Heirloom

Stella Rosa

Cichorium intybus

Wikimedia Commons

Gorgeous range of pink shades with distinct white ribs. An improved pink variety: more marketable heads; thicker leaves with heavier savoy; brighter pink colors; enhanced tipburn and bolting tolerance. Great paired with Luna Rossa. Notes: Expose plants to short days/cold weather to achieve pink color expression. Planting too early risks loose, non-pink heads. Transplant in early/mid August in Maine, later in mild eastern regions.

Harvest

115d

Days to harvest

📅

Sun

Full sun

☀️

Zones

3–8

USDA hardiness

🗺️

Height

3-4 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 Stella Rosa in USDA Zone 7

All Zone 7 lettuce →

Zone Map

Click a state to update dates

Stella Rosa · Zones 3–8

What grows well in Zone 7? →

Growing Details

Difficulty

Easy

Spacing8-10 inches

SoilWell-drained loam enriched with compost; neutral to slightly acidic pH

WaterModerate — regular watering

SeasonSummer

FlavorMild, slightly sweet lettuce flavor with tender texture; the drama is visual rather than bold in taste

ColorPink with white ribs

Zone-by-Zone Planting Calendar

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

Succession Planting

Direct sow Stella Rosa every 3 weeks from March through early May in zone 7. This is a 115-day chicory grown for a full head — you're not harvesting baby leaves — so each sowing needs to run to completion. A mid-April sowing puts harvest around late August; a May 1 sowing lands in early September. Don't push past early May or you'll be asking the plant to head up through peak summer heat, which adds stress even given its good bolt resistance.

That same bolt resistance makes a fall window worth attempting. A late-July or early-August direct sow in zone 7 can yield a November harvest before the first hard freeze (28°F or below). Keep the bed consistently moist during germination; soil temperatures above 75°F will stretch the standard 7–10-day germination window noticeably, so don't assume failure too early.

Complete Growing Guide

Light: Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day). Soil: Clay, High Organic Matter, Loam (Silt), Sand, Shallow Rocky. Soil pH: Alkaline (>8.0), Neutral (6.0-8.0). Drainage: Good Drainage, Moist, Occasionally Dry. Height: 3 ft. 0 in. - 4 ft. 0 in.. Spread: 1 ft. 6 in. - 2 ft. 0 in.. Spacing: 12 inches-3 feet. Growth rate: Rapid. Maintenance: High, Medium. Propagation: Seed. Regions: Coastal, Mountains, Piedmont.

Harvesting

Stella Rosa reaches harvest at 115 days from sowing per Johnny's Selected Seeds.

Brown oblong and 5-ribbed achene with blunt ends. The wider end has a bristles across the top.

Color: Brown/Copper, Cream/Tan. Type: Achene.

Edibility: Leaves can be used in salads or cooked to reduce bitter flavor. Roots can be dried and used as a coffee substitute.

Storage & Preservation

Harvest Stella Rosa heads at full maturity (around 115 days) and store immediately at 32–36°F with 95% humidity in perforated plastic bags. A crisper drawer or root cellar works well. Fresh heads keep 2–3 weeks under proper conditions, though quality declines after 10 days.

For preservation, blanch and freeze leaves for soups and cooked dishes—raw freezing results in poor texture. Drying is less rewarding due to the tender leaf structure. Light fermentation (3–5 days in 2–3% brine) preserves the bitter-sweet character and improves digestibility. Some gardeners pickle young inner leaves in vinegar brine for a crisp condiment.

Stella Rosa's slightly bitter, Belgian endive-like flavor intensifies when blanched during growth, which also extends storage life slightly by reducing respiration rates.

History & Origin

Stella Rosa is open-pollinated, meaning seed saved from healthy plants will produce true-to-type offspring. Listed in the Johnny's Selected Seeds catalog.

Origin: Europe

Advantages

+Stunning pink coloring with white ribs creates visually marketable, appealing heads
+Thicker leaves with enhanced savory texture improve eating quality and appeal
+Improved tipburn and bolting tolerance makes growing more reliable and forgiving
+Pairs excellently with Luna Rossa for attractive mixed radicchio plantings

Considerations

-Requires specific cold/short-day exposure to develop pink color properly
-Early planting results in loose heads without desired pink coloration
-Precise August transplant timing critical; mistakes waste season and effort

Companion Plants

Chives and garlic both do useful work near Stella Rosa — their sulfur compounds interfere with the host-finding behavior of aphids and leafhoppers, and both stay under 18 inches so they won't shade out a plant that can reach 3 to 4 feet at maturity. Marigolds (Tagetes patula specifically) earn a spot at bed edges for a different reason: there's solid documented evidence of their role in suppressing root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) in the top 6 inches of soil. Radishes are worth tucking in as a quick intercrop — they're out of the ground in 25–30 days, well before Stella Rosa fills in, and their taproots break up compaction that shallow-rooted companions would struggle with.

Brassicas like broccoli are a harder conflict than people expect — as they decompose, they release glucosinolate breakdown compounds that can inhibit germination and stunt nearby crops. Sunflowers produce allelopathic compounds from both their roots and their decomposing leaf litter that have been shown to suppress several broadleaf vegetables; give them at least 3 feet of clearance from this bed.

