How to Grow Nine Star Perennial Broccoli

By the SoilCommander Editorial Team, under the guidance of Nitin Sharma, Co-Founder · · How we check our facts

On this page
  1. Nine Star Perennial Broccoli (Brassica oleracea)
  2. Soil & Growing Conditions
  3. Growth Stages
  4. Quick Facts
  5. At a Glance
  6. Harvest & Storage
  7. Diseases
  8. Pests
  9. Plan your Nine Star Perennial Broccoli planting
  10. Growing Nine Star Perennial Broccoli in another region
  11. Sources
  12. Frequently Asked Questions

Nine star perennial broccoli (Brassica oleracea) — herbaceous perennial, cropping for 3-4 years before decline.

Unlike an annual crop, the work here is front-loaded into establishment: get the planting and the site right and the same plants crop for several seasons.

The short answer

Site
soil pH 6.5–7.5
Biggest risk
Club root

Core growing advice on this page is checked against named horticultural sources — see References.

Nine Star Perennial Broccoli (Brassica oleracea)

A whole Nine Star Perennial Broccoli plant growing in a garden bed — “Nine Star Perennial Broccoli, whole plant habit in a garden bed (Barstow garden collection, tagged 'Perennial Broccoli')” by Stephen Barstow is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Source: GBIF

2 sources cited · Single source

Soil & Growing Conditions

Close view of a Nine Star Perennial Broccoli leaf rosette — “Nine Star Perennial Broccoli, close view of leaf rosette (Barstow garden collection, tagged 'Perennial Broccoli')” by Stephen Barstow is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Source: GBIF
“Nine Star Perennial Broccoli, close view of leaf rosette (Barstow garden collection, tagged 'Perennial Broccoli')” by Stephen Barstow is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Source: GBIF.

Water: moist but well-drained (RHS)

Soil pH range

6.5 7.5

Span reflects genuine variation between the cited authorities, not a single agreed figure.

Growth Stages

A mature Nine Star Perennial Broccoli plant with broad leaves — “Nine Star Perennial Broccoli, mature perennial plant with broad leaves (Barstow garden collection, tagged 'Perennial Broccoli')” by Stephen Barstow is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Source: GBIF
“Nine Star Perennial Broccoli, mature perennial plant with broad leaves (Barstow garden collection, tagged 'Perennial Broccoli')” by Stephen Barstow is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Source: GBIF.
Stage BBCH Notes
Sowing/planting 0 Propagate by seed; plant 90cm apart given the eventual size of this large, long-lived perennial (RHS).
Establishment 3 Time to first maturity about 1 year; full sun, moist well-drained soil, sheltered position (RHS).
Perennial cropping 3 Once established, produces one large central head plus smaller spears each spring, continuing for three to four years before decline (RHS).
Harvest 8 Cut heads once well formed and tight, before flowers open; remove unused heads before seeding to keep future years productive (RHS).

Quick Facts

A whole Nine Star Perennial Broccoli plant growing in a garden bed — “Nine Star Perennial Broccoli, whole plant habit in a garden bed (Barstow garden collection, tagged 'Perennial Broccoli')” by Stephen Barstow is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Source: GBIF
“Nine Star Perennial Broccoli, whole plant habit in a garden bed (Barstow garden collection, tagged 'Perennial Broccoli')” by Stephen Barstow is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Source: GBIF.
Factor Value
Soil pH 6.5 - 7.5
Soil texture chalk, clay or loam (RHS)
Drainage well-drained
Lifecycle herbaceous perennial, cropping for 3-4 years before decline
Edible parts flower heads

At a Glance

Close view of a Nine Star Perennial Broccoli leaf rosette — “Nine Star Perennial Broccoli, close view of leaf rosette (Barstow garden collection, tagged 'Perennial Broccoli')” by Stephen Barstow is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Source: GBIF
“Nine Star Perennial Broccoli, close view of leaf rosette (Barstow garden collection, tagged 'Perennial Broccoli')” by Stephen Barstow is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Source: GBIF.
Brassica oleracea Nine Star Perennial B… Club root Blackleg Mealy cabbage aphid Cabbage root fly (US: c… Cabbage caterpillars DISEASES PESTS

Harvest & Storage

Harvested shoots from a Nine Star Perennial Broccoli plant — “Nine Star Perennial Broccoli, harvested shoots (Barstow garden collection, tagged 'Perennial Broccoli')” by Stephen Barstow is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Source: GBIF
“Nine Star Perennial Broccoli, harvested shoots (Barstow garden collection, tagged 'Perennial Broccoli')” by Stephen Barstow is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Source: GBIF.

