HeirloomContainer OK

Red Leaf Lettuce

Amaranthus tricolor

Red Leaf Lettuce is a visually striking heirloom variety with deeply ruffled, burgundy-tinged leaves that add color and texture to salads and plates. Reaching maturity in approximately 50 days, this loose-leaf variety forms open rosettes rather than tight heads, allowing for cut-and-come-again harvesting. Its tender leaves deliver a mild, sweet flavor with no bitterness, making it ideal for fresh eating and culinary applications where delicate texture matters. The distinctive red coloring intensifies in cool weather, and the frilly leaf margins provide appealing visual contrast in mixed greens preparations.

Harvest

50d

Days to harvest

📅

Sun

Full sun to partial shade

☀️

Zones

2–11

USDA hardiness

🗺️

Height

1-5 feet

📏

Planting Timeline

Zone:

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Direct Sow

Harvest

Direct Sow

Harvest

Showing dates for Red Leaf Lettuce in USDA Zone 7

All Zone 7 lettuce →

Zone Map

Click a state to update dates

Red Leaf Lettuce · Zones 2–11

What grows well in Zone 7? →

Growing Details

Difficulty

Easy

Spacing6-8 inches

SoilWell-drained, fertile soil rich in organic matter

pH6.0-7.0

Water1 inch per week, consistent moisture

SeasonWarm season annual

FlavorMild, sweet, and tender with no bitterness

ColorGreen with bronze-red leaf edges

Size6-8 inch rosettes

Zone-by-Zone Planting Calendar

Zone	Indoor Start	Transplant	Direct Sow	Harvest
Zone 1	—	—	June – July	July – September
Zone 2	—	—	May – July	July – September
Zone 11	—	—	January – February	February – December
Zone 12	—	—	January – February	February – December
Zone 13	—	—	January – February	February – December
Zone 3	—	—	May – June	June – October
Zone 4	—	—	April – June	June – October
Zone 5	—	—	April – May	June – November
Zone 6	—	—	April – May	May – November
Zone 7	—	—	March – May	May – November
Zone 8	—	—	March – April	April – December
Zone 9	—	—	February – March	March – December
Zone 10	—	—	January – March	March – December

Succession Planting

Direct sow every 14–21 days starting around March 1 in zone 7. Keep going through mid-May, then pause — once daytime highs are consistently above 80°F, Amaranthus tricolor bolts and the leaves turn bitter fast. Pick back up with sowings in late August for a fall run, harvesting through October or into November depending on your first frost date. Each round takes about 50 days to full size, so back-calculate from your expected frost and don't start a sowing you can't finish.

Thin to 6–8 inches once seedlings hit 2 inches tall. Leaving them crowded doesn't speed anything up — it cuts airflow, invites Bremia lactucae, and produces a cluster of spindly plants instead of a few that actually fill out.

Complete Growing Guide

Light: Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day), Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours). Drainage: Good Drainage. Height: 1 ft. 6 in. - 5 ft. 0 in.. Spread: 1 ft. 0 in. - 2 ft. 0 in.. Spacing: 12 inches-3 feet. Growth rate: Medium. Maintenance: Low. Propagation: Seed.

Harvesting

Type: Achene.

Edibility: Seeds, leaves

Storage & Preservation

Red leaf lettuce keeps best when stored at 32–35°F with 95% humidity in a perforated plastic bag within your refrigerator's crisper drawer. Under these conditions, expect a fresh shelf life of 7–10 days, though peak tenderness and flavor occur within the first 3–5 days. The mild, sweet character of this variety makes it poorly suited to most preservation methods; freezing destroys the delicate texture entirely, and canning or fermenting are impractical for tender salad greens. Drying is technically possible but yields little usable product and diminishes the appealing flavor profile. For maximum utility, harvest leaves frequently using cut-and-come-again methods rather than attempting bulk preservation. If you must preserve excess harvest, blanch and freeze small portions for cooking applications only, though this compromises quality considerably. Store harvested leaves unwashed and as dry as possible to prevent rot.

History & Origin

Origin: Tropical Asia

Advantages

+Edible: Seeds, leaves
+Low maintenance

Companion Plants

Radishes and carrots are the most useful bed-mates here. Radishes act as a trap crop for flea beetles — the beetles prefer them and will concentrate there instead of punching holes in your lettuce — and they germinate fast enough to mark your row while the slower Amaranthus tricolor gets going. Carrots share the bed without much competition because their roots push down past 12 inches, well below lettuce's shallow 6-inch feeding zone. Chives and garlic at the bed edges genuinely do reduce aphid pressure; allium compounds disrupt the insects' host-finding behavior before they settle in. A border of Tagetes marigolds pulls in predatory wasps that work through aphid colonies on their own, which is a more reliable effect than any direct repellency claim.

Fennel is allelopathic and will stunt most neighboring vegetables, lettuce included — give it its own bed entirely, at least 24 inches away. Broccoli is a bad pairing for practical reasons: a mature plant can shade out an entire lettuce row, and both crops pull heavily from the top 12 inches of soil. If you've got limited bed space, they'll fight each other and the broccoli will win.

