I love these. I have them all over my Southern California property. They need frequent pruning in the winter which reminds you to always add greens to your food. They get leggy so you need to break up the leggy parts, break them off and stick them into the soil to root. They really are the greatest to have around. If you have tree collards and sunchokes you’re going to be very well fed 😂
I purchased purple collard seeds this past spring to plant with my toddlers in a raised bed. Everything germinated and my kids actually eat them. These were definitely worth the effort and I use them often in place of kale. I look forward to planting the others I ordered and these will definitely be staying on the menu.
My 3 stalk cuttings were shipped yesterday. SOOO excited about raising them. I'm in Zone 7A, but have all kinds of tricks up my sleeve to get them to be perennials. Thanks for your helpful videos!
Still have the original purple tree collard plants from your cuttings, created more from my cuttings, and either sautee or steam the chopped leaves, or make dehydrated chips. Very yummy! So far they haven't flowered. Thank you for making them available to us ;-)
The "cabbage moth" you describe is actually the cabbage butterfly. It's a member of the sulphurs, which are usually yellow (there are many varieties of sulphur butterfly), the cabbage butterfly being an exception. Butterflies and moths are similar. The tipoff is the antenna. Butterflies' antenna have a knob on the tip, fly during the day. Moths are generally nocturnal fliers. Yes, the cabbage butterfly is extremely common in Berkeley, CA, and in my experience around Los Angeles and likely all over California and beyond. I've found that control of the damages done by their caterpillars on purple tree collards isn't necessary because the plant is so fast growing, however that can be done in various ways if desired.
yes...most people know its a butterfly but they don't call it that so I use the common name people know. Its actually devastating on a lot of the other varieties of tree collards and a lot of my audience garden in parts of the country where it is a huge problem.
@musicantd @projecttreecollard, Cabbage caterpillars just ate up most of the leaves on my 7-month-old plant in San Francisco, while I was away for a week. New leaves are starting, but the plant looks so spindly now (a 2 foot tall trunk with a few leaves at the top). Will new leaves resprout from the lower trunk and fill in eventually, or only at the top?
Spraying with Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki) every 1 to 2 weeks will also help control cabbage family pests. Neem oil is effective against cabbage worms. Check with your local Cooperative Extension for your area's regulations on chemical control. I have bought neem oil and Bt. I utilized them some but stopped because my plant wasn't too seriously impacted, probably because the cabbage butterfly, while extremely common here, has plenty plants in the locale for their larvae. Lots of people garden vegetables here.@@ericscavetta2311
Spraying with Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki) every 1 to 2 weeks will also help control cabbage family pests. Neem oil is effective against cabbage worms. Check with your local Cooperative Extension for your area's regulations on chemical control.@@projecttreecollard
They are fantastic and I highly recommend them too! I grow cuttings I purchased 2 years ago from Project Tree Collard here in Arizona. My son will actually walk through my garden and just the leaves right off the plants while he's here visiting me.
So crazy..... I remember when you first got started... here we are in 2023. I had hoped to open an urban sustainable garden and wanted grow them. Life challenges got in the way. But I've continued to follow you.
I would love you to start a video project where you seclude/cover with cages no pollinators can get in and you hand pollinate so you can have true to type purple tree collard seeds (and of course sell me some😅) Anyways thanks for the videos and information
Just received my little rooted cuttings and they are doing great. I'm in 5b and will be growing in a growbag and then bringing it in the winter (used to live in Grass Valley :) ) Love Purple Tree Collards.
"They're nutritious, they're easy, and they're PURPLE!" I love this! So right. 👍 My young ones got eaten by kangaroo rats in the greenhouse (they also got all of the other brassicas, bastards) but the plants are recovering nicely. My Merrits are getting aphids now but the Purples remain untouched...so far. AND THEY'RE PURPLE! 😁
I just ordered a purple tree collard plant and 3 Jolly green cuttings from you Im so excited! Im in Zone 9a SE Texas coast Houston area the waiting is the hardest part! I cant decide in ground or felt grow bags. We have army worms really bad im going to keep them covered in tulle or insect netting
Thank you for the info. I've just ordered purple tree collard cuttings from Etsy and wish now I'd bought the seeds instead. Either way, I'm excited to add this to my perrinal garden and I'll order the green seeds from your site. Thanks again for the info 💜 happy growing 💜
I usually check youtube for things but never thought to check here for tree collards! Been searching for tree collards for years. I'm not in the US but will check your site just in case...
Whet could be causing holes in my tiny tree collards leaves? I see no insect at all . I bring them in in the heat of the day. Texas heat is awful. Love your show. I am determined to grow these.
it could be any number of insects, sorry to say. Bugs are clever...a lot hide out on undersides of leaves or stems where you can't find them or they come out at night.
