Last year I was given a pair of tree collard plants by my friend Curtiss.
They’ve been doing well through the cool weather and have a nice, crisp delicious flavor raw.
Tree collards are also perennial, which makes them an excellent addition to food forests and long-term garden plans.
After seeing the following video, I took three cuttings and stuck them in another bed where they seem to be rooting.
The real trick will be getting them through the summer alive. Dan’s tree collards in the video are very abundant, feeding both he and his chickens.
Since you can eat them raw and cooked, unlike my much-beloved chaya, I think they’d be a quite versatile addition, particularly since they’ll also serve as rabbit and chicken fodder. The flavor is much like kale, without the coarseness of true collards.
If I can get them to grow well year-round, I’ll write a survival plant profile on tree collards. I’d like to see how they do planted out in the food forest with nothing but rainfall to keep them watered.
10 responses to “Tree Collards”
I have a couple different green varieties and purple and they do well in the summer here in Orlando. It's a regular addition to my morning shake. It does well with minimal watering. They can even grow in Vegas. I grow them from cuttings a lot and there's better success growing in pots near a sunny window with a plastic bag over it until new leaves form. Takes 2 months to get some decent roots though for transplanting.
Orlando – great to know they're working here in Florida. Thanks for the propagation advice.
Annonymous
I just got some starts from Bountiful Gardens and 2 out of the three seem to be doing well in the north side of the house while they are rooting. Where do you suggest is the best place for the tree collards? North South or East and West? It makes a huge difference how much sun they get as to where I plant them and I really want them to survive.
Thanks for any tips as I live in Orlando also.
I would love to try these in my little forest garden. I will happily buy cuttings. I'm also interested in trying a different source for cassava since this winter's harvest sucked.
I've got multiple types of cassava right now – I can hook you up. Hopefully the tree collards will also grow enough to be worth propagating more. They're still tiny.
BTW, that Mysore raspberry you gave me is looking great. Hoping to get fruit this year.
Hi there,
Thanks for video. I live in Colorado and visit my father in law in Punta Gorda, Florida yearly. Do you know a group in Punta Gorda I can meet up with to get a few tree collard cuttings to plant at my father in law’s house? He tends his orange and grapefruit trees but may not have a lot of energy to be a huge green thumb. Towards his lake are two semi wooded areas of palms, pines and much undergrowth, with drainage towards the lake, that I could also plant tree collards in for minimal upkeep, or I could plant them in the grass for open sun. I planted a few avocado seeds in that area too. I’d love a few cuttings, do you know a few contacts in the Punta Gorda area I can get a few cuttings from? Or cuttings of other perennial vegetables? I was hoping there was a gardening group or something like that. Two Meetup groups I see are SouthWest Florida Gardening Society, and Lee County Preppers; I’ll ask them next. Thanks!
Arlene
Hello David,
Is it possible to get seome tree collard and chaya cuttings from you? I can send a money order. Please let me know and blessings to you and your family! Thank you!
Can i buy a cuttings from your tree kale? I live in Tampa Florida and I can drive to pickup the cuttings if within a 75 miles of travel.
If your looking for tree collard I recommend Project tree collard
They have some named varieties and Sequoiah gives great service.
Thank you