Plant Together

Chives

Repels aphids and other pests while improving lettuce flavor

Carrots

Deep roots don't compete with shallow lettuce roots, helps break up soil

Radishes

Quick growth helps break up soil and repels flea beetles

Marigolds

Deters aphids, whiteflies, and nematodes that attack lettuce

Spinach

Similar growing requirements and provides mutual shade in hot weather

Garlic

Natural pest deterrent against aphids, slugs, and other lettuce pests

Nasturtiums

Acts as trap crop for aphids and adds beneficial insects to garden

Dill

Attracts beneficial insects like ladybugs that control aphids on lettuce

Keep Apart

Broccoli

Large leaves create too much shade and compete for nutrients

Sunflowers

Allelopathic compounds inhibit lettuce growth and development

Fennel

Strong allelopathic effects inhibit growth of lettuce and most vegetables

Nutrition Facts

Protein

0.742g(1%)

Carbs

3.37g(1%)

Fat

0.0738g(0%)

Vitamin K

20.5mcg(17%)

Iron

0.0332mg(0%)

Calcium

14.2mg(1%)

Potassium

139mg(3%)

Per 100g serving. % Daily Value based on 2,000 calorie diet. Source: USDA FoodData Central (FDC #2346388)

Pests & Disease Resistance

Resistance

Good resistance to bolting in cool weather. Moderate downy mildew tolerance.

Common Pests

Aphids, slugs, flea beetles, cutworms

Diseases

Downy mildew, bottom rot, tipburn, lettuce mosaic virus

Troubleshooting Red Leaf Lettuce

What you'll see, why it happens, and what to do about it.

Seedlings collapse at soil level within the first 7–10 days after planting, sometimes with fuzzy white mold visible on the soil surface

Likely Causes

Damping off — caused by soil-borne fungi (Pythium spp., Rhizoctonia solani) that thrive in cold, wet, poorly drained soil
Replanting the same bed with lettuce for 3 or more consecutive seasons without rotation, allowing fungal load to build up

What to Do

1.Hold off on watering until the top inch of soil is dry — standing moisture is what trips this off
2.Improve drainage before the next sowing; mix in perlite or aged compost to open up a heavy bed
3.Rotate lettuce out of that bed for at least one season; NC State's IPM guidance specifically flags repeated same-bed planting as a risk factor for seedling diseases

Gray-purple fuzz on the undersides of leaves, with yellow patches on the upper surface, spreading fast in cool, wet weather

Likely Causes

Downy mildew (Bremia lactucae) — airborne spores, moves fast when nights are cool (below 65°F) and humidity is high
Overcrowded spacing that traps moisture between plants

What to Do

1.Pull and trash affected leaves immediately — do not compost them
2.Space plants at least 8 inches apart so air can move through the row
3.Water at the base, not overhead, and water in the morning so foliage dries before nightfall

Ragged holes in leaves overnight, with a slick trail visible on the soil or leaf surface in the morning

Likely Causes

Slugs — most active at night and after rain, hide under mulch or board edges during the day
Flea beetles — if the damage is small, scattered pinholes with no slick trail, it's flea beetles rather than slugs

What to Do

1.For slugs: set out a shallow dish of beer at soil level in the evening and empty it each morning, or scatter diatomaceous earth around the base of plants
2.For flea beetles: lay row cover immediately after direct sowing; once plants hit 4–5 inches tall they can usually tolerate the damage without yield loss
3.Clear away boards, thick mulch layers, or debris within 12 inches of your lettuce row — that's where slugs spend daylight hours

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does red leaf lettuce take to grow?▼

Red leaf lettuce is ready for baby leaf harvest in just 30-35 days from sowing, while full-size heads mature in 45-55 days. You can begin cut-and-come-again harvesting once leaves reach 3-4 inches long, then continue harvesting outer leaves every few days for 3-4 weeks before the plant bolts.

Can you grow red leaf lettuce in containers?▼

Yes, red leaf lettuce excels in containers due to its shallow root system. Use containers at least 6 inches deep and 8 inches wide for individual plants, or window boxes for multiple plants spaced 6 inches apart. Choose containers with drainage holes and use a high-quality potting mix enriched with compost.

Is red leaf lettuce good for beginners?▼

Red leaf lettuce is excellent for beginning gardeners because it germinates quickly, tolerates light frost, and forgives irregular watering better than head lettuces. The cut-and-come-again harvest method is very forgiving—even if you make mistakes, you'll still get multiple harvests from each plant.

What does red leaf lettuce taste like?▼

Red leaf lettuce has a mild, sweet flavor with no bitterness, making it appealing to all ages. The tender leaves are less substantial than romaine but more flavorful than iceberg lettuce. Cool weather intensifies both the red color and slightly nutty undertones.

When should I plant red leaf lettuce?▼

Plant red leaf lettuce 2-4 weeks before your last spring frost date, then succession plant every 2-3 weeks through late spring. In zones 7-9, focus on fall and winter plantings from August through February. Avoid planting during peak summer heat as leaves become bitter and plants bolt quickly.

Why is my red leaf lettuce turning green?▼

Red leaf lettuce loses its red coloration in hot weather above 80°F and reverts to green. This is normal—the red anthocyanin pigments that create the color are temperature-sensitive. Plant in fall or early spring for the most vibrant red coloration, and provide afternoon shade during warm weather.