Brassica oleracea sabauda
Brassica oleracea sabauda
Safety & Hazards
None known
Cultivation Details
Savoy cabbage was developed in the temperate zone and can withstand quite cold winters. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 15 - 24°c, but can tolerate 7 - 32°c[1]. When dormant, the plant can survive temperatures down to about -10°c, but young growth can be severely damaged at -1°c[1]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 500 - 1,000mm, but tolerates 300 - 2,500mm[1]. A difference of about 5°c between day and night temperatures appears to be necessary for adequate head development. Normally, flower initiation and stem elongation are induced by low winter temperatures of the order 4 - 7°c for several weeks[1]. Cabbages are adapted to 60 - 90% relative air humidity and low humidity may cause wilting[1]. Succeeds in full sun in a well-drained fertile preferably alkaline soil[2, 3, 4]. Prefers a heavy soil[2]. Prefers a soil that is not too rich[3]. Succeeds in any reasonable soil. Succeeds in maritime gardens[4]. The savoy cabbage is often grown for its edible leaves - there are many named varieties. The savoy, however, is considered by many people to be coarser tasting than other cabbages and is less grown nowadays.
Propagation
Seed - sow in a seedbed outdoors in mid spring. Plant out in summer as space permits. Do not let the seedlings get overcrowded or they will soon become leggy and will not make such good plants. If your seedlings do get leggy, it is possible to plant them rather deeper into the soil - the buried stems will soon form roots and the plant will be better supported. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Brassica+oleracea+sabauda>
Pollinators
Bees
References
- [1]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
- [2]New Vegetable Growers Handbook. — Simons. · Penguin · 1977 · ISBN 0-14-046-050-0 ↩︎A good guide to growing vegetables in temperate areas, not entirely organic.
- [3]The Gardener's Assistant. — Thompson. B. · Blackie and Son. · 1878 · ISBN - ↩︎Excellent general but extensive guide to gardening practices in the 19th century. A very good section on fruits and vegetables with many little known species.
- [4]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
- [5]Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. — Hedrick. U. P. · Dover Publications · 1972 · ISBN 0-486-20459-6 ↩︎Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
- [6]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
- [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