How to grow decorative cabbage

Imagine the situation. Autumn. Around dank gray dirty yellow shades. You are walking. And suddenly, eyes whip out a large color spot. Legs themselves carry you, uncontrollably, in an attempt to discern that it’s so bright in a flowerbed? Violet, emerald, pink, white, juicy, magnificent ... Where, in the midst of despondency and withering, is such a fabulous charm? What it is?

The answer is simple. Such emotions can cause only one plant - ornamental cabbage. It is it that stands out as a bright spot when there are no other colors anymore.

Naturally, you already wanted yourself such a charm. Today we understand - how to grow ornamental cabbage.

Variety selection

At present, the selection represents a chic selection of varieties. What kind of plant to plant in your plot depends only on your personal preferences.Well, a little bit of the goals that you pursue. Because ornamental cabbage stunted varieties can be carefully knocked down the main planting. A tall variety is recommended for individual cultivation, as plants-tapeworms.

Before buying a cherished bag, decide what you need such beauty. And be sure to read the information on the packaging. After all, some types of decorative cabbage reach a height of 1.5 meters. Consider this when planning plantings on a flower bed.

Soil preparation

Despite the fact that the cabbage is decorative, the principles of growing it are not very different from caring for other types of cabbage. The first thing you need to sow the seedlings on the seedlings. But you can not just pour any soil and scatter the seeds. As a rule, such manipulations end in complete fiasco. First you need to properly prepare the ground. After all, even the purchase is sometimes infected with spores of the black leg. And this nasty thing is very respectful young sprouts of any plants.

Therefore, you must choose one of the options:

1. Deep freeze during the day.You can do it in the winter on the street in advance, and you can lay out the earth in packages and hold it in a simple freezer if you did not have time during the cold season.
2. Heating in the oven. For 2 kg of soil will be enough for only 30 minutes at a temperature of 105-110 ° C.
3. Processing hot (+ 80-85 ° C) strong solution of potassium permanganate.

It should be remembered that after manganese disinfection, it is impossible to use the soil for its intended purpose for at least 12 hours.

Better yet, all the “medical” procedures are done 15 days before sowing, and shed the soil with phytosporin solution. This will allow beneficial microorganisms to colonize sterile soil faster than pathogenic bacteria.

Council Disinfect any land, both garden and store.

Sowing on seedlings

There is no exact recommendation when to sow decorative cabbage. In different regions, these data are very different. The average value ranges from March 15 to April 30 in pots, and from May 1 to June 15 in open ground. Later planting does not make sense, because the ornamental cabbage does not have time to grow. And earlier terms will make sprouts stretch from a lack of light.

Important! Do not sow decorative cabbage in bulk. She needs room for growth even at the initial stage of development. And she also doesn’t really like a pick. The best option is to plant each seed separately in a glass with the ground, or even a peat tablet.

The sowing process itself is as follows:

• In a glass pour about 12 cm of the prepared soil.
• Put 1 or 2 seeds on top.
• Sprinkle with a layer of earth 1.5-1.8 cm.
• Moisturize slightly with a spray bottle.
• Cover the cup with polyethylene or glass.
• Put in a warm dark place.

Everything, now it remains to not miss the moment of emergence of shoots. It happens very quickly, literally on day 3. After that, you can remove the shelter, and the capacity to transfer to the light. At the same time, the ambient air temperature should be no higher than + 19 ° C, because in the heat the sprouts of decorative cabbage feel very bad.

Council If you are not sure about the quality of seeds or their germination, then their number can be increased to 1–4 units by 1 capacity. Then just gently cut with scissors the weak shoots, leaving the strongest. Just do not pull out, otherwise damage the root system.

Seedlings care

Caring for young plants of ornamental cabbage before planting in open ground is not difficult. Regular watering as the soil dries and periodic airing - that's all that seedlings need.

The only deviation from the standard set is top dressing with a weak solution of any mineral fertilizer in the phase of 3 true leaves. Naturally, this is done not on dry soil, but the next day after the next watering, so as not to burn the young roots.

Council Do not keep seedlings in direct sunlight. In recent years, April of the middle band raises the thermometer to + 30 ° C. It is fraught for decorative cabbage not just burns, but an agonizing death from overheating.

Landing in open ground

Seedlings are planted in a permanent place when there are 5-6 true leaves. Do not be afraid if the weather on the street allows much to be desired. Even the tiniest sprouts quietly tolerate short-term frosts down to –4 ° С. And grown-ups and adults feel comfortable down to -12 ° C.Therefore, do not let the youth outgrow them, but calmly plant them in open ground.

