Australian Yellowleaf Looseleaf Lettuce (Lactuca sativa 'Australian Yellowleaf')
Lactuca sativa 'Australian Yellowleaf'

Annual in the Asteraceae Family
Lactuca sativa, garden lettuce, is a fast-growing, cool-season annual grown for its tender, mild-flavored leaves. Plants form a low rosette of foliage that is harvested at the leaf or head stage, well before the plant sends up a flowering stalk. Left unharvested in hot weather, lettuce bolts: the rosette elongates into an erect stem topped with small, non-showy yellow flowers, after which the leaves turn bitter and the plant's useful life ends. Lettuce grows best in the cool temperatures of spring and fall and struggles through summer heat, which triggers bolting.

Pros

  • Fast to mature, often ready within 40 to 55 days
  • Thrives in cool spring and fall weather
  • Easy to grow from direct-sown seed
  • Can be harvested repeatedly as a cut-and-come-again crop

Cons

  • Bolts and turns bitter quickly in summer heat
  • Shallow roots need consistently moist soil
  • Shorter harvest window than many vegetables
 

Plant Data

Mature Size 6 - 12 inches tall. 6 - 12 inches wide.
Sun Exposure Partial Shade - Full Sun
Moisture Tolerance Medium
Zones 2a - 11b (Usually hardy to -50° F)
Tags Annual, Full Sun, Medium, Medium, Partial Shade, Partial Sun
Bloom Period Flowers not showy

Photos of This with...

Atomic Orange Garden Mum, Autumn Gold Willow-Leaved Sunflower, Midnight Lady Bigleaf Ligularia, New Look Dusty Miller, Golden Fleece Goldenrod,
 
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Pricing and Availability History

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Field-Grown vs. Greenhouse-Grown Plants

Plants which are well-adapted to our local climate are most often field-grown (outside). Field-grown plants are generally cheaper and have the advantage of already somewhat acclimated to our cold winters, but that means they’re not artificially far along in the spring and tend to bloom at the normal time in our area.

Spring annuals and tender perennials are typically grown in Greenhouses so they can be ready and luxurious exactly when customers want them. Some perennials are also “forced” into early bloom in greenhouses. In May, there can be a very big difference between field-grown and greenhouse-grown plants of the same type. The latter typically look good right away (so they’re a great choice where that’s important), but we typically pay a premium for it.


Estimated Recipe Cost

The cost of this recipe's ingredients will vary depending on the season and the sizes and varieties you select.


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To secure the best prices for club members and make sure we know the current plants available from each nursery, we take orders only a couple of times a month.

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No Pricing or Availability Right Now

We order from a rotating cast of the best nurseries in the Great Lakes region. It looks like we've offered this plant in the past, but the nurseries we're working with this week don't appear to have it in stock at the moment.

Our goal is to bring as many plants together under "one roof" as possible, so we'll try hard to make it available again in the future!