Three months I took some cutting and placed them in one gallon pot they are growing very good but the leaves are purple I am curious because the cutting were from a green collar plant is the plant lacking phosphorus, or what? I respect your opinion you are very knowledgeable . Thank You
Hi! The purple coloration only happens in the cool season on some of the green varieties of tree collards. Even the purple tree collards become way more purple in the cold. (Rest assured it is not a nutritional deficiency, it is the cool temperatures)
North Carolina here...once 7B, but evidently, now zone 8...I'm planning to buy a packet of seeds and 3-cuttings of the purple tree collard. Can you advise of a source for instructions on getting them established? .i.e, when to plant vis-a-vis first frost?, pH, soil, water requirements? ... and then as they are mature? I saw mention of them needing calcium 2x year (maybe oyster shells or gypsum) and micro nutrients from rock dust (is Azomite ok?) I am excited at the prospect of getting these plants established and very thankful to you for your championing this, and other, perennial vegetables.
You can either plant them in the spring around the same timing as other members of the same family, or in the late summer or early fall well before the first freeze. The best way to know what to fertilize with is a soil test. On my new farm I don’t need rock dust or azomite. I do need calcium because my magnesium is so high and it needs to be in a decent ratio to get absorbed
i got mine from you years ago and unfortunately lost them last year during a move. I am zone 6, RI. My merits are taking off and i've harvested seed to use as both my perrenial collard and my annual collards. I treat both like i do my figs and pop them in my harbor freight greenhouse that i "heat" to 28-30f. I think the purples got "cooked" as the season warmed up as i forgot to ventilate. same with my strawberry quava. Time to try again.
I would plant in late March or early April. Depends on how low those temperatures are. We are hitting right around freezing at night now and I am planting soon.
Haven’t watched yet so forgive if you already answered it, but would these do well in hot, humid, rainy environments like the coastal flood plains of SC? If they can’t handle the wet I doubt they’ll like my yard…
they do fine in SC but they don't like frequent flooding or standing water. For that you would want to plant in a raised bed or very large pot or grow bag
I have Purple Tree Collards....But the roots of two older plants totally disappeared and they died. Not sure why? Also my collards tend to grow tall after awhile and not produce as many big leaves. Any tips? Fertilizer? I love your channel!
@markyeeee yeah, we had root maggot get bad in my town for a couple years. It's basically overnight that they eat the roots. I've had huge kale and bok choy plants fine one day and just fallen over dead with no roots the next day. Good thing the cuttings come so easily though, kale and tree collards are my favorite plant to teach stem cutting propagation
Last summer my tree collards got decimated by some kind of bug. I don't know the name of it but it was like a stink bug with yellow spots. There were so many I just gave up on the beautiful plants. What could those be and how to organically get rid of them without poisoning the plants? I just ordered a purple tree collard from you today. Anybody else have these bugs attacking your tree collards? Thanks everyone.
It sounds like they could be Harlequin bugs. They attack the broccoli family. There are some UA-cams on managing them but they are tricky to deal with. The moment you see your first Harlequin beetle you need to start getting them off your plants because they reproduce very rapidly. (Gross, but they are very squishable, others vacumn them or drop in soapy water...)
There are also Bagrada bugs that look like Harlequins, but they’re smaller. I find them to be much worse. They reproduce faster and in HUGE numbers in my SoCal climate. Squishing works if you can get on top of them when they first hit. At least Harlequins lay eggs you can see on the undersides of leaves and destroy them, but Bagrada lay eggs in soil and you don’t see them. Best of luck.
Just started some cuttings indoors on a heat mat 2 weeks ago (2 out of 4 have grown 1” leaves). Question: for our climate (10a - SF east side), when should I move them outside, or do you start yours outdoors in Berkeley (Mar/Apr)? I’ve been holding off because of the recent storms.
@@projecttreecollard I was only able to just buy them from you on Etsy. I really want the Merritt too! Do you know when you'll have those? I want at least 4. I wonder why these are so hard to find? THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR AMAZING HARD WORK!!! Love your videos and mission!!!
my website has a sign up list to be notified when things are back in stock. Most of the plants are blooming now so there aren't many cuttings. This is a new and rare plant that is hard to get
@@projecttreecollard I have both my emails listed on your wait list....Thank YOU again! I'm definitely interested in helping people to grow these valuable crops!
Hi...I'm from Canada (i think we are equivalent to a zone 5 in the states) - If i plant from seed, do you think the resulting plants will adapt to our winter conditions (at least stay alive/dormant) ?
