Perennial Lettuce

Hi everyone,

Yesterday I brought a packet of what claim to be perennial head lettuce seeds (well, seed tape). Hopefully the picture should be attached. I did not know that this was a thing. I thought all lactuca sativa varieties were annual. I brought it just because I was intrigued by the perennial claim.

Having done a little googling, the internet seems to be saying that although there is a lactuca perennis plant, there are no real perennial lettuces, just substitutes like sorrel etc.

Thought I would come to the smartest bunch of people I know when it comes to things like this, and just ask you lovely people. 1- is perennial head lettuce a real thing? 2- If it is, then how do you harvest the head without it dying? Do you have to just take the outer leaves as if it’s a cut and come again?

Thank you in advance for your wisdom 🙏

I know very little about it but I'd put my money on a typo by the seed packet artist.

Mike Haasl wrote:I know very little about it but I'd put my money on a typo by the seed packet artist.

Thanks for your reply Mike. Could be, it’s a European seed company that the seeds are from (brought from Lidl - not sure if they have Lidl in the states. It’s kinda like Aldi) and a lot of their seed packets aren’t always translated v well into English. But they’re cheap seeds and grow fine, so I buy them anyway.

Managed to find a listing online for the variety name calling it an annual, but also giving the spread it could achieve in 1-2 years, which would suggest a possibility of it being biennial maybe?

Tbh I wouldn’t be mad if it is an annual, I eat a lot of salads, it will get used. But you better believe I’m going to be experimenting to see if it can do more than 1 year 🤓🌱

In the right conditions maybe you could keep any lettuce “perennial” by continually pinching off its attempt at a seed stalk?  The plant would still die over winter in temperate climates, but it could probably be kept productive for quite a while indoors or in a mild climate.

Mk Neal wrote:In the right conditions maybe you could keep any lettuce “perennial” by continually pinching off its attempt at a seed stalk?  The plant would still die over winter in temperate climates, but it could probably be kept productive for quite a while indoors or in a mild climate.

I know they say you can do that with kale. Never attempted it, but would be interesting to attempt for science, if nothing else. I don’t know if it would be beneficial necessarily tho. Might be easier to let it bolt and get all the seeds, which would grow many lettuces, rather than fight nature to keep just one plant alive.

Heather Gardener wrote:

I know they say you can do that with kale. Never attempted it, but would be interesting to attempt for science, if nothing else. I don’t know if it would be beneficial necessarily tho. Might be easier to let it bolt and get all the seeds, which would grow many lettuces, rather than fight nature to keep just one plant alive.

I think you’re right,

Heather Gardener wrote:

Mk Neal wrote:In the right conditions maybe you could keep any lettuce “perennial” by continually pinching off its attempt at a seed stalk?  The plant would still die over winter in temperate climates, but it could probably be kept productive for quite a while indoors or in a mild climate.

I know they say you can do that with kale. Never attempted it, but would be interesting to attempt for science, if nothing else. I don’t know if it would be beneficial necessarily tho.

Bingo. Kale doesn't usually bolt for me (zone 9b) but after a certain point it either rots or just poops out (usually about 2 years in).
I do try this with everything, and most plants can get pushed to about 2 years. Lettuce is not one.

If lettuce doesn't get whacked by the occasional frost we get here, it bolts very quickly in the warmer seasons. I've never had lettuce stay more than a few months. It also just doesn't grow enough that you can take off too much. I grow romaine, oak leaf, and a few other kinds and I can pull leaves maybe 3 times before the plant is done. Romaine maybe lasts the most, and I think is the best kind I can grow here in terms of nutrition, duration, hardiness.

Maybe if you live in some sweet spot where it's 10C all year round....

Tereza Okava wrote:
Bingo. Kale doesn't usually bolt for me (zone 9b) but after a certain point it either rots or just poops out (usually about 2 years in).
I do try this with everything, and most plants can get pushed to about 2 years. Lettuce is not one.

If lettuce doesn't get whacked by the occasional frost we get here, it bolts very quickly in the warmer seasons. I've never had lettuce stay more than a few months. It also just doesn't grow enough that you can take off too much. I grow romaine, oak leaf, and a few other kinds and I can pull leaves maybe 3 times before the plant is done. Romaine maybe lasts the most, and I think is the best kind I can grow here in terms of nutrition, duration, hardiness.

Maybe if you live in some sweet spot where it's 10C all year round....

I’d argue it felt about 10C most of last year in Yorkshire. Mostly it was just wet and cloudy. My baby leaf mustards and chard did ok as salad last year. Did some full size chard that I planted out n autumn and it’s stood all winter unprotected. Pak choi has done well too, still tender even though it’s bolting now.