Crop type: Broccoli
Brassica oleracea (Italica Group) 'Red Fire'
Common name: broccoli (purple sprouting) 'Red Fire'
Crop slug: broccoli
This Allotment Pro editorial draft summarises the cited RHS cultivar profile.RHS cultivar profile
1 - Overview
'Red Fire' is a British-bred, hardy purple-sprouting broccoli with an RHS Award of Garden Merit. This clump-forming annual vegetable is noted for exceptional yields of high-quality, medium-sized dark-purple spears with excellent flavour and texture. Its upright crop overwinters reliably, and the accessible spears are easy to pick.
The profile gives an October-to-March harvest after spring sowing and early-summer transplanting. Green foliage supports the purple edible buds through autumn and winter, while H5 hardiness suits the plant to cold-season production.
2 - Size
- Ultimate height
- 0.5–1m
- Ultimate spread
- 0.1–0.5m
- Time to ultimate size
- 1 year
3 - Growing conditions
- Suitable soils
- Sand, loam and clay
- Moisture
- Well-drained or moist but well-drained
- Soil pH
- Neutral or alkaline
4 - Position and hardiness
- Light
- Full sun
- Aspect
- South-facing or west-facing
- Exposure
- Sheltered
- Hardiness
- H5 — hardy in most UK locations even during severe winters, tolerating the RHS band of about -15 to -10°C
5 - Colour and seasonal interest
| Season | Flowers | Foliage | Fruit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | — | — | — |
| Summer | — | Green | — |
| Autumn | Purple | Green | — |
| Winter | Purple | Green | — |
The autumn and winter purple entries correspond to the tightly budded edible spears. They should be harvested before the flowers open.
6 - Botanical details
- Family
- Brassicaceae
- Native to Great Britain and Ireland
- No
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Habit
- Clump forming
- Name status
- Accepted
Genus
Brassicas include annual, biennial and perennial plants, usually upright with alternate, often glaucous leaves, long taproots and clusters of cross-shaped yellow or white flowers. Selection within the genus has produced broccoli, cabbages, turnips, mustards, oilseed rape and ornamental plants.
7 - How to grow
Cultivation
Grow 'Red Fire' in fertile, well-compacted, non-acid soil in full sun. Sow indoors from April to June and transplant outside in June. The profile records harvest from October to March, when the medium-sized dark-purple spears should be clearly visible and easy to pick from the upright plant.
Use the parent broccoli guide for sowing depth, final spacing, watering, support and crop covers. Rotate brassicas and keep the sheltered site freely drained through winter.
Propagation
Propagate by seed, using either indoor sowing or the appropriate outdoor vegetable-seed method.
Pruning
No pruning is required. Harvest tightly budded spears regularly during the October-to-March season to use the cultivar's exceptional yield and encourage further side-shoots.
Pests
The profile lists birds, cabbage whitefly, cabbage root fly, cabbage caterpillars, cutworms, slugs, snails, flea beetles and swede midge. Secure fine mesh and regular inspection protect both foliage and developing spears.
Diseases
The profile lists black rot, club root, downy mildew and leaf spot. Crop rotation, healthy transplants, non-acid freely drained soil and adequate airflow help reduce avoidable disease pressure.