Brassica oleracea var. ramosa
Origin: Oregon & Washington
Improvement status: Evolutionary Population
Seeds per packet: ~75
Germination tested 01/2026: 95%
Life cycle: Perennial
Year 13 of The Perennial Kale Sojourn: "New Forms Unfolding"
From the mind (and field) of our brilliant friend Chris Homanics:
"Building on previous iterations, this is the latest release in the 'choose-your-own-adventure' series known as the 'Homesteader's Kaleidoscopic Perennial' Kale Grex. This version incorporates many years of selections of exceptional plants, all bulked together and inter-crossed to amplify certain traits that were less prevalent in the overall population. Key goals have included increasing the prevalence of strongly bush-forming plants, glazed leaf genetics, vibrant color expression (which can fade over successive selections), and frilly leaf characteristics derived from advanced perennial lines crossed with varieties like ‘Scarlet’ Kale, ‘Blue Curled Scotch’ Kale, and others. This iteration represents 13 years of directing and screening over a quarter million plants.
A paradox in breeding a plant like this is that as we succeed in reducing flowering, both seed quantity and the very act of seeding diminish. Plants that seldom flower yield offspring that can be even less likely to produce seed, slowing the breeding process. Some of the very best plants selected over the years have still yet to flower! That said, the particularly harsh 2025 winter stressed clones that normally rarely (or never) flower, prompting them to produce blooms this cycle and unlocking new genetics. Most plants will flower in their second or third season, while some will be completely hesitant or sporadic to flower. Most plants will continue growing later in the season after seeding has completed. Clone the stems of your best plants if you don’t want to risk losing them!
Development of this population has followed a cautious trajectory to preserve the maximum range of perennial kale expressions. A more aggressive approach could have eliminated many plants in a shortcut, potentially discarding traits that may prove valuable in the future. Instead, the genetic aperture has narrowed slowly to continually mix diverse traits while diversity is at its widest and to avoid losing important characteristics. This results in a more "generalist" mix — a one-size-fits-all approach that's not initially optimized for any single region but can be reselected in varied climates to adapt to local conditions, allowing the lineage to thrive across diverse environments.
Day-neutral genetics have deliberately been retained, partly because they are hard to identify directly and partly because the interplay of traits between day-neutral and other populations may yield long-term benefits. Here in the Pacific Northwest, the grex is naturally being selected against long-day plants that flower after vernalization. Though colorful leaf variation can be seen throughout the population, it has been intentionally selected against since that variegation can make the plants more delicate.
Though Brassica oleracea and the Brassica genus in general have been well-studied, perenniality has received little academic attention. I've uncovered scattered bits of information on this trait dating back to the early 1800s, often in the form of grower reports. That said, Brassica oleracea belongs to the same family (Brassicaceae) as Arabidopsis thaliana (Thale Cress), which serves as the primary genetic model organism for plants in scientific research — much like the fruit fly does for animals. Around 300 genes are known to influence flowering in Arabidopsis, and given that the Brassica genus arose from an ancient genome triplication event, one can reasonably estimate that approximately 900 genes contribute to flowering expression in Brassica oleracea. When breeding plants like this, the number of possible genetic permutations is astronomical, so the only viable strategy is an additive, iterative approach where improvements are made and accumulated through the population over time.
This iteration incorporates all the very best clones from my breeding work dating back to 2012, with the bulk deriving from 2017 onward. These were crossed among themselves and backcrossed to ‘Purple Tree Collards’, improved ‘Daubenton’ forms, Gullah Geechee perennial collards, perennial glazed collard selections, as well as superior seedlings selected for cold hardiness, cell-crowding survival, and heat/drought resistance. Seedlots were produced from interbred, isolated selections in nurseries featuring my top clones from 2018–2023. Additional seeds came from the very best plants in my 2023 field selection, which underwent similar selection pressures. These seedlings were subjected to crowding conditions with approximately 15 plants per cell and progressively thinned to the most resilient survivors. Plants in these cells then endured water and heat stress over several months and were further thinned. I use a special custom seedling soil mix designed to provide all necessary macro- and micronutrients for growing micro-plants in a 72-count tray. The seedlings were overwintered and exposed to single-digit temperatures multiple times. In spring, they were further thinned and fertilized with liquid organic fertilizer. Around 5% flowered under these conditions and were culled. The best surviving seedlings were transplanted to 4-inch pots and grown in the greenhouse. In June, they were field-transplanted and watered in (some pots still contained multiple seedlings at this stage). After the initial watering, the plants received just one more irrigation during a prolonged drought that season, then were dry-farmed thereafter. Most established and thrived, with stragglers typically being rogued.
For now, we will continue to offer the Homesteader's Kaleidoscopic Perennial Kale Grex as the "stable release." Consider this new offering a bit more experimental — but also more intriguing."
For more information about this grex, please see the product page at https://store.experimentalfarmnetwork.org/products/kaleidescope-perennial-kale-grex or learn about the perennial kale breeding project at https://citsci.org/projects/perennial-kale-breeding-project/
GROWING TIPS: Start by growing this as you would any other kale or collard in your bioregion. You can start them early, in flats, or direct-sow around last frost. You can try planting them in late summer, especially if you have mild winters. With all the diversity present in this population, it's pretty forgiving. In areas with heavy pest pressure on Brassica family plants (whether you have cabbage moths, cabbage loopers, harlequin bugs, flea beetles, or any other bugs), you may very well need to keep plants covered with floating row cover during the worst of the season. And if you have extended droughts, you may need to water these sometimes. If you're in Zone 5 or colder, you might only be able to get them to survive winter with some serious mulch or other protection.
* The Open Source Seed Initiative (OSSI) pledge states: “You have the freedom to use these OSSI-Pledged seeds in any way you choose. In return, you pledge not to restrict other's use of these seeds or their derivatives by patents or other means, and to include this pledge with any transfer of these seeds or their derivatives.” More information on OSSI can be found at osseeds.org.
