Jan–MarApr–JunJul–SepOct–Dec
Planting
Days to maturity
Seasonal yields
Sow indoors · Direct sow · Transplant outdoors
← Explore Plants
Plant · P-331
Chinese Broccoli
Brassica oleracea var alboglabra
Chinese broccoli, or gai lan, is grown for its tender flowering shoots and small leaves, harvested at the bud stage before the flowers open - taking the terminal shoot forces side shoots, turning one planting into a run of repeat cuttings that can yield about 2 kg per square meter. It handles both heat and cold better than most of its cabbage-family relatives: it tolerates hotter summer temperatures than typical for the group, and once past the seedling stage it also shrugs off several degrees of frost. Getting that heat tolerance in practice comes down to choosing a warm-climate cultivar rather than whatever seed happens to be on the shelf.
Record at a glance
Growing profile
- Sun
- Full Sun · Partial Sun
- USDA zone
- USDA 2–11
- Soil
- Sand · Silt · Loam · Clay
- Moisture
- Well-Drained · Moist
Vertical layer
Herbaceous- Soil pH
- 6–8
- Plant type
- Annual
- Mature height
- 12–24 in
- Mature spread
- 12–18 in
- Plant spacing
- 4–6 in
- Root type
- Fibrous-shallow
- Spread pattern
- Seed
Keep exploring
Similar plants
Discover more plants with shared forest layers or growing conditions.
African Eggplant
Solanum aethiopicum
African Eggplant, also called gboma or scarlet eggplant, is a West and Central African relative of eggplant that gives two harvests from one…
Herbaceous · USDA 8–12
Agrimony
Agrimonia eupatoria
Agrimony is a slender herbaceous perennial of sunny, disturbed ground across Europe and western Asia, grown mainly for the tannin-rich leaves…
Herbaceous · USDA 5–9
Alfalfa
Medicago sativa
Alfalfa is a deep-rooted perennial legume grown worldwide as one of the richest forage crops available, its taproot running six metres or…
Herbaceous · USDA 4–11
Aloe Vera
Aloe vera
Aloe Vera is a stemless, clump-forming succulent with thick, spiny-edged leaves that store a clear gel used to soothe burns, wounds and skin…
Herbaceous · USDA 10–12
Amaranth Greens
Amaranthus tricolor
Amaranth greens are one of the few leafy vegetables actually built for peak summer heat rather than one that just tolerates it - sown once…
Herbaceous · USDA 2–11
Angelica
Angelica archangelica
Angelica is a very large, short-lived umbellifer grown for its candied stem and aromatic root - the thick young stalks are peeled and boiled…
Herbaceous · USDA 5–7
The deeper layer
Plan what comes next.
- Primary
- Locked ecological function
- Secondary
- Locked ecological function
- Byproduct
- Locked ecological function
Behind the record
- Locked research reference
- Locked research reference
- Locked research reference