The Royal Horticultural Society has recommended that home gardeners cease planting cauliflowers, citing Britain’s rapidly changing climate and recent extreme weather conditions as making cultivation increasingly unviable. The guidance comes as the UK faces a notably poor harvest of brassicas including broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower, with industry observers characterizing this year as potentially among the worst on record for such crops.
This summer was confirmed as the UK’s hottest on record according to provisional data from the Met Office. England experienced peak temperatures of 38.1C at Kew Gardens in London on 13 August, while June was verified as the nation’s warmest month since temperature records began in 1884. Scientific experts have attributed the occurrence of these extreme heatwaves to human-caused climate change, primarily resulting from fossil fuel combustion.
According to RHS leadership, cauliflowers and their close relative calabrese are particularly vulnerable to high temperatures and drought stress, failing to develop proper heads under such conditions. The plants also require substantial water inputs, making them increasingly impractical in the current climate. The RHS’s chief horticulturist noted that brassicas have been disproportionately affected and recommended gardeners consider switching to equally nutritious and flavorful alternatives while reducing water consumption and improving harvest reliability.
Horticulturists working within RHS gardens have begun experimenting with warmer-climate vegetables suited to contemporary conditions. Purple sprouting broccoli, kale with deeper root systems, tomatoes, peppers, melons, watermelons, cucumbers, sweet potatoes, okra, chillies, and various Italian heritage vegetables have demonstrated strong performance in recent trials. Some RHS staff members reported discontinuing cauliflower cultivation several years ago due to inconsistent results and excessive weather challenges, while others noted success with heat-loving crops that align with shifting climatic patterns.
The organization indicated that member gardeners have observed improved growing conditions for warm-season vegetables this year, with tomatoes and peppers thriving outdoors and certain traditionally tropical varieties now becoming viable in some regions. This shift reflects broader adaptations within horticultural practice as practitioners adjust cultivation strategies to accommodate prolonged heat and moisture stress.
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