VegetableCabbage
Jimao Choi Cabbage
Jimao Choi is a swift-maturing hybrid pak choi bred for speed and heat tolerance, reaching harvest in just 20 to 29 days. This feather-type Chinese cabbage grows upright to 12 to 18 inches tall, producing elegant oval-long spoon-shaped leaves in soft green with matching green petioles. It thrives across hardiness zones 2 through 10 and excels as a cool or warm season annual, making it unusually flexible for gardeners in nearly any climate. The variety is specifically engineered for baby leaf production, rewarding quick harvests with tender, delicate foliage that's ready far sooner than full-sized cabbage varieties.
Photo © True Leaf Market
Growing Conditions
USDA Zone
2-10
Sunlight
Full Sun
Water
Moderate
Soil
Well-drained Loam, Tolerates Poor Soils
Growth Stats
18 in
Height
TypeUpright
Spacing
18
Plant Profile
Sunlight
Full Sun
Water
Moderate
Zones
2-10
Size
18in H x ?in W
Growth
—
Care
Moderate
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Highlights
Jimao Choi's defining trait is its remarkable speed, ready to eat in under a month from seed. The feather-type pak choi form means you're harvesting soft, tender leaves rather than dense heads, giving it a delicate texture that works beautifully in stir-fries, salads, and raw preparations. Its heat tolerance sets it apart from many Asian greens, allowing gardeners to push plantings into warm months when most pak choi would bolt. With upright growth and compact mature height, it fits neatly into tight garden spaces, and the hybrid vigor ensures vigorous, uniform plants across the whole planting.
Common Uses
Jimao Choi is harvested young as a baby green, excelling in stir-fries, soups, and fresh salads where its tender leaves and mild flavor shine. The fast maturity and feather-leaf structure make it particularly suited to repeated succession plantings throughout the season, allowing home gardeners to harvest continuously rather than all at once. It works especially well in Asian cuisine preparations where whole plants or individual leaves are used raw or briefly cooked.
Growing Timeline
No timeline data available yet for this variety.
Care Instructions
Direct Sow
Sow seeds directly into the garden bed or containers, spacing them appropriately for 18-inch plant spacing. Jimao Choi can be direct sown in succession at 2 to 3 week intervals for continuous harvest throughout the growing season.
Harvesting
Begin harvesting Jimao Choi as a baby leaf green 20 to 29 days after sowing. Cut individual outer leaves from the base of the plant, or harvest the entire plant when it reaches your desired size. The young, tender leaf stage is when this variety offers the best texture and flavor, so don't wait for full maturity. Successive harvests from the same plant are possible by removing outer leaves and allowing the center to continue growing.
Growing Calendar
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Companion Planting
Ecology & Traits
Edible
Scientific Classification
Brassica rapa var chinensis
Family
Brassicaceae
Genus
Brassica
Growth Habit
Upright
Native Status
L48 (I)AK (I)HI (I)CAN (I)GL (I)