Plant Together

Chives

Repels aphids and improves lettuce flavor while taking minimal space

Carrots

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

Radishes

Quick-growing, helps break up soil and can be harvested before lettuce needs space

Marigolds

Repels nematodes, aphids, and other pests that damage lettuce

Spinach

Similar growing requirements and can provide partial shade in hot weather

Garlic

Natural pest deterrent, repels aphids and slugs that commonly attack lettuce

Nasturtiums

Trap crop for aphids and cucumber beetles, attracts beneficial insects

Dill

Attracts beneficial insects like ladybugs that control lettuce pests

Keep Apart

Broccoli

Heavy feeder that competes for nutrients and can shade out lettuce

Sunflowers

Allelopathic compounds inhibit lettuce germination and growth

Celery

Competes for similar nutrients and space, both prefer cool moist conditions

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

Common Pests

Slugs, aphids, leaf hoppers

Diseases

Bolting (excellent resistance), tipburn (excellent resistance), downy mildew, gray mold in high humidity

Troubleshooting Stella Rosa

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

Seedlings collapsing at soil level within the first 1–2 weeks after transplanting, sometimes with fuzzy white growth on the soil surface nearby

Likely Causes

Damping off — most commonly Pythium spp. or Rhizoctonia solani — soil-borne pathogens that thrive in cold, wet, poorly-drained beds
Replanting the same bed with lettuce or chicory for 3+ consecutive years, which allows pathogen populations to build up

What to Do

1.Hold off watering until the top inch of soil is dry — overwatering is the fastest way to trigger damping off in young transplants
2.Pull the dead seedlings out completely and discard them in the trash, not the compost pile; leave the soil exposed to dry before replanting
3.Rotate this bed out of chicory and lettuce for at least one full season, and work in compost to improve drainage before the next planting

Irregular tan-to-brown rot on lower leaves or stems where they contact the soil, with fluffy white fungal growth and small black pellets roughly the size of mouse droppings

Likely Causes

Sclerotinia drop (Sclerotinia sclerotiorum) — the black pellets are sclerotia, the fungus's overwintering structures, which can persist in soil for years
Dense planting under 8 inches apart combined with overhead irrigation, keeping the crown wet for extended periods

What to Do

1.Remove and bag affected plants immediately — the sclerotia will fall into the soil if you're careless pulling them out
2.Switch to drip irrigation or water at the base only; keeping the canopy dry cuts transmission significantly
3.Space plants a full 10 inches apart so air can move through at crown level

Ragged holes chewed in outer leaves at or near soil level, damage worst after rain or irrigation, no insects visible during the day

Likely Causes

Slugs — they feed at night and retreat under debris or soil clods by morning
Aphid colonies on inner leaves or under leaf bases, sometimes accompanied by sticky honeydew residue and distorted new growth

What to Do

1.Set out iron phosphate bait (Sluggo is one widely available brand) near the base of plants in the evening — safer around edibles than metaldehyde-based baits
2.Pull back any mulch to at least 3 inches from the stem; slugs rely on that cover to shelter through the day
3.For aphids, blast the undersides of leaves with a firm stream of water three mornings in a row; follow up with insecticidal soap if colonies persist above 10–15 individuals per leaf

Frequently Asked Questions

When should I plant Stella Rosa lettuce?▼

Plant Stella Rosa transplants in early to mid-August in Maine and the upper Northeast, or later in August/early September in milder regions. The key is timing for fall and winter harvest—never plant in spring or early summer. Cool nights below 60°F trigger the signature pink color. Starting seeds indoors 4-6 weeks before your transplant date ensures mature transplants ready to go into the ground at the optimal window. Planting too early results in loose, pale heads.

How long does Stella Rosa lettuce take to grow?▼

Stella Rosa reaches full maturity in 115 days from transplanting (approximately 70-80 days from direct seeding). This makes it a longer-season crop than most lettuce varieties. Plan accordingly if you're growing in a short-season climate; the extended timeline requires early enough planting to avoid late-season frost or extreme cold that damages developing heads.

Why isn't my Stella Rosa pink? It's just green.▼

Pink color expression requires consistent exposure to cool nights, ideally below 60°F, for 4-6 weeks of growth. If planted too early or grown in a warm climate, Stella Rosa remains mostly green. To encourage color development in warmer regions, use shade cloth in September to lower temperatures, increase spacing to improve air circulation, or grow it exclusively as a winter crop. Color intensity correlates directly with cool-weather exposure.

Can you grow Stella Rosa lettuce in containers?▼

Yes, Stella Rosa grows well in containers 8-12 inches deep and wide, using quality potting soil with compost mixed in. Space plants 8-10 inches apart. Container-grown plants dry out faster than garden beds, so monitor soil moisture closely and water when the top inch feels dry. Cool-season timing remains critical—plant in late summer for fall and early winter harvest. Container growing actually gives you temperature control advantages in mild climates where you can move pots to shadier, cooler microclimates.

Is Stella Rosa lettuce good for beginners?▼

Yes, Stella Rosa is beginner-friendly once you understand its specific timing requirement. The variety is forgiving—exceptional bolting and tipburn tolerance make it more reliable than many lettuces. The main learning curve is planting at the correct season (late summer for fall harvest, not spring). Once you commit to that schedule, consistent watering and full sun are your only real requirements. It's an excellent choice for first-time lettuce gardeners willing to experiment with timing.

Stella Rosa vs Luna Rossa—what's the difference?▼

Both are Italian heirloom red/pink lettuces bred from the same genetic lineage, and both require cool-season growing and share excellent bolting/tipburn tolerance. Stella Rosa produces pink-and-white-ribbed butterhead-type heads with heavily savoy leaves and takes 115 days to maturity. Luna Rossa is typically looser and more open-leaved with deeper red coloration and slightly faster maturity. Luna Rossa works better for continuous leaf harvesting; Stella Rosa excels when you want intact, dramatic pink heads. Growing both together creates stunning color contrast in fall salads.