UK plant library · vegetable

Lettuce

Lactuca sativa · Asteraceae

Quick, easy salad crop; cut-and-come-again

Photo: GT1976, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Sun: Full sun to light shade (shade in hot summers)
Soil: Fertile, moisture-retentive
Soil pH: About pH 6.0-7.0
Water: Regular watering; prone to bolting in dry heat
Hardiness: Hardy to tender depending on type; winter varieties need cover
Height and spread: 15-30cm

Guv's tipSow little and often from late March to late July for lettuce right through to winter. Keep it watered, or it'll bolt in dry heat.

Through the year

When to plant

Sow outdoors late Mar-late Jul for summer and autumn crops, early Aug for winter under cloches, and Sep-Oct for winter types under cover. Early indoor sowing in Feb; plant out from Mar onwards

Harvest or flowering

Harvest late spring through to winter with successional sowing

Pruning

None

Making more plants

Seed

Watch out for

Pest

Aphids

Look for: Colonies of small green/black insects on shoot tips, sticky honeydew, distorted leaves

What to do: Squash or wash off, encourage ladybirds and other predators; insecticidal soap if severe

Pest

Slugs and snails

Look for: Irregular holes in leaves, slime trails, seedlings eaten

What to do: Hand-pick at night, barriers, beer traps, encourage predators; ferric phosphate pellets sparingly

Disease

Grey mould

Botrytis cinerea

Look for: Fuzzy grey mould on flowers, fruit or stems, rotting

What to do: Remove affected parts, improve ventilation, avoid overcrowding

Disease

Downy mildew

Various oomycetes

Look for: Yellow patches above, grey/purple growth below leaves

What to do: Remove affected leaves, improve air flow, avoid wetting foliage

Always read and follow the label on any treatment, and check it is approved for use where you live.

Safety and spread

Pets and people: Sap contains lactucin and lactucopicrin and can occasionally cause contact dermatitis. Not on the ASPCA list

Weed risk: None known

Checked against two or more reputable gardening sources. How we check our facts

Growing somewhere else? See this plant for the USA and Australia.

Keep it by the back door

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Printable pest and disease charts with real photographs, and all 50 UK plants in one book.

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