Best Lettuce Varieties for UK Gardens

The best lettuce variety depends on what you want from it. Little Gem is the safest all-rounder for UK gardens. Add a loose-leaf type for picking and a hardy one for winter, and you can have salad for most of the year.

This guide is about choosing the right packet. For sowing, watering and slug-proofing, see the step-by-step guide to growing lettuce and salad leaves.

Which lettuce varieties are best for UK gardens?

Little Gem is the best single choice, but one variety can’t cover every season. Lettuce reacts quickly to heat and day length, so pick by the job you need it to do.

Sowing months are a guide for southern and central England. In the North and Scotland, start a couple of weeks later in spring and a little earlier in late summer.

Upright cos, round crisphead, soft butterhead and frilly red loose-leaf: growing a few types gives different textures and spreads the risk of bolting.

Best lettuce for pots and small gardens

Little Gem is the most useful lettuce for small spaces. Each plant makes a compact, sweet cos heart that fits a sandwich or a salad for two. Plants need only 15-20cm between them, so four fit in a 30cm trough.

Tom Thumb is even smaller. It’s a little butterhead about the size of a tennis ball, ideal for window boxes and shallow pots.

Both are quick to mature, so you’re rarely left with half a big head going limp in the fridge. Sow a few every three weeks for a steady supply. The container vegetable gardening guide covers pot sizes and compost.

Which cos lettuce has the best flavour?

Lobjoits Green is the classic full-sized cos for flavour and crunch. It has thick, juicy ribs and a tall, dense heart. Little Gem is the smaller, sweeter cos for tighter spaces.

Big cos needs room. Give each plant about 30cm each way. Crowded plants trap damp air, which invites lettuce downy mildew. Sow in spring so heads mature before the hottest weather. Cut the whole plant at the base once the heart feels firm.

Cut a full-sized cos at the base once the heart feels firm. Spacing plants about 30cm apart keeps air moving round them.

Which lettuce is least likely to bolt in summer?

Loose-leaf lettuces such as Salad Bowl and crispheads such as Webbs Wonderful cope with summer best. Butterheads tend to bolt first. No lettuce is completely bolt-proof in a long hot spell.

Bolting means the plant runs up to flower. The leaves turn bitter before you even see the flower stalk. To delay it:

• Plant summer lettuce where it gets morning sun and afternoon shade.
• Keep the soil evenly moist and mulch round the plants.
• Sow small batches often, so young plants are always coming on.

Lettuce seed often sulks in hot compost. In a heatwave, sow in the evening or start trays in a cool, shady spot rather than a hot greenhouse. If a plant tastes bitter, pull it and sow again. Lettuce is one of the vegetables that cope with some shade, which helps in midsummer.

Taller crops such as beans give summer lettuce some welcome afternoon shade, which helps delay bolting.

What is the best cut-and-come-again lettuce?

Salad Bowl is the most dependable picking lettuce. Its soft, oak-shaped leaves stay tender and it’s slow to bolt. Red Salad Bowl and Lollo Rossa add colour, though the green types usually grow faster.

Pick the outer leaves and leave the centre growing. A pot of Salad Bowl keeps giving for weeks.

Start picking outer leaves at about 8-10cm long. Leave the centre to keep growing, and the plant will keep producing for several weeks. A 30cm pot holds about four plants, enough for a few side salads a week. Grow green and red in separate clumps rather than a mixed scatter, so thinning and picking stay simple.

Which lettuce grows best through winter?

Winter Density, Arctic King and Valdor are the reliable choices for cold months. Winter Density is a crisp semi-cos. Arctic King and Valdor are hardy butterheads.

Sow from mid-August to early September. Earlier sowings may bolt in late summer heat. Later ones may stay too small before the light fades. Growth almost stops in December and January, then picks up again as days lengthen, giving fresh heads in early spring.

Cover plants with fleece, a cloche or a cold frame in hard weather, and keep slugs in check. Pick a few outer leaves in mild spells. The winter salad guide has a full sowing plan, and corn salad is a tough partner crop for the same bed.

A fleece tunnel keeps the worst of the frost off August-sown winter lettuce. Growth is slow in deep winter but picks up again in spring.

A simple variety mix for a whole season

Three or four varieties will cover most of the year. Here’s an easy plan for a small bed or a few pots:

Sow a short row or a few modules every three weeks rather than a whole packet at once. The succession planting guide explains the timing in more detail. For other easy crops to slot in between, browse the growing veg hub.

Common mistakes when choosing lettuce varieties

• Sowing butterheads for midsummer. They bolt fastest in heat. Switch to loose-leaf or crisphead types from June.
• Growing only big heads in a small space. A large cos or crisphead takes a 30cm square. Little Gem gives more meals from the same ground.
• Sowing summer varieties in autumn. Ordinary summer lettuces sulk in the cold. Use a proper winter variety for August and September sowings.
• Relying on one variety. If it bolts or the slugs find it, you’ve got nothing. Two or three types spread the risk.

Now you’ve picked your varieties, keep the seedlings safe with the guide to getting rid of slugs naturally.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best lettuce variety to grow in the UK?

Little Gem is the best all-round lettuce for most UK gardens. Its small, sweet hearts grow quickly and fit pots and narrow beds. Add Lobjoits Green if you want a bigger, crunchier cos.

Which lettuce is best for summer heat?

Loose-leaf types like Salad Bowl cope with summer best. Crispheads such as Webbs Wonderful also hold well. Give any summer lettuce some afternoon shade and steady water, because no variety is completely bolt-proof.

Which lettuce grows best in pots?

Little Gem and Tom Thumb are the best lettuces for pots. Both are compact and form neat hearts. Space them 15-20cm apart in a pot at least 20cm deep and keep the compost moist.

What is the best cut-and-come-again lettuce?

Salad Bowl is the most dependable cut-and-come-again lettuce. Pick the biggest outer leaves and leave the centre growing. One sowing can keep cropping for several weeks.

Which lettuce can I grow over winter?

Winter Density, Arctic King and Valdor are good winter lettuces. Sow them in August or early September. Cover with fleece, a cloche or a cold frame, and pick outer leaves in mild spells.

Is it worth growing more than one lettuce variety?

Yes, two or three types give a longer, steadier harvest. They mature at different speeds and don’t all bolt in the same hot week. A mix also gives you different textures in the salad bowl.