Ornamental Spinach for Landscaping Benefits, Uses, and Care Tips

Ornamental spinach brings a cool mix of color, texture, and toughness to landscaping projects. It thrives in all sorts of conditions, giving you year-round greenery and seasonal blooms that draw in pollinators.

People love ornamental spinach for its visual punch and its reliable nature—it’s a go-to for sprucing up garden designs. Those broad leaves and deep colors play well with other plants, making outdoor spaces feel more lively.

Gardeners like that ornamental spinach is pretty low-maintenance but still helps the whole landscape stay healthy. It works as ground cover, along borders, or as little accent spots, so it’s easy to work into almost any style.

Types of Ornamental Spinach for Landscaping

Ornamental spinach comes in all sorts of varieties—some climb, some hug the ground, and they all handle different climates in their own ways. You’ll find vining types that love the heat, and others that show off bold colors when the weather cools down.

Some species even give you edible greens along with their good looks, which is a nice bonus for anyone who likes a garden that does double duty.

Malabar Spinach Varieties

Malabar spinach (Basella rubra and Basella alba) is a perennial vine from the Basellaceae family. It stands out for its heat tolerance and tasty, edible leaves.

You’ll spot B. alba by its green leaves, while B. rubra flashes deep red stems and foliage. These vines love frost-free zones and put out lush, shiny growth.

Malabar spinach climbs easily, so you can use it to cover trellises or add some height to your garden. It’s not related to traditional spinach, but in warm climates, it just keeps going and going.

Swiss Chard and Other Ornamental Edibles

Swiss chard, part of the amaranth family (Amaranthaceae), brings bold, colorful stems—reds, oranges, yellows, and whites. Its big, textured leaves make any garden bed pop.

Chard grows as a cool-weather annual or a perennial where winters are mild. Folks sometimes call it perpetual spinach because it keeps sending up new leaves.

Swiss chard, like beets and quinoa, looks good and feeds you, too. If you’re into edible landscaping, it’s a solid pick for both color and function.

Traditional and Unusual Spinach Species

Traditional spinach (Spinacea oleracea) is a cool-season annual with smooth, tender leaves. It works best as a self-seeding crop in temperate spots and is great if you want a burst of green at certain times of year.

Then there’s New Zealand spinach (Tetragonia tetragonioides), which gives you succulent, heat-loving leaves that look a lot like spinach but come from a totally different family. These oddballs thrive when regular spinach can’t handle the heat, so you get edible greens and a nice ornamental touch through summer.

Designing Landscapes With Ornamental Spinach

Ornamental spinach needs the right setup—good light, decent soil, and some airflow. Its growth habits and colors shape how you’ll use it, whether you want it sprawling on a bed or climbing up a trellis.

Choosing Locations and Sunlight Requirements

Give ornamental spinach full sun for best results, though it’ll put up with a little shade. Too much shade, though, and you’ll lose some of that leaf color and end up with leggy plants.

It likes well-draining soil and a pH between 6.0 and 7.0, so roots stay happy. Airflow matters—without it, you might run into fungal issues like downy mildew, especially if your climate is damp.

Mulch helps hold moisture but don’t pile it against the stems, or you’ll risk rot. Pick a spot with decent sun and breeze, and your plants will thank you.

Color, Texture, and Companion Planting

Ornamental spinach brings a wild range of leaf colors—deep purples, reds, greens. Some leaves are slick and smooth, others a bit ruffled, which makes for great contrast.

Pair it with silver-leafed plants, grasses, or bright annuals to balance out the look. It fits right into edible gardens too, where colorful leaves make things look lively and useful all at once.

Vining Habits and Vertical Gardens

Some ornamental spinach types like to climb or sprawl. You can train these up trellises, cages, or even in vertical gardens to save space and add some height.

When you grow them up, you get better airflow and sun, which means fewer disease headaches. Plus, it just looks cool. Give them a trim now and then to keep things tidy and encourage bushier growth.

Growing and Maintaining Ornamental Spinach

Ornamental spinach does best when you nail the basics—good soil, the right watering routine, and a little attention to pests and pruning. If you keep up with these, your plants will look great and stay healthy.

Germination and Planting Techniques

Start ornamental spinach seeds in cool weather—somewhere between 50°F and 70°F is the sweet spot. Sow them about half an inch deep in loose, well-drained soil.

Give each plant about 6-8 inches of space so they don’t crowd each other. Direct sowing outside works if you start in early spring or late summer, which helps avoid bolting.

Keep the soil moist but not soggy. A light mulch layer can help protect seedlings and keep the soil temperature steady.

Soil, Fertilization, and Watering

Ornamental spinach loves rich, well-drained soil with a pH between 6.0 and 7.5. Nitrogen really boosts those green leaves—use a balanced fertilizer or fish emulsion every few weeks.

Water deeply, but let the soil dry out a bit between waterings. Too much water can rot the roots, so aim for steady, moderate moisture.

Mulch holds in water and keeps weeds down. If you use organic mulch, it’ll break down and feed the soil over time.

Pruning and Disease Prevention

Trim your ornamental spinach regularly to keep it neat and encourage fresh growth. Snip off yellow or damaged leaves to stop diseases from spreading and to keep air moving around the plant.

Downy mildew pops up in humid, crowded gardens. Keep plants spaced out and avoid overhead watering to help prevent it.

Clear away old leaves and use mulch to cut down on fungal spores. If mildew shows up, you might need to use a fungicide to protect the leaves.

Harvesting and Fall Care

Pick young leaves often to make the plant bushier and avoid early bolting, especially when it’s warm. Use clean scissors so you don’t damage the plant or spread disease.

As fall rolls in, cut back on watering and skip the high-nitrogen fertilizers to help plants slow down for winter. Clear out old leaves and mulch around the base to keep roots cozy when it gets cold.

A little fall prep keeps your ornamental spinach looking good and helps it bounce back strong next season.

Nutritional and Edible Benefits

Ornamental spinach isn’t just for show—it’s edible, too. You get a solid dose of nutrients, but it’s smart to check a few health considerations before adding it to your diet.

Vitamins and Health Considerations

Ornamental spinach packs a punch with vitamins A and C. These help out with vision, immune function, and skin health.

It’s also got minerals like iron and calcium. That combo definitely adds to its nutritious appeal.

You can toss it in salads or cook it up—either way, it brings something healthy to the table.

But here’s the catch: ornamental spinach contains oxalate crystals. These can trigger kidney stones if you’re prone to them.

If you’ve dealt with kidney issues before, it’s smart to go easy on this plant. Cooking does lower oxalate levels a bit, though it doesn’t wipe them out completely.

Mixing ornamental spinach with other leafy greens seems like a sensible move. That way, you get the benefits without stressing too much about the risks.