Before you continue the article Decorative Cabbage: Planting and Care, Types and Varieties (Part 1)! So, where were we?
Diseases and pests
Brassica is prone to defeat the same diseases and pests as other types of cabbage. The main damage to plantations often causes himself cottager, excessive watering of landing ice cold water and too peruviana the soil under plants. As a result, they are affected by root rot and powdery mildew. Therefore, when watering should adhere to the Golden mean, and do not neglect the deoxidation of the soil, if your soil is characterized by low PH – in such conditions, cabbage often suffers from keel.
At the initial stage of fungal diseases can try to cure permitted fungicides. But in my opinion, it is better to remove such specimens from the General plantation: they are unlikely to reveal their full potential and will also become a source of infection for neighboring plants.
Decorative cabbage can be chosen by butterflies, and then caterpillars scoops and whitefish, as well as aphids, cruciferous flea, slugs and other harmful insects — lovers to eat the juicy flesh of plants of the Cruciferous family. In this case, it is possible to spray the affected plants with insecticides.
But personally, I prefer folk methods, among which the infusion of tobacco dust is particularly well-established. To cook 2 cups of tobacco dust poured 5 liters of hot water, insist night, strain, add a couple tablespoons of liquid soap and liberally moisten the plants. This fragrant solution is sprayed to begin planting immediately after planting seedlings in the ground every 10 to 14 days — with this approach, pests even come close to the cabbage not at risk.
Often planted decorative cabbage in a dense environment Tagetes, extracting from this double benefit. “Long-lasting” inflorescences of these flowers are kept on the flower bed until the first frost and perfectly shade Brassica (especially purple varieties), as well as its pronounced aroma deters pests from it.
Reproduction
Decorative cabbage is transformed in late summer, changing the color of its dark green leaves to light green, purple, blue, pink, lilac and white tones. And the colder it becomes in the autumn, the more expressive shade becomes its leaf socket.
Brassica at the end of the season sometimes remains the only decoration of the suburban area, steadfastly withstanding the autumn frosts, and goes under the snow in all its glory. But if you want to extend the pleasure of contemplation of this beautiful creature, you can transplant a particularly spectacular specimens with earthen lump in roomy pots. With regular watering the plants will live another 1-1,5 months in a cool, bright porch or balcony.
Later, these potted plants (if they are varieties, not hybrids) can cut the outer leaves and reduce the size of their sockets by half, and then together with a lump of earth to pass into a box with wet sand. In this case, the stems are buried to the leaves.
The boxes thus prepared brassicas sent to winter in the basement or cellar. If in the spring to plant these plants in the open ground and provide similar care (the number of feedings can be reduced), at the end of the summer they ripen the seeds that can be collected and used for planting over the next 5 years.
Types and varieties
The ancestor of decorative cabbage was a native of the Mediterranean-cabbage garden, which gave rise to numerous varieties and hybrids of this culture. They can be divided into two groups: plants with the correct rosette of leaves, resembling a giant rose in shape, and palm-shaped varieties (also known as Kale cabbage), which mainly grow not in breadth, but upwards, reaching a height of 1.2-1.3 m.
Among the huge variety of varieties certainly worth highlighting hybrid ‘Kamome Pink F1’, reaching a height of 20-30 cm and forming a wide dense rosette made up of corrugated leaves-the lower green and inner bright pink.
Special attention is given to the hybrid ‘Osaka Red F1’, forming a ‘rose’ up to a height of 30 cm and a diameter up to 40 cm This striking plant has a smooth, slightly wavy at the edges of the leaves, the lower of which is painted in a bluish-green color, and the Central by the autumn become bright purple color.
Nobody will be indifferent hybrid ‘Nagoya White F1’ with emerald leaves on the edges and white in the middle of the outlet. The plant reaches a height of 45 cm and is characterized by highly corrugated leaf plates, giving the variety a special charm.
Amazing in its beauty hybrid ‘Peacock White F1’, which stands out for a large dense outlet height of 30 cm with deeply serrated leaves, painted in bright green and pearl tones.
Will be the main focus on the site hybrid ‘Sunrise F1’, a large leaf socket which in its appearance does not differ from the inflorescence of roses, but has a more impressive size and painted in several shades.
Undoubtedly, the Kale deserves attention. Not only that, her young leaves can be safely put in salads and used as a side dish, so she looks great in the flower beds. Very popular variety ‘lark Tongue’, reaching a height of 130 cm and stands out for its unusual palm shape and long curly leaves rich green hue.
It is necessary to highlight and a mixture of decorative cabbage ‘Kai and Gerda F1’, characterized by special frost (up to -15°C) and attracts the attention of gorgeous openwork leaves. This cabbage reaches a height of 50 cm, a mixture of seeds gives two types of plants-with dark purple (Gerda) and malachite leaves (Kai).
Giant roses and fancy palm trees of decorative cabbage, undoubtedly, deserve attention from summer residents. This “artist” in multi – colored lace and ruffles will fit into any garden landscape and will appreciate the enviable unpretentiousness in care, but most importantly-will not let you get bored on the site in the dull autumn.
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