@@laruebrough4117 they are perennial in USDA zones 8 A to 11. They are marginal in zones 7 A and 7 B. Michigan Tree Collards are the most cold tolerant, down to zone 5
Can tree collards be grown in large pots? I have some 20" diameter pots (about 18" high) ... they could even have an irrigation head on them if needed. OR, will the roots get too hot in summer (SE Arizona)? Or too cold in winter (we do get down to 20 in winter and some occasional snow.... Thank you so much!
You can do the Michigan Tree Collard in those pots with your cold winter temps. The Purple Tree Collards would possibly die due to cold in winter some years....you are in one of those marginal zones. You want the pots in part shade in the summer.
I love these. I have them all over my Southern California property. They need frequent pruning in the winter which reminds you to always add greens to your food. They get leggy so you need to break up the leggy parts, break them off and stick them into the soil to root. They really are the greatest to have around. If you have tree collards and sunchokes you’re going to be very well fed 😂
your experience sounds a lot like mine in the beginning of Project Tree Collard....And now I'm a crazy obsessed collard lady...LOL!
I purchased purple collard seeds this past spring to plant with my toddlers in a raised bed. Everything germinated and my kids actually eat them. These were definitely worth the effort and I use them often in place of kale. I look forward to planting the others I ordered and these will definitely be staying on the menu.
great to hear! a lot of kids like tree collards... even raw.
I bought my purple tree collard from Annie’s annuals, thank you for showing me how to care for them.
My 3 stalk cuttings were shipped yesterday. SOOO excited about raising them. I'm in Zone 7A, but have all kinds of tricks up my sleeve to get them to be perennials. Thanks for your helpful videos!
yay!!!! keep me posted on your techniques please
@@projecttreecollard Thanks! I will.
I love these and they do amazing in the Pacific Northwest. My plants have always done well I love how low mantainance and long lasting they are
Still have the original purple tree collard plants from your cuttings, created more from my cuttings, and either sautee or steam the chopped leaves, or make dehydrated chips. Very yummy! So far they haven't flowered. Thank you for making them available to us ;-)
awesome:) wonderful
The "cabbage moth" you describe is actually the cabbage butterfly. It's a member of the sulphurs, which are usually yellow (there are many varieties of sulphur butterfly), the cabbage butterfly being an exception. Butterflies and moths are similar. The tipoff is the antenna. Butterflies' antenna have a knob on the tip, fly during the day. Moths are generally nocturnal fliers. Yes, the cabbage butterfly is extremely common in Berkeley, CA, and in my experience around Los Angeles and likely all over California and beyond. I've found that control of the damages done by their caterpillars on purple tree collards isn't necessary because the plant is so fast growing, however that can be done in various ways if desired.
yes...most people know its a butterfly but they don't call it that so I use the common name people know. Its actually devastating on a lot of the other varieties of tree collards and a lot of my audience garden in parts of the country where it is a huge problem.
@musicantd @projecttreecollard, Cabbage caterpillars just ate up most of the leaves on my 7-month-old plant in San Francisco, while I was away for a week. New leaves are starting, but the plant looks so spindly now (a 2 foot tall trunk with a few leaves at the top). Will new leaves resprout from the lower trunk and fill in eventually, or only at the top?
Spraying with Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki) every 1 to 2 weeks will also help control cabbage family pests. Neem oil is effective against cabbage worms. Check with your local Cooperative Extension for your area's regulations on chemical control. I have bought neem oil and Bt. I utilized them some but stopped because my plant wasn't too seriously impacted, probably because the cabbage butterfly, while extremely common here, has plenty plants in the locale for their larvae. Lots of people garden vegetables here.@@ericscavetta2311
Spraying with Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki) every 1 to 2 weeks will also help control cabbage family pests. Neem oil is effective against cabbage worms. Check with your local Cooperative Extension for your area's regulations on chemical control.@@projecttreecollard
How to make cuttings
They are fantastic and I highly recommend them too! I grow cuttings I purchased 2 years ago from Project Tree Collard here in Arizona. My son will actually walk through my garden and just the leaves right off the plants while he's here visiting me.
love this!
So crazy..... I remember when you first got started... here we are in 2023. I had hoped to open an urban sustainable garden and wanted grow them. Life challenges got in the way. But I've continued to follow you.
awwww....thanks for the support and for reaching out and saying hello:)
I would love you to start a video project where you seclude/cover with cages no pollinators can get in and you hand pollinate so you can have true to type purple tree collard seeds (and of course sell me some😅)
Anyways thanks for the videos and information
that won't be happening!
