I’ve heard colleagues say that tree kale never goes to seed, that it can only be propagated by cuttings. Well, my 10-foot tree kale would beg to differ. It’s gone to seed after falling over in a wind storm (probably stress-induced) while it continues to produce tasty leaves.
Tree kale is a perennial vegetable lauded by the permaculture community because it forms deep roots (obviously deep enough to withstand falling over in a wind storm). We propped that baby back up and it kept going. It resists insect infestations while annual kales are plagued, and it requires less frequent watering. We demonstrated how to propagate from cuttings in this video, but now we’re going for seeds to see how that works.
Flowers turn to seed pods, which then dry down, turning from green to brown. The birds arrived to let us know it’s time to cover the seed heads.
We stapled a few paper bags around several seed clusters and left a few for the birds. Now we wait until they are dry enough to harvest.
Tree kale grows slowly at first, but ours now hovers above the fence by a couple feet 2 years later. Even in summer this plant provides kale for salads, frittatas and soups with practically no pests. It’s a smart addition to any sustainable garden.
A fellow tree kale lover advised me that purple varieties only breed true purple from cuttings; seed-grown tree kale will be green. We’ll report back on how the seed-grown tree kale performs against cuttings.
Hey gardenerds, have you tried growing tree kale from seed? Post your adventures below.
I had no idea I had a tree kale. After enjoying kala all last summer, when fall the kala was still looking alive so I left it alone. This spring it was alive and well, had survived the winter. Let it go to flower for the bees to enjoy, even though I was told my kala would be tough. The leaves are small but tender and good. It is July and still flowering and have what looks like string beans all over it. My question is, should I remove the “beans”, can I eat them? Will it hurt the plant to remove them. Help?
You may or may not have tree kale, since there are some annual kale plant varieties are are durable for several years. But if you do, you will want to prune off those flower spikes after they finish, and cut back the kale to a lower branch above a bud. Then it will start to leaf out near the cut.
Guess what?! It goes to seed but it won’t grow true. As in it won’t grow a tree from seed, it will just grow kale. The only way to grow a kale tree is from a cutting as you were told. You probably just didn’t understand what that meant or whomever told you that didn’t understand.
Rob, thanks for weighing in. I’ve been to Seed School and I’ve studied propagation. Here’s the thing: I’ve got cuttings from a friend who grew her tree kale from seed. They’re growing right along side my tree kale from cuttings. So there must be some variances for true-to-type propagation in there somewhere. Nature keeps us on our toes.
hi! there is a tree kale called “couve galega” you can get seeds in us.
I have been looking for Tree kales but have not found a nursery that carries them. Would someone be kind to send me some cuttings. I don’t mind paying to mail them.l will email my mailing address. Thank you!
Leah, you can find them at Bountiful Gardens online here: https://bountifulgardens.org/products/VCO-3250