.

Fertilize it is mineral and mullein. Do this no more often than once a week.

After constant watering and rains, the ground in the flowerbed must be loosened. This will help the roots of the plant to saturate with oxygen.

And, of course, the flowerbed must necessarily be weeded from weeds. They prevent the cabbage from fully growing and developing. Also, during the growing of ornamental cabbage to decorate the garden area, one can meet with a global problem - rodents and insects. The first can eat the roots of plants and seeds. The second eat up the leaves of cabbage and spoil its appearance. With them you need to fight right away and try to prevent their appearance.

Before planting seedlings or seeds, add ash to the soil and spill the earth with steep boiling water. But to get rid of insects, plants need to be sprayed with special preparations that fight with leafy caterpillars. Such small tricks will help get rid of pests once and for all.

How beautiful to decorate the site with decorative cabbage?

As already found, the most interesting and undemanding ornament of the garden is the decorative cabbage on the flowerbed. The next photo demonstrates this clearly.

At the same time, you can plant several varieties, alternating them. If you did not know how to decorate the site with decorative cabbage even at the beginning of this article, now you have ideas that you need to realize in your head. Also in this undertaking will help a detailed scheme of the arrangement of ornamental cabbage on the flowerbed. Photos can be considered further.

With a plant such as ornamental cabbage even novice gardeners will cope. You can make amazing compositions using cabbage, perennials and various shrubs. Above is the scheme of the method, as it is still beautiful to decorate the site with the help of decorative cabbage. You can make various patterns and ornaments on the flower bed. Cabbage goes well with tall plants. Also from it you can make beautiful vertical or hanging flower gardens.

The unpretentiousness of the plant solves the problems of planting trees and decorating streets and parks. Increasingly, you can meet decorative cabbage on city photos.

We decorate your plot with ornamental cabbage - video