Just received my little rooted cuttings and they are doing great. I'm in 5b and will be growing in a growbag and then bringing it in the winter (used to live in Grass Valley :) ) Love Purple Tree Collards.
wonderful. please keep me posted on how it goes:) grass valley is beautiful
"They're nutritious, they're easy, and they're PURPLE!" I love this! So right. 👍
My young ones got eaten by kangaroo rats in the greenhouse (they also got all of the other brassicas, bastards) but the plants are recovering nicely. My Merrits are getting aphids now but the Purples remain untouched...so far. AND THEY'RE PURPLE! 😁
love this
@@projecttreecollard how do I get these seeds
@@sharonkeef0522 www.projecttreecollard.org
I just ordered a purple tree collard plant and 3 Jolly green cuttings from you Im so excited! Im in Zone 9a SE Texas coast Houston area the waiting is the hardest part! I cant decide in ground or felt grow bags. We have army worms really bad im going to keep them covered in tulle or insect netting
good luck! maybe try some in the ground and some in grow bags?
@@projecttreecollard I will do that thanks! I hope your other tree collards become available again soon I'd love to have some of every kind
Thank you for the info. I've just ordered purple tree collard cuttings from Etsy and wish now I'd bought the seeds instead. Either way, I'm excited to add this to my perrinal garden and I'll order the green seeds from your site. Thanks again for the info 💜 happy growing 💜
we have lot of seed varieties on the website
@@projecttreecollard Thank you. I'll definitely be looking at it.
Purple tree collards do great in hawaii from my experience. Looking forward to trying the Merritt and Jolly Green.
awesome:) what USDA zone/island area are you in? thx
@@projecttreecollard Hawaii island. Zone 11 according to the internet. Im up in elevation so it stays pretty cool
@@rich8085 thank you!
I thought mine was totally dead but now it is beautiful. I can't wait for it to keep growing so that I can eat some 😃 Have a blessed day John 3:17
wow! patience has paid off!
How do you make cuttings
i should make a video on that, but it is covered in this video toward the beginning ua-cam.com/video/ytcjmhz5Yes/v-deo.html
I got given some a few years ago and love having them in my garden.
yes...they are awesome:)
I usually check youtube for things but never thought to check here for tree collards! Been searching for tree collards for years. I'm not in the US but will check your site just in case...
wonderful...I can ship seeds internationally
Whet could be causing holes in my tiny tree collards leaves? I see no insect at all . I bring them in in the heat of the day. Texas heat is awful. Love your show. I am determined to grow these.
it could be any number of insects, sorry to say. Bugs are clever...a lot hide out on undersides of leaves or stems where you can't find them or they come out at night.
Three months I took some cutting and placed them in one gallon pot they are growing very good but the leaves are purple I am curious because the cutting were from a green collar plant is the plant lacking phosphorus, or what? I respect your opinion you are very knowledgeable . Thank You
Hi! The purple coloration only happens in the cool season on some of the green varieties of tree collards. Even the purple tree collards become way more purple in the cold. (Rest assured it is not a nutritional deficiency, it is the cool temperatures)
North Carolina here...once 7B, but evidently, now zone 8...I'm planning to buy a packet of seeds and 3-cuttings of the purple tree collard. Can you advise of a source for instructions on getting them established? .i.e, when to plant vis-a-vis first frost?, pH, soil, water requirements? ... and then as they are mature? I saw mention of them needing calcium 2x year (maybe oyster shells or gypsum) and micro nutrients from rock dust (is Azomite ok?) I am excited at the prospect of getting these plants established and very thankful to you for your championing this, and other, perennial vegetables.
You can either plant them in the spring around the same timing as other members of the same family, or in the late summer or early fall well before the first freeze.
The best way to know what to fertilize with is a soil test. On my new farm I don’t need rock dust or azomite. I do need calcium because my magnesium is so high and it needs to be in a decent ratio to get absorbed
i got mine from you years ago and unfortunately lost them last year during a move. I am zone 6, RI. My merits are taking off and i've harvested seed to use as both my perrenial collard and my annual collards. I treat both like i do my figs and pop them in my harbor freight greenhouse that i "heat" to 28-30f. I think the purples got "cooked" as the season warmed up as i forgot to ventilate. same with my strawberry quava. Time to try again.
you are one of the climate pioneers! keep up the good work
When do we get the “everything you need to know about Michigan tree collard” video? 😁
Maybe in a month????
Do you plant it outdoors before the last final frost or after the last frost? Here in London, the last frost is late March.
I would plant in late March or early April. Depends on how low those temperatures are. We are hitting right around freezing at night now and I am planting soon.
