Dazzling Blue Kale, Open-Pollinated Seeds
Bring blue-green texture and a flash of pink to your cool-season garden. Dazzling Blue is a lacinato-type kale with elongated, savoyed leaves and distinctive pink-purple midribs. Its upright growth makes individual leaves easy to pick for fresh salads, quick sautés and hearty soups.
Why Grow Dazzling Blue?
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Color with character: Blue-green foliage contrasts with pink-purple midribs, and cool weather can deepen the display.
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Classic lacinato texture: Long, puckered leaves offer the familiar cooking qualities of dinosaur kale.
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Cool-season potential: Selected for cold hardiness, it has performed well compared with other lacinato types in breeder and grower observations. Winter survival still depends on local conditions and protection.
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Repeated leaf picking: Harvest lower outer leaves while protecting the growing tip for continued growth when conditions allow.
A Modern Open-Pollinated Variety
Bred by Hank Keogh from Rainbow Lacinato and its lacinato ancestry, Dazzling Blue is an open-pollinated, OSSI-pledged variety. Its documented modern breeding history is a better description than a traditional heirloom label.
Growing Notes
Start indoors about 4–6 weeks before your planned spring planting, then harden seedlings off before transplanting. Alternatively, direct sow into a prepared bed. For a fall crop, work backward from local autumn conditions so plants can establish before growth slows. Choose full sun to partial shade and fertile, well-drained soil; keep moisture consistent.
Raised-Bed Planning
Allow 1 plant per sq ft for regularly picked plants, giving vigorous full-size plants additional room as needed. Good airflow and access to the lower leaves make harvesting easier. Check seedlings for chewing pests and protect young plants where needed.
Harvest Details
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Packet size: 1 g, approximately 100+ seeds.
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Baby leaves: Some growers list about 30 days under favorable conditions.
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Larger leaves: Suppliers list approximately 50–65 days, with timing varying by planting method, weather and harvest size. This is not a fixed days-from-transplant promise.
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Leaf color: Blue-green with pink to purple midribs; color expression varies with conditions.
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Botanical name: Brassica oleracea, Acephala Group.
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Life cycle: Biennial commonly grown as an annual leaf crop.
From Garden to Kitchen
Pick young leaves for tender salad greens. Slice larger leaves for soups, braises or sautéing; remove thick mature stems if you prefer a softer texture. Harvest gradually, leaving healthy foliage and the growing point intact.
Cold-Weather Harvesting
Cool weather can improve sweetness and intensify leaf color. Cold tolerance is not immunity to severe freezes, wind or wet soil. Use climate-appropriate protection for extended harvests rather than assuming plants will overwinter in every zone.
Packed and shipped by Box Garden Seeds LLC.
