×
  • Home
  • Daily
    • Composting
    • Container Gardening
    • Easy Healthy Recipes
    • Food Preservation
    • Garden Design
    • Garden Tools
    • Growing Fruits & Berries
    • Indoor Gardening
    • Pests & Diseases
    • Seeds & Seedlings
    • Soil & Fertilizer
    • Spice & Herb Gardening
    • Vegetable Gardening
    • Watering & Irrigation
  • Freebies
  • Videos
  • Magazines
    • Food Gardening Magazine
    • RecipeLion Magazine
  • Guides
  • Cookbooks
    • Beverages
    • Bakery
    • Breakfast
    • Appetizers
    • Salads & Dressings
    • Soups
    • Entrées
    • Side Dishes & Sauces
    • Desserts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Affiliate Program
  • Sponsor Program
  • Give a Gift
  • Privacy Policy & Terms of Use
  • Manage Account
  • Authors
  • Keyword Index
  • Join

Food Gardening Network

Growing Good Food at Home

Join
Mequoda Publishing Network
  • Daily
    • Composting
    • Container Gardening
    • Easy Healthy Recipes
    • Food Preservation
    • Garden Design
    • Garden Tools
    • Growing Fruits & Berries
    • Indoor Gardening
    • Pests & Diseases
    • Seeds & Seedlings
    • Soil & Fertilizer
    • Spice & Herb Gardening
    • Vegetable Gardening
    • Watering & Irrigation
  • Freebies
  • Videos
  • Magazines
    • Food Gardening Magazine
    • RecipeLion Magazine
  • Guides
  • Cookbooks
    • Beverages
    • Bakery
    • Breakfast
    • Appetizers
    • Salads & Dressings
    • Soups
    • Entrées
    • Side Dishes & Sauces
    • Desserts
  • Sign In
  • Search

Types of Lettuce

Gardening Guide: Leafy Lettuce

arrow-left Previous
Next arrow-right

Types of Lettuce

By Norann Oleson

Lettuce varieties growing in a garden

Lettuce varieties growing in a garden

When you go to the grocery store, you’re likely to find basic representatives of the various types of lettuce varieties: iceberg, Romaine, bibb, leaf. Hit up a farmer’s market, and suddenly your choices have expanded within each of those categories—who knew there were so many types of lettuce?

Well, there are, in fact, hundreds of varieties of lettuce you can grow—with delightful names like Tom Thumb, Green Deer Tongue, Red Rosie, and Igloo (which happens to be heat-resistant; go figure). As a home gardener, you will not run out of growing options with this many choices!

In North America, there are four main types of lettuce. Here’s an overview of the main types of lettuce and some representative members of each category:

Butterhead: This type of lettuce includes bibb and Boston lettuce. This type forms loose heads with oily leaves. You can pick the leaves as they grow, or harvest the whole loose head at once.

  • Buttercrunch
  • Black Seeded Simpson
  • Esmerelda
  • Four Seasons
  • Sangria
  • Winter Density

Crisphead (Iceberg): This is the big, heavy, round head of lettuce that is often the foundation of salads. It has a high water content and (usually) a low flavor level. But there are some varieties with flavor to rival the best loose-leaf lettuce!

  • Ice Queen
  • Red Iceburg
  • Billabong
  • Great Lakes
  • Ithaca
  • Summertime
  • Tom Thumb

Looseleaf: As its name describes, this lettuce grows with lots of loosely bunched leaves. This type is a favorite for mixed greens salads; using multiple types of looseleaf lettuce makes for quite a colorful and flavorful salad.

  • Red Salad Bowl
  • Slobolt
  • Green Ice
  • Ibis
  • New Red Fire
  • Oak Leaf
  • Vulcan

Romaine (Cos): Famous for Caesar salads, this type of lettuce grows in long, upright heads. It’s also popular as an addition to sandwiches. Some people even use it as a replacement for bread, taking advantage of the long leaf’s cupped shape to hold everything.

