Kale is similar to the wild headless cabbage that grows on the seacoasts of western Europe and the Mediterranean. This botanical trivia helps to explain why collards and kale can be grown, harvested and cooked in much the same way. There are a surprising number of collard and kale varieties. Slow-bolting Squire is an improved Vates type. These presage the outrageous ornamental types that have proliferated in the hands of Japanese plant breeders.
Collards fall into two groups.
Vates and Georgia collards are popular and typical of the loose-leaf type. Champion is a slow-bolting variety selected by the VA Truck Experiment Station. The other type is cabbage-collards. These plants spread wide but stay more compact, eventually forming a loose head of paler green leaves in the center. Hybrid collards are prolific, grow quickly in cool weather and mature all at once.