Purple Sprouting Broccoli

Family: Brassicaceae Vegetable

Planting Schedule

Provide your location or planting zone to unlock dates and add Purple Sprouting Broccoli to a garden.

Sweetly nutty and vividly tender, Purple Sprouting Broccoli sends up a cascade of deep violet-purple spears that turn lushly green as they mature.

Expect a pleasantly crisp bite with a fine, delicate texture—ideal for steaming, roasting, and quick sautéing, and also prized for hearty winter-style sauces and pickling preserves. For home gardeners, it’s a cool-season showpiece that rewards patience: sow, overwinter, and look forward to a long, flavorful harvest window beginning around 75 days to maturity.

Light: Full SunMaturity: 75 DaysHabit: Upright

Botanical illustration of Purple Sprouting Broccoli

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Purple Sprouting Broccoli Planting Dates by USDA Zone

Estimated US hardiness-zone windows for sow, transplant, and harvest. Enter a US ZIP above for exact local dates, or open a zone below.

Zone	Start Indoors	Sow / Transplant	Harvest
Zone 1a	Protected Environment Only
Zone 1b	Protected Environment Only
Zone 2a	Apr 27th	May 18th	Aug 1st – Aug 29th
Zone 2b	Apr 17th	May 8th	Jul 22nd – Aug 25th
Zone 3a	Apr 17th	May 8th	Jul 22nd – Sep 1st
Zone 3b	Apr 21st	May 12th	Jul 26th – Sep 21st
Zone 4a	Apr 17th	May 8th	Jul 22nd – Sep 24th
Zone 4b	Apr 15th	May 6th	Jul 20th – Sep 27th
Zone 5a	Apr 10th	May 1st	Jul 15th – Sep 30th
Zone 5b	Apr 6th	Apr 27th	Jul 11th – Oct 5th
Zone 6a	Apr 3rd	Apr 24th	Jul 8th – Oct 10th
Zone 6b	Mar 28th	Apr 18th	Jul 2nd – Oct 16th
Zone 7a	Mar 23rd	Apr 13th	Jun 27th – Oct 20th
Zone 7b	Mar 13th	Apr 3rd	Jun 17th – Oct 28th
Zone 8a	Mar 4th	Mar 25th	Jun 8th – Nov 5th
Zone 8b	Feb 23rd	Mar 16th	May 30th – Nov 12th
Zone 9a	Feb 6th	Feb 27th	May 13th – Nov 26th
Zone 9b	Jan 12th	Feb 2nd	Apr 18th – Dec 9th
Zone 10a	—	Oct 1st	Dec 15th – Feb 28th
Zone 10b	—	Oct 1st	Dec 15th – Feb 28th
Zone 11a	—	Oct 1st	Dec 15th – Feb 28th
Zone 11b	—	Oct 1st	Dec 15th – Feb 28th
Zone 12a	—	Oct 1st	Dec 15th – Feb 28th
Zone 12b	—	Oct 1st	Dec 15th – Feb 28th
Zone 13a	—	Oct 1st	Dec 15th – Feb 28th
Zone 13b	—	Oct 1st	Dec 15th – Feb 28th

Crop Details

Trait	Value
Days to Maturity	75
Sun Requirements	Full Sun
Growth Habit	Upright
Support Needed	None
Planting Depth	Normal
Germination Temp (°F)	45
Min Soil Temp (°F)	40
Min Night Temp (°F)	30
Harden Off (days)	6

Culinary Notes

Chef's Note

Purple Sprouting Broccoli is the brassica you want when you don’t want woolly stems—it stays tender-crisp and sweet-nutty, with a peppery snap that turns mellow under heat. It earns its keep in roasting and quick sautéing, where the purple-to-green transformation comes with caramelized edges and a clean, lingering finish.

Best Uses

steam to a vivid green with a crisp center
quick roast until the edges caramelize but the spears stay snappy
fast sauté with a glossy sauce for winter greens plates
pickle the spears for sharp, crunchy bite

Flavor Profile

sweetly nutty tender-crisp with a fine, delicate bite peppery brassica snap that softens with heat

Kitchen Pairings

lemon olive oil parmesan butter anchovy mustard

Frequently Asked Questions

What pest or disease most commonly hits Brassica oleracea var. italica (purple sprouting broccoli), and how should I manage it?

Cabbage aphids and caterpillars (especially cabbage white butterfly larvae) are the most common early-season pests on Brassicaceae, and they can chew leaves and spoil developing shoots. Use fine insect netting immediately after sowing/transplanting to block egg-laying, then remove any visible larvae by hand; if needed, spray a registered organic product such as Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) targeted to caterpillars. Watch for clubroot (a soil disease that causes swollen roots) by checking plants at the first sign of sudden wilting; once diagnosed, remove affected plants and don’t replant brassicas in that bed for several years.

How often should I water purple sprouting broccoli during its main growth phase, and what soil moisture level should I keep?

During the main growth phase, keep the soil evenly moist—aim for consistently damp (not waterlogged) soil to a depth of at least 6–8 inches. Water deeply about 1–2 times per week depending on rainfall and heat, increasing frequency when the surface dries quickly or if heads/shoots begin to lag. Avoid letting the soil swing from very dry to very wet, since Brassica oleracea var. italica is prone to stress-related leaf issues and poor shoot development.

How do I know when purple sprouting broccoli is ready to harvest?

Harvest when the small purple florets/shoots are firm and tightly closed—before they start to open into yellow flowers. Start picking from the first well-formed side shoots around about 75 days from sowing/transplanting (often in late winter to early spring depending on sowing dates). Cut each shoot 4–6 inches below the cluster, and keep harvesting as new side shoots form rather than waiting for one large head.