Fall has arrived, and summer annuals are looking a little tired now that cool weather has set in. That means it’s time to clear out those containers for fall displays. While mums and pansies are nice, ornamental cabbage and kale are the stars of the show when it comes to container plants that love cool weather.

A Rainbow of Greens

There are many reasons to love these members of the Brassica family, including color, texture, and longevity.

Ornamental cabbage and kale come in a variety of leaf shapes, from fairly flat and smooth to deeply lobed and frilly. Their colors range from white and green to purple and pink. And they hold these shapes and colors nearly all winter long, depending on how severe the cold gets.

When buying ornamental cabbage and kale, it pays to buy the largest plants that will fit your container or mixed planting scheme, since they won’t grow much once they’re planted.

How to Grow in Containers

Cabbage and kale prefer a spot in full sun. They can tolerate partial shade if necessary, but they might become leggy if planted in a spot with too much shade. Color will increase when temperatures start to dip below 50 degrees fahrenheit.

Other than sunlight and cool temperatures, all they need is occasional water when soil is dry to the touch. The ornamental varieties are edible (so don’t freak out if a small child stuffs a leaf in his or her mouth) but they generally won’t taste as good as cabbage and kale varieties that are grown specifically for human consumption.

Using Cabbage and Kale in Mixed Containers

Ornamental cabbage and kale are stunning by themselves in containers, but they also work well in mixed plantings. Use a large cabbage or kale plant as a centerpiece and ring it with pansies or violas with similar colors. Or, use several small cabbages and/or kale to ring a large flowering mum or interesting pumpkin or gourd. They make great fillers around the base of ornamental grasses or evergreen shrubs, too. And don’t be afraid to cram them together to fill a container since, like I said before, they won’t grow much when planted in the fall.