Perennial kale

[Right Shed Fred]

Does anyone have experience of perennial kale (Daubenton) growing to look like this? What's going on with the stem there? Am I right to optimistically assume this is a good thing, or has something gone awry?
This was pecked heavily by birds when I planted it out as a big plug last spring, but it recovered well. It now looks a bit mad.

I have 4 that suffered the same bird attacks and look like that. I did not harvest much this year, I wanted them to establish well before I start ripping leaves off.

[MelanieSW]

This does look unusual. A bit like a mix of Taunton Deane at the top and Daubentons at the bottom.
The big leaves may well be tasty, it could be a good thing!
It will be interesting if it carries that forward or returns back to normal after a while.

[Right Shed Fred]

It all looked like the top leaves last year, but it's branching out sides now! I did remove lower yellowing leaves over autumn/winter, so there was a bit of "exposed stem", which is where the new intense clusters of leaves are.

I'm taking it as a good sign that it is at least growing, even if it looks a bit eccentric!

[nick the grief]

I wonder if the birds or something has taken the growing point out hence the side growths ... no bad thing possibly

[ameno]

I don't grow perennial kale, but my cavolo nero does that sort of thing all the time, so your perennial kale may well be much the same in that regard.

[Right Shed Fred]

Hmm, interesting. Some food for thought there. Thanks both.

I did think they didn't grow as tall as I'd hoped over the summer - you might have a point there.

I always pick my cavolo nero from the bottom, and it just grows crazy high with a spurt of leaves at the top (I think I am making myself into the one-with-the-crazy-kale plot at the allotment). It's never made those side spurts though, but maybe I'm not growing it long enough.

I'm still kinda hoping those are just the new side shoots for this season...

well, I shall just watch and wait and if it becomes too weird, I'll hopefully at least be able to take cuttings, eat the rest and just start again!

[ameno]

I always pick my cavolo nero from the bottom, and it just grows crazy high with a spurt of leaves at the top (I think I am making myself into the one-with-the-crazy-kale plot at the allotment). It's never made those side spurts though, but maybe I'm not growing it long enough

Mine seems to do it every year. It just grows upwards to start with, but then about this time of year every year it starts growing lots of side shoots, and come March or so they are usually a mass of side shoots.