Amazing
Brassica oleracea var. botrytis
Medium-size plants with domed, solid curds and self-blanching, upright wrapper leaves when well fed. Tolerant to both heat and cold stress.
Harvest
68d
Days to harvest
Sun
Full sun to partial shade
Zones
6–9
USDA hardiness
Height
10-24 inches
Planting Timeline
Showing dates for Amazing in USDA Zone 7
All Zone 7 brassica →Zone Map
Click a state to update dates
Amazing · Zones 6–9
Growing Details
Zone-by-Zone Planting Calendar
| Zone | Indoor Start | Transplant | Direct Sow | Harvest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zone 3 | March – April | May – June | May – June | July – October |
| Zone 4 | March – April | May – June | April – June | July – October |
| Zone 5 | February – March | April – May | April – May | June – November |
| Zone 6 | February – March | April – May | April – May | June – November |
| Zone 7 | February – March | April – May | March – May | May – November |
| Zone 8 | January – February | March – April | March – April | May – December |
| Zone 9 | January – January | February – March | February – March | April – December |
| Zone 10 | January – January | February – March | January – March | March – December |
| Zone 1 | April – May | June – July | June – July | August – September |
| Zone 2 | April – May | June – July | May – July | July – September |
| Zone 11 | January – January | January – February | January – February | February – December |
| Zone 12 | January – January | January – February | January – February | February – December |
| Zone 13 | January – January | January – February | January – February | February – December |
Succession Planting
Cauliflower doesn't re-produce after you cut the head, so succession planting is genuinely worth the effort. In zone 7, start seeds indoors in late February for a spring crop, transplanting out in April once nights stay reliably above 28°F. For fall heads — which often develop cleaner, tighter curds because the cool-down happens during head formation — start a second round of seeds indoors in late June to early July and transplant in August, targeting harvest before hard frost arrives around mid-November.
Avoid transplanting during any stretch where daytime highs are already clearing 80°F; heat stress during curd initiation causes buttoning — tiny, premature heads that stall and never size up. At 68 days to harvest, count backward from your first expected frost date to find your latest safe transplant window, then work from there.
Complete Growing Guide
Medium-size plants with domed, solid curds and self-blanching, upright wrapper leaves when well fed. Tolerant to both heat and cold stress. According to Johnny's Selected Seeds, Amazing is 68 days to maturity, annual, open pollinated.
Light: Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day), Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours). Soil: Clay, Loam (Silt), Sand. Soil pH: Acid (<6.0), Neutral (6.0-8.0). Drainage: Good Drainage, Moist. Height: 0 ft. 10 in. - 2 ft. 0 in.. Spread: 1 ft. 0 in. - 2 ft. 0 in.. Spacing: 12 inches-3 feet. Growth rate: Medium. Maintenance: Medium. Propagation: Seed, Stem Cutting. Regions: Coastal, Mountains, Piedmont.
Harvesting
Amazing reaches harvest at 68 days from sowing per Johnny's Selected Seeds. As an annual, harvest continues until frost ends the season.
The fruits dry and split when ripe.
Color: Brown/Copper, Green. Type: Siliqua. Length: > 3 inches.
Garden value: Edible
Harvest time: Fall, Summer
Edibility: The foliage is edible raw or cooked but when cooked can emit an unpleasant odor.
Storage & Preservation
Amazing cauliflower heads keep best in a perforated plastic bag in the refrigerator's crisper drawer, maintained at 32–40°F with 95% humidity. Under these conditions, expect 7–10 days of fresh storage before yellowing and browning develop. For longer preservation, freezing is ideal: blanch florets for three minutes, cool in ice water, drain thoroughly, and freeze in single layers before bagging. Frozen Amazing holds quality for eight months. Pickling works well too—pack blanched florets into hot jars with vinegar brine and process for ten minutes. Dehydrating is another option; slice thin, dry at 125°F until brittle, and store in airtight containers. This variety's dense heads make it particularly suited to freezing, as the curds retain their structural integrity better than many open-flowered types when thawed.
History & Origin
Amazing is open-pollinated, meaning seed saved from healthy plants will produce true-to-type offspring. Listed in the Johnny's Selected Seeds catalog.
Origin: W. Europe
Advantages
- +Medium size makes Amazing ideal for home gardeners and small spaces
- +Self-blanching wrapper leaves eliminate manual blanching work during growth
- +Excellent heat and cold tolerance reduces crop loss from temperature swings
- +Solid, domed curds produce consistent, attractive heads for market or table
- +Quick 68-day maturity allows multiple succession plantings per season
Considerations
- -Requires consistent feeding to achieve self-blanching wrapper leaf development
- -Medium curds may underwhelm commercial growers seeking maximum head size
- -Cold hardiness advantage diminishes in extreme frost or prolonged freeze
- -Self-blanching trait unreliable in poor soil or inconsistent moisture conditions
Companion Plants
Nasturtiums are probably the most useful companion you can plant near Amazing cauliflower. They act as a trap crop — aphids and flea beetles pile onto the nasturtiums instead of your brassica heads — and they're easy enough to pull and discard once they've done their job. French marigolds (Tagetes patula) are worth putting at the bed edges too. NC State Extension's IPM guidance specifically calls out French marigolds for suppressing soil nematode populations over multiple seasons, so it's a long-game benefit more than an immediate fix, but the plants cost you almost nothing.
