Broccoli Growth Stages: How Does Broccoli Grow?

broccoli growth stages

Have you ever seen how a broccoli plant grows? When you plant broccoli in your garden, you will be able to see the formation of all parts of the plant.

There are growth stages of broccoli where each stage has its own distinctive appearance, characteristics, and uniqueness.

The growth stages are also similar to the broccoli life cycle. And when you want to grow a broccoli plant it is better to have a few information on how the broccoli plant grows.

Broccoli Growth Stages

The broccoli grows from a seed. Its life cycle begins as a seed.

When a gardener starts growing this plant, its journey begins. Those tiny seeds sprout and become new plants.

This plant grows well in a cool season climate and you can grow this in your location if you have cool weather.

Stage 1. Seed

The broccoli growth stages start from the seed. The seeds of broccoli are small and they are hard to see with the naked eye.

The colors of the seeds consist of brown and black. They are very small in which if they fall to the ground you hardly see them.

If you want to grow broccoli, you can buy high-quality seeds from garden centers, nurseries, and other related establishments.

Once you have the seeds, you can now start preparing your garden and the grow broccolis.

Stage 2. Germination

The gardener sows the seed in the soil and then after a few days it sprouts. It will take around 5 to 10 days for the broccoli seeds to sprout.

There are times that not all seeds sprout. It is better to grow a couple of seeds in the seed tray so that you can easily pick which one to grow in the garden.

The seed will grow a thin stem and then two tiny leaves. It will increase its height and size after a few days.

If you directly plant the seeds in your garden you don’t need to transplant them.

But if you sow them first in the seed tray you need to do transplanting.

Stage 3. Seedling

The tiny broccoli plants continue to grow and then increase their size. Once they are already 15 days old or so you can transplant them into the soil.

The earlier you transplant the broccoli seedlings the better. You can prevent transplant shock by doing this as long as it has already enough size.

The seedlings will speed up their growth when they are getting consistent sunlight, enough, water, and nutrients.

The plants need at least 6 hours of sunlight per day, 1 to 1.5 inches of water per week, and nitrogen-rich fertilizer during the early stage.

Stage 4. Vegetative Stage

The plant produces more leaves, more roots, and a thicker stem. Then after a few weeks, the plant matures.

You can easily notice how fast the broccoli grows because during this time and when you compared when the plant is just 15 to 20 days old.

A lot of bigger and wider leaves grow on the plant. The roots are also growing deeper and longer.

Broccoli roots are not invasive and they will not cause damage to structures like a house.

After the vegetative stage, the broccoli becomes more mature and they can now produce broccoli.

Stage 5. Broccoli Head Forms

The broccoli head starts to form after a few weeks. When the broccoli head has enough size, you can now harvest it.

Usually, you can only get one big broccoli from a plant and after a few weeks, it will grow additional smaller broccoli.

One big broccoli and additional two smaller heads will form in the plant.

You need to pick them once they have a good size because if not they will open up and turn into flowers.

It can take about 80 to 100 days before you can harvest broccoli, but for some other varieties, it can take earlier around 50 to 70 days.

Stage 6. Flowering

If you do not harvest broccoli heads, they will turn into flowers. The yellow flowers will grow on the plant.

The flowers’ stems will grow long and there will be a lot of flowers per stem. They are beautiful to observe.

Let the flowers mature and sooner it will give you a lot of seeds.

Stage 7. Seeding

Once the flowers are fully mature, they will turn into seeds. You can get a lot of seeds from a single broccoli plant.

If you have more than one plant with a lot of flowers you can harvest a lot of seeds.

You can use those seeds to grow broccolis again in the next growing season.

Save those seeds and you can grow more plants the next gardening.

After the seeds form, the plants will slowly stop their growth.

Stage 8. The Plant Dries Up

The last phase of broccoli’s growth stages is the plant dries up. The leaves of broccoli turn yellow and brown.

They slowly curl up and then fall to the ground. The stem also changes color to brown and then suddenly they mixed into the soil.

The plant can improve the soil a little bit because it contains nutrients they are fertilized with nutrients.

Stage 9. Goes Back as a Seed

After the plant dries up, it will go back to the seed. The growth stages of broccoli are a cycle.

New plants grow and old plants dry up. If you grow broccoli in your garden you can grow this plant again and again as long as you get quality seeds.

The new cycle begins once you start growing broccolis again.

In order to achieve healthy broccoli plants, you need to make sure they are getting enough sunlight, water, and nutrients.

Protection against pests and diseases is also important.

If you don’t have much space, you can grow broccoli in containers.

Broccoli Growth Stages Conclusion:

There are some phases of the life cycle of broccoli plants. It starts from seeds and then increases their sizes.

The new seedlings emerged and continue to grow and become vegetative. Once the plants mature they will now produce broccoli heads and become flowers.

The broccoli flowers turn into seeds and then the plants slowly dry up.