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Calabrese vs sprouting broccoli

Updated: 21 October 2026

Supermarket broccoli is a green head. Many packets labelled broccoli are purple spears that will still be in the bed next spring. Calabrese vs sprouting broccoli is that split, and the wrong one costs a season. Prices and windows come from the amazon.co.uk listings in the [broccoli seeds comparison](/hub/herb-seeds/broccoli-seeds). Raab and kai lan are other plants. They are sorted on the [broccoli seeds buying guide](/hub/herb-seeds/broccoli-seeds/sub/broccoli-seeds-buying-guide). Peter F. used those listings. There was no growing trial. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Supermarket broccoli is a green head. Many packets labelled broccoli are purple spears that will still be in the bed next spring. Calabrese vs sprouting broccoli is that split, and the wrong one costs a season.

Our top picks

Mr Fothergill's Mr Fothergill's Early Purple

Best overall

Mr Fothergill's Mr Fothergill's Early Purple
7.6/10about £4.09
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Mr Fothergill's Mr Fothergill's Green Calabrese

Best value

Mr Fothergill's Mr Fothergill's Green Calabrese
6.8/10about £2.39
View offer
Mr Fothergill's Mr Fothergill's Covina

Alternative

Mr Fothergill's Mr Fothergill's Covina
3.4/10about £3.49
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On this page
  1. 1.Two crops under one supermarket name
  2. 2.When each one is ready to cut
  3. 3.Space and how long the bed is busy
  4. 4.Which seed to buy for which crop

Two crops under one supermarket name

The Royal Horticultural Society treats them separately. Sprouting broccoli produces repeated bud clusters, often purple, over a long pick. Calabrese produces the large green head, then smaller side shoots once you cut the dome. An RHS feature puts calabrese at about four months from sowing, and sprouting broccoli as a crop for the following winter or spring. Kings Seeds calls calabrese milder than purple sprouting. That is a catalogue note, not a score. Heading packets here are Green Calabrese, Covina, and Batlle Verde Calabrese. Spear packets are Early Purple and Claret F1. Claret is purple sprouting F1, even if a short title only says broccoli. One plant will not give a summer dome and then winter spears. The variety name is the decision.

When each one is ready to cut

Calabrese is the same-year head. The RHS talks about a dome around 15 cm and a harvest roughly from July to October, with side shoots after the main cut. These listings are narrower. Green Calabrese is March to May, then September to November. Covina is indoors from February or outdoors to June, then June to November. Batlle at about £1.40 has no UK review texts, so a note about small heads from Spain is not your allotment. Sprouting broccoli is the overwintered pick. Early Purple says sow March to May and harvest February to May. The RHS describes winter plants that can stand for eight months or more. Claret F1 is the same spear crop in 25 seeds, with no month printed. A bed that must be free by autumn suits calabrese. A bed you can leave until spring suits Early Purple, if you can cover it.
Mr Fothergill's Mr Fothergill's Early Purple

Testsieger

Mr Fothergill's Mr Fothergill's Early Purple
7.6/10about £4.09
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Space and how long the bed is busy

Early Purple says 60 cm both ways. The RHS talks about 60 to 80 cm and plants around 90 cm tall, for a crop you will not eat until late winter. Calabrese is closer: catalogue and RHS figures sit around 30 to 45 cm, and the plant is cleared after the head and side shoots. Covina prints no spacing, so use that calabrese range. On a small plot, three calabrese plants can occupy the space of one spear plant and still finish in the same year. Calabrese gives a main head and a shorter flush of sides. Sprouting broccoli, once it starts, is picked over weeks. Leaving a heading plant in the ground will not turn it into Early Purple. It will try to flower. Sowing steps, including why a warm-weather transplant makes calabrese bolt, are in how to sow broccoli seeds.

Which seed to buy for which crop

For a green head this year, Green Calabrese at about £2.39 for 250 seeds is best value because the count and the months are printed. Covina at about £3.49 is the later sowing, about 50 seeds. Batlle at about £1.40 needs you to count the seed and to accept non-UK reviews. For spears, Early Purple at about £4.09 for 500 seeds prints the months and 60 cm. Claret F1 at about £1.95 is 25 seeds and a 5.0 from one silent rating. Skip Early Purple if the bed must be free in autumn. Skip Green Calabrese if you wanted February spears. Thin reviews are on the best broccoli seeds page. Raab is a 60-day Brassica rapa. Kai lan is Chinese broccoli. Neither replaces this pair.

Common questions

What is the difference between calabrese and purple sprouting?
Calabrese makes one main green head, then side shoots. Purple sprouting makes repeated spear clusters, usually purple, sown in spring for a late winter and spring cut. The RHS keeps them as different crops. Supermarkets rarely print calabrese on the floret bag.
Which one crops in summer and autumn?
Calabrese. The RHS talks about roughly July to October from a spring sowing. Green Calabrese prints September to November, and Covina prints June to November. Early Purple's line is February to May.
Which one stands through winter?
Sprouting broccoli. Early Purple is sown March to May and cut February to May. The RHS describes winter plants standing eight months or more. Heading calabrese is cleared in the same year.
How much space does each need?
Early Purple asks for about 60 cm each way. Calabrese is nearer 30 to 45 cm in RHS and catalogue guidance. Covina leaves the distance unstated. A plot that must turn over in autumn is a calabrese plot.
Is supermarket broccoli calabrese?
Yes. The green head in the chiller is calabrese. Purple sprouting is the thinner spears you see later in the season, often sold under their own name. If you want the chiller head from seed, buy a calabrese packet, not Early Purple and not raab.
Which packets in this set are which?
Green Calabrese, Covina, and Batlle Verde Calabrese are heading seed. Early Purple and Claret F1 are purple sprouting. Raab and kai lan sit outside this pair. The Unwins collection does not name its varieties.
Is Claret F1 calabrese?
No. Claret F1 is purple sprouting, 25 seeds at about £1.95. It is a hybrid spear, not a green heading variety. The listing has no sowing month and one rating with no text.

Related pages

Sprouting broccoli seeds at home

Broccoli seeds

Best broccoli seeds for a jar, head, or winter spears

Broccoli seeds buying guide: which crop is in the foil

How to sow broccoli seeds: depth, spacing, and mesh

Sources

Public UK sources named below. amazon.co.uk prices, stars and review counts on these twelve listings are from the category snapshot. Page updated 21 October 2026.

  1. RHS: grow your own broccoli (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  2. RHS: grow your own calabrese (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  3. RHS: cabbage root fly (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  4. RHS: club root (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  5. RHS: Brassica rapa Ruvo Group (broccoli raab) (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  6. Seed Marketing Regulations 2011 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  7. FSA: protecting consumers from STEC (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  8. NI Direct: sprouted seeds safety advice (retrieved 21 October 2026)