Do I need to prepare a bed in advance for decorative cabbage? Need to. But do not add too much manure or organic matter. This contributes to the rapid build-up of mass, which is obtained too loose and watery. By the way, the color of the future outlet with an excess of nitrogen will be more green.

Bright shades of leaves are obtained when the soil is correctly filled with any mineral complex fertilizer with a high content of phosphorus and potassium. By the way, do not forget about molybdenum and boron. These trace elements are vital for all types of cabbage.

Here we will not give the exact dosage in grams, as some sources do. It cannot be done at a distance without harm. Just advise you to carefully read the manufacturer's recommendations on the packaging, and then apply them on your site, thinking with your head, and not with greed.

Care for decorative cabbage

In principle, it is not very different from caring for the usual species of crucifers. Abundant watering, sprinkling in the heat, weeding, loosening. All this is a classic set for all varieties of cabbage.By the way, decorative pests are also adored by ordinary cabbage. Control measures are used both folk and chemical.

Just do not be afraid to use insecticides. You are not going to use decorative cabbage for food. No, some sources claim that it is quite possible and will not bring harm to the digestive tract. Only it is not clear why cut such beauty into a salad or cabbage soup when there are many types of food cabbage?

Feel free to handle the landing of special means. Supporters of organic farming can turn to popular wisdom. It is full of recipes for getting rid of pests without the use of chemicals.

Council Try bioinsecticides. They are absolutely safe for animals, people and plants, but they do an excellent job with a wide range of enemies in the garden. Such a procedure is not difficult, and the first wave of pests begins to die within 4-6 hours after the treatment of plantings. Just keep the drug properly and apply it strictly according to the instructions, otherwise it simply will not bring the proper result.

Diseases affect decorative cabbage are the same as normal.This mucous bacteriosis, and the keel, and root rot. The list can be continued for a long time, only it is meaningless. Enumeration will not help avoid infection. It is better to spray planting any fungicides before the appearance of the disease. After all, any infection is easier to prevent than to treat.

By the way, compliance with crop rotation helps a lot. Decorative cabbage can not be planted in the beds where cruciferous cultures used to grow. But many people adorn her not only with flowerbeds, but also with a vegetable garden.

Council If you are an ardent opponent of chemicals in your area, you can use fungicides of biological origin. They are a concentrate of beneficial bacteria and create a good microclimate in the soil and on the surface of plants, which does not like the spores of fungi and pathogenic microorganisms.

Some useful recommendations

Every year, buying decorative cabbage seeds is quite expensive. What to do? Collect them yourself. To do this, in the first year of growth you can admire fabulous rosettes. And with the onset of stable cold, the plant is transplanted into a large container along with a clod of earth. In winter, it is kept in a damp, cool room.Periodically watered, fertilized and clean dried leaves. In the spring, as soon as the snow melts, you can plant decorative cabbage back into the ground. A flower arrow will appear soon, and then seed boxes. They will need to be carefully cut before opening, to dry. Then it will be necessary only to collect the ripened seeds.

By the way, for better pollination, it is recommended to plant several plants of different varieties close to each other. To attract bees and bumblebees use low concentration sugar syrup. They just sprayed flowering ornamental cabbage.

Do not rush to pull out plants in the fall with the arrival of frosts. They perfectly tolerate a temporary decrease in temperature, and from the cold only become brighter. In the heat of the decorative cabbage has a pale shade of leaves, leaving in the green. The same applies to strong shading. Choose a place for landing, where the sun's rays fall at least half a day.

Who would not like to watch the lush riot of decorative cabbage colors longer? In this regard, there are recommendations in the fall to transplant several plants in large pots and continue to grow them in an apartment.

This is quite doable if you can provide plants with constantly high humidity and competent care. It will be difficult to create a climate in the room, close to the usual street. This is only possible if you have a winter garden, a greenhouse or, at worst, a warmed balcony, a veranda. Here you can try to grow your decorative cabbage at home. Then she will delight you with her motley chic leaves all fall and winter.

How to grow decorative cabbage? Now you know that it is not at all difficult. Compliance with the recommendations and competent simple care - these are the components of success. And in the fall, already other people will carry the legs to your garden themselves, to see where this bright spot came from.

Video: decorative cabbage