frigid months. ‘Osaka Pink’ ornamental cabbage offers the gorgeous aesthetic of a ruffly bloom, but with the extraordinary frost tolerance of kale-family plants. Intriguingly, the specimen isn’t just a flower—it is a compact floret of leaves with rounded purple foliage on the outside, deep green margins, and bright pink leaves on the inside, yielding a frilly, psychedelic display.

This attractive plant adds a touch of color and vibrancy to fall containers and ornamental beds. Its color intensifies with cold weather and lasts throughout the winter. In intense cold weather, the leaves may die back, but they reliably return in the spring for more pretty flower-shaped growth. Let’s dig into how you can grow ‘Osaka Pink’ in your autumn garden!
History and Cultivation

With origins in Mediterranean Europe, cabbage has been cultivated for thousands of years as both a food and ornamental crop. The humble brassica plants come in a tremendous variety of shapes, colors, and sizes, ranging from the rounded edible heads we recognize in grocery stores to the unique, frilly florets of ornamental leaves.

The cool-weather plants are exceptionally resilient to frost, making them popular for fall and winter containers or beds where gardeners desire attractive flowers that can withstand harsh weather.

What is It?
‘Osaka’ Pink ornamental cabbage is a compact ornamental brassica with creamy pink centers, rounded purple outer foliage, and bright to dark green margins. The low-growing rosettes include tightly overlapping foliage with ruffled edges that turn brighter pink as the weather gets frostier.

This rose-like cabbage offers changing color hues throughout the season, while withstanding harsh winter temperatures with very little maintenance. The ornamental heads are best for mass planting, low border landscaping, and fall container planting.

Can You Eat It?
Although you can technically eat ornamental kales and cabbages, ‘Osaka Pink’ won’t taste very good. This variety is bred for its color and aesthetic rather than flavor or tenderness. If you want to eat crisp cool-weather brassicas that still look pretty, try ‘Copenhagen Market’ or ‘Red Acre.’

Propagation
‘Osaka Pink’ is primarily available as a nursery seedling. Seeds are not readily available. It’s easiest to buy this ornamental in 6-packs or cell trays from a local nursery. If you wish to do a mass planting, be sure to buy enough plants to fill your area. The specimens grow to 6” tall and 12” wide at maturity, and are best planted 10-12” apart for full coverage.

Planting
Putting these brassicas in the ground is as straightforward as any other vegetable. First, make sure your plants are hardened off. If the seedlings were outside at the nursery, they are likely already acclimated to nighttime temperatures. But if they were inside a greenhouse, it’s best to help them gradually adapt to outside extremes by keeping them on a sheltered porch for a few days before transplanting.

Prepare beds or containers with a small amendment of compost or potting mix so the soil is loose and workable. Use a hori hori knife, trowel, or small shovel to dig a hole about 1.5 times the size of the root ball.

Gently massage the roots and grasp each cabbage from the base as you pull it out of the cell tray. Place the seedling in the hole and backfill with soil, ensuring that the dirt stays at the same level as it was in the container. Avoid burying the leaves or planting too deep, as this can cause the foliage to rot or get dirty and unattractive.

Tuck the remaining soil under the outer leaves and water nicely until the soil is moist and the plants sit solidly in place.

The ideal spacing is 10-12” apart. Ornamental cabbages and kale look best when planted densely so they grow to cover any bare soil between them. However, avoid planting too closely, or the plants may fail to proliferate.

How to Grow
If you’ve ever grown kale, then you can easily grow ‘Osaka Pink’ cabbage. Loamy soil, partial to full sun, and moderate moisture are key.
Maintenance

Unsightly leaf removal is the only maintenance needed for this species. If lower foliage turns yellow or dies back, prune it off to keep your beds looking tidy.