Tree Kale Dying

[Marb67]

I took a cutting from my old tree Kale at the end of last year and it has been doing well until now. It seems to be going thinner and thinner with leaves falling.

[ameno]

If you took it in the late autumn or winter then it's quite likely that it hasn't actually rooted yet. It's just been surviving on whatever water it can draw up through the cut end.
Brassica cuttings are softwood cuttings, and softwood cuttings are best kept somewhere reasonably warm (indoors this time of year) until they root properly.

[Marb67]

If you took it in the late autumn or winter then it's quite likely that it hasn't actually rooted yet. It's just been surviving on whatever water it can draw up through the cut end.
Brassica cuttings are softwood cuttings, and softwood cuttings are best kept somewhere reasonably warm (indoors this time of year) until they root properly.

It has been kept in the greenhouse all Winter.

[ameno]

An unheated greenhouse is scarcely any warmer than outside.
Ideally, softwood cuttings should be taken in July or August, then they should already be well rooted before winter. If you take them in the autumn then they need keeping indoors so that they actually root, as unlike hardwood cuttings they will not survive an extended period without any roots.

I took cuttings the year before last from my tenderstem broccoli, and they had rooted and started growing new leaves within 3 weeks. That's the sort of timeframe brassica cuttings should root in.

[mrsbusy]

Yes none of my Daubentons kale cuttings did well - from about 10 I still have one that is idling along. These were taken post collapse of large plants killed off by the cold winter snap - basically the plant got frozen. I did think would be a miracle if they grew.

[Marb67]

Yes none of my Daubentons kale cuttings did well - from about 10 I still have one that is idling along. These were taken post collapse of large plants killed off by the cold winter snap - basically the plant got frozen. I did think would be a miracle if they grew.

I thought though that brassicas actually liked cold and frost, I know sprouts are meant to.

Oh well, I have sowed some more and they have come up so hopefully a supply again through Winter.