Redbor Kale

Brassica oleracea (Acephala Group) 'Redbor'

vegetable

Redbor is a frilly, intensely curled kale in glowing magenta-to-deep-purple, a hybrid that is as much an ornamental as an edible. It grows upright on sturdy stems to 2 to 3 ft, holding its color all season and deepening to richer purple in cold weather, which also sweetens the leaves. Fully edible, the tender curly leaves are used like any kale - in salads, chips, soups, and sautées - while the plant itself makes a dramatic centerpiece in beds, borders, and large containers. Cold hardy and productive, it keeps cropping into winter and shrugs off light snow.

✅ Plant alongside

Good neighbors that attract beneficial insects or deter pests

• Nasturtium — Lures aphids and cabbage pests away while edging the bed with color that complements the purple kale
• Detroit Dark Red Beet — A non-brassica root crop that interplants well and continues the deep-red color theme
• Garden Sage — Aromatic herb companion thought to help repel cabbage pests

❌ Keep away from

🛡️ Pest & disease prevention

Proactive ways to stop trouble before it starts — tap a name with an arrow for its full guide

• Cabbage worms →

  Hand-pick the green caterpillars, use insect netting, and apply Bt if needed - the curled leaves can hide them, so check closely

• Aphids →

  Blast colonies from the frilly leaves with water and encourage ladybugs; the curls give them shelter, so inspect regularly

• Flea beetles →

  Cover young plants and keep them vigorous to outgrow the shot-hole damage

• Harlequin bugs →

  Hand-pick the orange-and-black bugs and their egg clusters and remove crop debris where they overwinter

🌾 Harvest & storage

Harvest Redbor leaf by leaf, picking the lower, outer leaves once they reach usable size and leaving the growing crown to keep producing - this cut-and-come-again approach yields for months. The flavor is mildest and sweetest after a frost. Young leaves are tender enough for raw salads; larger leaves are best massaged for salads or cooked into chips, soups, and sautées. Strip the leaf from the tough central rib before using. It holds in the garden into winter, so pick as needed.

🥗 Nutrition & benefits

Kale is a nutritional powerhouse, exceptionally high in vitamins A, C, and K, plus calcium, fiber, and antioxidants, and Redbor adds the purple anthocyanin pigments on top of kale's usual benefits. The frilly leaves work raw in salads (massaged to tenderize), baked into chips, or cooked in soups and sautées, and because the plant is also so ornamental it earns its place in both the vegetable garden and the flower border.