Redbor Kale

Where Redbor comes from

Redbor is an F1 hybrid from the Dutch seed house Bejo, essentially a dark-red counterpart to their standard green curly kale 'Winterbor' — Johnny's describes it as 'similar to Winterbor in everything but color.' Bejo doesn't publish the parent lines, so treat any specific pedigree as unconfirmed; it's a long-established market-grower and landscape standard rather than a recent introduction.

Its best-documented milestone: in Fall 2011, LSU AgCenter named Redbor the first edible plant in its Louisiana Super Plants program, after two-plus years of trials, and framed it as 'an ornamental you can eat.' One honest note to head off confusion: Redbor itself is not an All-America Selections winner — that's Bejo's newer 'Rubybor,' a 2026 AAS winner, a different variety.

The purple curl — and the cold

Redbor's whole appeal is color and form: deep purple-to-burgundy leaves, tightly and finely ruffled in the Scotch-curl style (denser than green curly types), on unusually tall, upright, sturdy stems. Packets say about 2 feet, but in the ground it commonly reaches 3–4 feet. As an F1, it sizes and curls very evenly, which is what makes it a reliable ornamental block.

The color is cold-reactive, and that's a feature, not a flaw: it's a dark purple in warm weather, deepening to maroon and burgundy — even near-black in hard cold or low light. That's why it's planted as a winter accent against pansies and pastels. The one honest caveat on looks: pushed very dark in deep cold or shade, some find it reads murky or near-black on the plate; the vivid burgundy pops best in strong light.

An ornamental you can eat

It's worth being clear-eyed about the eating. Despite the dramatic color, Redbor tastes like standard curly kale — earthy, cabbagey, mildly bitter, sweetening after frost. The purple is cosmetic, not a flavor upgrade over a green curly type, so if you're choosing a kale purely for taste, the color isn't a reason.

And the tight Scotch curl eats genuinely tough and chewy raw. For a salad it needs a real massage — oil, salt, a couple of minutes of working — or it's better cooked, and the fibrous central rib is usually worth stripping out. Cooking has its own catch: boiled or overcooked, the purple dulls to a muddy grey-green, so it holds color best raw-massaged or quick-cooked. Finally, because it's an F1 hybrid, seed you save won't come true — the offspring segregate and often lose the red — so plan to rebuy seed each season.

Growing Redbor

Grow it as a cool-season crop (a biennial run as an annual). Give it full sun, rich well-drained soil around pH 6.0–7.5, and steady moisture for the best leaf quality. Direct-sow about 1/2 inch deep or set transplants, spacing plants 12–18 inches apart in rows 18–36 inches — and give the tall, often 3–4-foot plants room.

In cold-winter regions, sow in spring for summer-fall greens and again in mid-to-late summer for a fall and winter harvest; in the South, LSU's schedule is to plant October–February for a winter display and replace it by May. Harvest the outer leaves first and leave the central growing point so the plant keeps producing. Expect the deepest color and sweetest flavor after frost — it takes roughly 10–15°F without injury and stands through hard freezes. Watch for the brassica pests below.

What goes wrong — and the fixes

Leaves too tough or chewy raw — massage with oil and salt for a couple of minutes or cook them, and strip out the fibrous central rib. Grit and hidden aphids and cabbage worms buried in the curls — soak and swish in cold (or lightly salted) water and inspect the ruffles, rather than a quick rinse.

Flea beetles shot-hole seedlings (use row cover early, or time a mid-to-late-summer sowing to dodge peak pressure); aphids colonize the frills (blast with water and use insecticidal soap early, before they're deep in the curl); cabbage worms and loopers chew holes (Bt and row cover).

Color dulling to muddy grey when cooked — keep it quick-cooked or raw-massaged, not long-boiled. Plant turning bitter and bolting — it's a cool-season crop, so grow it fall through spring and pull it once spring heat sets in. And saved seed producing green off-types — it's an F1, so buy fresh seed rather than seed-saving.

In the kitchen

Redbor's most common real-world use is actually the flower bed — a burgundy winter annual paired with pansies — but it's a perfectly good cooking kale. It shines in soups, braises, and sautés, crisps into kale chips, and can be simmered like mustard greens; frost makes it sweeter.

For raw salads, massage it with oil, salt, and a little acid for a couple of minutes to tenderize the chewy curl. Keep cooking quick or the purple goes grey — so if you want the color on the plate, lean on raw-massaged or fast-cooked preparations. It also makes a striking restaurant-style garnish and cut foliage for arrangements.