  • Vivian
  • Cimmaron
  • Cosmo Savoy
  • Green Towers
  • Little Gem
  • Parris Island
  • Valmaine

Other Lettuce Types
As is common in the classification of plants, there are some gardeners and botanists who will further divide these categories to get a little more specific. So, you might see references to French or Batavian lettuce, which is part butterhead, part crisphead.

Celtuce, or stem lettuce, is grown in China for—you guessed it—its stem. The leaves are discarded because they have a high latex content—not exactly tasty. You might be able to find stem lettuce at an Asian market; it’s not commonly grown in the U.S.

Which type of lettuce have you grown? Do you have a preference? Please lettuce know.

arrow-left Previous
Next arrow-right

Tags

lettuce

Comments
  • Todd M. May 23, 2023

    I’ve settled on the Romaine types. I like the thick, flavorful leaves and the strong ribs in each. I’ve enjoyed Green Ice, Jericho and Super Jericho. Right now, Teton and Parris White Cos are looking mighty good out-back, too. Tm.

    Reply

Click here to cancel reply.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  • Curator’s Corner
  • Introduction
  • Feature Articles

  • Types of Lettuce
  • Growing Lettuce from Seeds, Seedlings, or Cuttings
  • Sun and Soil Requirements for Growing Lettuce
  • Planting Lettuce in the Ground
  • Growing Lettuce in Containers
  • Watering, Weeding and Fertilizing your Lettuce Plants
  • Harvesting your Lettuce
  • Dealing with Lettuce Diseases
  • Dealing with Lettuce Pests
  • Essential Tools and Equipment for Growing and Enjoying Lettuce
  • Plant Profiles

  • Red Salad Bowl Lettuce (Leaf)
  • Slobolt Lettuce (Leaf)
  • Ice Queen Lettuce (Crisphead/Iceberg)
  • Red Iceberg Lettuce (Crisphead/Iceberg)
  • Vivian Lettuce (Romaine/Cos)
  • Cimmaron Lettuce (Romaine/Cos)
  • Buttercrunch Lettuce (Butterhead)
  • Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce (Butterhead)
  • Recipes

  • Grilled Garden Romaine
  • 3 Lettuce Cup Recipes
  • Light & Lovely Lettuce Soup
  • BLT Boat
  • Garlic Garden Lettuce Stir Fry
  • Additional Articles

  • Nutrition Facts about Lettuce
  • Home Remedies and Health Benefits of Lettuce
  • Resources about Lettuce
  • Lettuce Glossary
  • Related Articles

  • How to Store Leafy Greens and Other Produce Without Plastic
  • 5 of the Best Plants for Aeroponic Vegetable Gardens
  • How to Stop Lettuce Downy Mildew for Good
  • How Does Lettuce Get E. coli and How to Prevent it in a Home Garden
  • 17 Quick Growing Vegetables For Restless Gardeners
  • Easy Container Gardening for Beginners: How to Grow Your Own Salads
  • How to Keep Lettuce Tip Burn Away from Your Garden
  • 10 Benefits of Growing Lettuce in Pots
  • Different Types of Lettuce by Flavor

Enter Your Log In Credentials

This setting should only be used on your home or work computer.

  • Lost your password? Create New Password
  • No account? Sign up

Need Assistance?

Call Food Gardening Network Customer Service at
(800) 777-2658

Food Gardening Network is an active member of the following industry associations:

  • American Horticultural Society
  • GardenComm Logo
  • MCMA logo
  • Renewd logo
  • Manage Account
  • Join
  • About Food Gardening Network
  • Contact Us
  • Affiliate Program
  • Sponsor Program
  • Give a Gift
  • Privacy Policy & Terms of Use

Food Gardening Network
99 Derby Street, Suite 200
Hingham, MA 02043
support@foodgardening.mequoda.com

FREE E-Newsletter for You!

Discover how to grow, harvest, and eat good food from your own garden—with our FREE e-newsletter, delivered directly to your email inbox.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Powered by
Mequoda Publishing Network
copyright © 2023 Mequoda Systems, LLC

Food Gardening Network® and Food Gardening Magazine® are registered trademarks of Mequoda Systems, LLC.