Dill, onions, and garlic work through a different mechanism: the volatile compounds from alliums and umbellifers interfere with how the cabbage white butterfly (Pieris rapae) locates host plants by scent. Spacing a row of onion or garlic every 18–24 inches through the bed won't eliminate egg-laying, but it does reduce pressure. Catnip (Nepeta cataria) has a similar disorienting effect on flea beetles specifically — useful if flea beetle damage is already a problem in your beds.
Tomatoes belong nowhere near this planting. They compete hard for calcium and magnesium, and brassica root exudates have been shown to suppress tomato growth. Mustard is a subtler problem: it's in the same family (Brassicaceae), so it carries clubroot spores (Plasmodiophora brassicae) and draws in the same cabbageworm populations as your cauliflower. Put mustard 3–4 feet away at minimum, and ideally in a completely separate bed.
Plant Together
Nasturtium
Acts as trap crop for aphids and flea beetles, protects brassicas from pest damage
Marigold
Repels cabbage worms, aphids, and other brassica pests with strong scent
Dill
Attracts beneficial wasps that parasitize cabbage worms and other brassica pests
Onion
Repels cabbage maggots, aphids, and flea beetles with sulfur compounds
Garlic
Deters cabbage loopers and aphids, improves overall plant health
Lettuce
Grows well in partial shade of brassicas, efficient use of garden space
Spinach
Compatible root systems, both benefit from cool weather conditions
Catnip
Repels flea beetles and ants that can damage brassica crops
Keep Apart
Tomato
Competes for nutrients and may stunt brassica growth, different watering needs
Strawberry
May inhibit brassica growth and compete for soil nutrients
Mustard
Attracts same pests as other brassicas, increases disease pressure
Nutrition Facts
Per 100g serving. % Daily Value based on 2,000 calorie diet. Source: USDA FoodData Central (FDC #747447)
Pests & Disease Resistance
Common Pests
Cabbage worms, cabbage loopers, flea beetles, diamondback moths
Diseases
Clubroot, black rot, powdery mildew, downy mildew
Troubleshooting Amazing
What you'll see, why it happens, and what to do about it.
Ragged holes chewed through leaves, sometimes down to the midrib, with dark green frass visible on foliage
Likely Causes
- Imported cabbageworm (Pieris rapae) — the larva of the white cabbage butterfly
- Cabbage looper (Trichoplusia ni) — identifiable by its characteristic inchworm movement
- Diamondback moth larvae (Plutella xylostella) — smaller and more mobile than cabbageworms
What to Do
- 1.Spray Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki) directly on the leaves, targeting the undersides where larvae hide; repeat every 5–7 days after rain
- 2.Check the undersides of leaves for pale yellow egg clusters and crush them before they hatch
- 3.Cover transplants with floating row cover immediately after transplanting — remove only to weed or harvest
Stunted plants with yellowing lower leaves; roots are swollen, club-shaped, and smell off when you pull the plant
Likely Causes
- Clubroot (Plasmodiophora brassicae) — a soil-borne pathogen that persists for 10–20 years in infected soil
- Planting brassicas in the same bed without rotation
What to Do
- 1.Pull and bag the entire plant — roots and all — and throw it in the trash, not the compost
- 2.Raise soil pH to 7.2 or above with lime before planting next season; clubroot struggles in alkaline conditions
- 3.Rotate brassicas on at least a 3-year cycle, keeping Amazing and all other Brassica oleracea out of infected beds
V-shaped yellow lesions on leaf edges that turn brown and papery, sometimes with black veins visible when you hold the leaf to light
Likely Causes
- Black rot (Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris) — a bacterial disease that enters through leaf margins and spreads through the vascular system
- Infected transplants or seed, and water splash from overhead irrigation
What to Do
- 1.Remove and trash affected leaves immediately; don't work in the bed when foliage is wet
- 2.Switch to drip irrigation or soaker hoses to keep water off the leaves
- 3.Start with certified disease-free transplants next season, and soak seed in hot water (122°F for 25 minutes) before direct sowing
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to grow Amazing cauliflower from seed to harvest?▼
Is Amazing cauliflower a good choice for beginner gardeners?▼
Can you grow Amazing cauliflower in containers?▼
How much sunlight does Amazing cauliflower need?▼
When should I plant Amazing cauliflower seeds?▼
What does Amazing cauliflower taste like and how do you cook it?▼
Growing Guides from Wind River Greens
Where to Buy Seeds
Sources & References
External authority sources used in compiling this guide.
- BreederJohnny's Selected Seeds
- USDAUSDA FoodData Central
See the Methodology page for how this data is sourced, what's AI-assisted, and known limitations.