When to pick: Harvest when heads are well formed and tight, before flowers begin to open. Remove any unused heads before they go to seed, to improve future cropping across the plant's 3-4 year lifespan (RHS).

Diseases

A whole Nine Star Perennial Broccoli plant growing in a garden bed — “Nine Star Perennial Broccoli, whole plant habit in a garden bed (Barstow garden collection, tagged 'Perennial Broccoli')” by Stephen Barstow is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Source: GBIF
“Nine Star Perennial Broccoli, whole plant habit in a garden bed (Barstow garden collection, tagged 'Perennial Broccoli')” by Stephen Barstow is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Source: GBIF.
high_where_present

Plasmodiophora brassicae

RHS names this directly: "may develop ... club root (particularly in acidic soil)."

Blackleg
moderate

Pectobacterium atrosepticum

RHS names this directly: "may develop black leg."

Pests

Nine Star Perennial Broccoli foliage in winter, frosted with dew — “Nine Star Perennial Broccoli, foliage in winter with frost droplets (Barstow garden collection, tagged 'Perennial Broccoli')” by Stephen Barstow is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Source: GBIF
“Nine Star Perennial Broccoli, foliage in winter with frost droplets (Barstow garden collection, tagged 'Perennial Broccoli')” by Stephen Barstow is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Source: GBIF.
Mealy cabbage aphid
moderate

Brevicoryne brassicae

RHS names this directly: "susceptible to ... mealy cabbage aphid."

Cabbage root fly (US: cabbage maggot)
moderate

Delia radicum

RHS names this directly: "susceptible to cabbage root fly."

Cabbage caterpillars
high

Pieris brassicae; Pieris rapae; Pieris napi; Mamestra brassicae; Plutella xylostella

RHS names this directly: "susceptible to ... cabbage caterpillars."

Plan your Nine Star Perennial Broccoli planting

Timing for Nine Star Perennial Broccoli follows soil temperature and frost, not the calendar date. The Global vegetable planting calendar explains the method. To work out where it fits in your beds, sketch your plot in the free Garden Layout Planner.

Growing Nine Star Perennial Broccoli in another region

Sowing dates, frost timing and local advice differ by country. Use the guide for where you garden.

Sources

  1. PFAF entry for Brassica oleracea, the parent species of this cultivar group -- the figure is species-level, not cultivar-specific. Fetched and parsed directly for the USDA hardiness rating.

These source is specific to this region. The full list of 2 sources behind this guide (Plants For A Future (PFAF), Royal Horticultural Society) is in the references of our UK guide to nine star perennial broccoli; they describe the plant itself, which is the same wherever it grows.

Frequently Asked Questions

What soil pH does nine star perennial broccoli need?

A pH of about 6.5–7.5. That span reflects genuine variation between the authorities we cite rather than a single agreed figure — the References section lists each source's exact range.

What problems affect nine star perennial broccoli?

Our data links 2 diseases and 3 pests to this crop. See the sections above for each one and how to manage it.

Plan next season before the problems start

This page gives you the thresholds; the planner turns them into your own calendar. It works from what you can observe and measure in your garden rather than from dates written for somebody else’s latitude.

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SoilCommander Editorial Team — under the guidance of Nitin Sharma, Co-Founder

Every growing guide is checked against RHS, USDA Cooperative Extension, and other named horticultural authorities before publishing. How we check our facts.

How this guide is put together

The growing data on this page — sowing windows, pests, diseases, soil and site requirements — comes from named horticultural sources, listed in References below, checked against international horticultural research and extension sources. An automated pipeline assembles that verified data into the page you're reading: it selects which facts to lead with and builds the surrounding prose and layout. It does not invent a date, a source or a number — where a verified value for a field isn't available, the page leaves it out rather than guessing. A person reviews and publishes each page; nothing goes live unverified.

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Last verified 2026-08-29

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