Haven’t watched yet so forgive if you already answered it, but would these do well in hot, humid, rainy environments like the coastal flood plains of SC? If they can’t handle the wet I doubt they’ll like my yard…
they do fine in SC but they don't like frequent flooding or standing water. For that you would want to plant in a raised bed or very large pot or grow bag
Is it possible to transplant one that I planted in a four gallon pot about a year ago? I live in hot southern Utah
watch the video on How To Transplant a Tree Collard. it will tell you all about it
I have Purple Tree Collards....But the roots of two older plants totally disappeared and they died. Not sure why? Also my collards tend to grow tall after awhile and not produce as many big leaves. Any tips? Fertilizer? I love your channel!
pruning them is important! this video may help ua-cam.com/video/aGeGZt_R-zg/v-deo.html
@@projecttreecollard Perfect! Thanks
Wonder if this was root maggot?
@@tacodermist4555 Thanks! Two of the larger plants had no roots....I was able to take cuttings from them though and launch many small plants
@markyeeee yeah, we had root maggot get bad in my town for a couple years. It's basically overnight that they eat the roots. I've had huge kale and bok choy plants fine one day and just fallen over dead with no roots the next day. Good thing the cuttings come so easily though, kale and tree collards are my favorite plant to teach stem cutting propagation
Last summer my tree collards got decimated by some kind of bug. I don't know the name of it but it was like a stink bug with yellow spots. There were so many I just gave up on the beautiful plants. What could those be and how to organically get rid of them without poisoning the plants? I just ordered a purple tree collard from you today. Anybody else have these bugs attacking your tree collards? Thanks everyone.
It sounds like they could be Harlequin bugs. They attack the broccoli family. There are some UA-cams on managing them but they are tricky to deal with. The moment you see your first Harlequin beetle you need to start getting them off your plants because they reproduce very rapidly. (Gross, but they are very squishable, others vacumn them or drop in soapy water...)
There are also Bagrada bugs that look like Harlequins, but they’re smaller. I find them to be much worse. They reproduce faster and in HUGE numbers in my SoCal climate. Squishing works if you can get on top of them when they first hit. At least Harlequins lay eggs you can see on the undersides of leaves and destroy them, but Bagrada lay eggs in soil and you don’t see them. Best of luck.
@@marthahaber7772 I have heard of these from another in So. Cal. sounds really terrible!
Just started some cuttings indoors on a heat mat 2 weeks ago (2 out of 4 have grown 1” leaves). Question: for our climate (10a - SF east side), when should I move them outside, or do you start yours outdoors in Berkeley (Mar/Apr)? I’ve been holding off because of the recent storms.
When I lived in Berkeley I did them outdoors pretty much all year.
Can you tell me when you will have cuttings available? I see the seeds online but would rather the cuttings.
Thank you
I just posted them now:)
@@projecttreecollard I was only able to just buy them from you on Etsy. I really want the Merritt too! Do you know when you'll have those? I want at least 4. I wonder why these are so hard to find? THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR AMAZING HARD WORK!!! Love your videos and mission!!!
my website has a sign up list to be notified when things are back in stock. Most of the plants are blooming now so there aren't many cuttings. This is a new and rare plant that is hard to get
@@projecttreecollard I have both my emails listed on your wait list....Thank YOU again! I'm definitely interested in helping people to grow these valuable crops!
@@ClickyBuzzClick2ConnectBuzz wonderful!!!!
Hi...I'm from Canada (i think we are equivalent to a zone 5 in the states) - If i plant from seed, do you think the resulting plants will adapt to our winter conditions (at least stay alive/dormant) ?
a percentage of the seeds will adapt but many will not make it. The best bet would be the Michigan Tree Collard Seed or Merritt Tree Collard Seed
Do you sell cuttings?
yes at www.projecttreecollard.org
I would like to order some starts. When is thee we best time of year?
whenever you plant broccoli or cauliflower in your area...usually spring and fall
I live 20 miles north of Saint George Utah . Do you think they would grow here?
@@laruebrough4117 they are perennial in USDA zones 8 A to 11. They are marginal in zones 7 A and 7 B. Michigan Tree Collards are the most cold tolerant, down to zone 5
Can tree collards be grown in large pots? I have some 20" diameter pots (about 18" high) ... they could even have an irrigation head on them if needed. OR, will the roots get too hot in summer (SE Arizona)? Or too cold in winter (we do get down to 20 in winter and some occasional snow.... Thank you so much!
You can do the Michigan Tree Collard in those pots with your cold winter temps. The Purple Tree Collards would possibly die due to cold in winter some years....you are in one of those marginal zones. You want the pots in part shade in the summer.