Lettuce Lolla Rossa Seeds

Lettuce Lolla Rossa Seeds produce crisp, frilly red-and-green looseleaf foliage with a fresh, slightly bitter flavour. This description preserves the exact packet spelling and scopes the product as a Lactuca sativa looseleaf retail line without inferring a breeder series.

Grow it successfully: Read the Lolla Rossa section of the South African Lettuce Grow Guide.

Quick Grow Facts

• Plant Type: Cool-season leafy vegetable annual
• Scientific Name: Lactuca sativa
• Exact Type: Packet-labelled “Lolla Rossa” red frilly looseleaf retail line; no corrected cultivar spelling or breeder series inferred
• Seed Form: Raw seed
• Pretreatment: None; sow as supplied and do not soak, scarify or chill
• General Sowing Time: Use a cool-season window; the packet says spring to autumn, but avoid peak heat and hot seedbeds
• Position: Full sun in cool weather; light afternoon shade as temperatures rise
• Sow Depth: 3 mm
• Germination Light: Light-favoured; use only a fine 3 mm cover and do not use blackout conditions
• Germination Temperature: 15–20°C
• Germination: 7–14 days
• Spacing: 30 × 30 cm for full looseleaf plants
• Transplanting: Move rooted plugs at several true leaves, commonly about 4–5 weeks; harden gradually and keep the crown at soil level
• Days to Harvest: 60–90 days for full plants; clean outer leaves may be taken earlier once plants are established
• Growth Type: Open red frilly looseleaf rosette
• Seed Quantity: 2 g raw seed: approximately 1 300 seeds; 20 g raw seed: approximately 13 000 seeds

Why Grow This Variety

• Copper-red and bright-green leaves add strong colour contrast.
• Frilly foliage gives salads a textured appearance.
• Crisp leaves have a fresh, slightly bitter flavour.
• Looseleaf growth supports picking leaves as needed.

Garden Uses

Use Lolla Rossa in mixed salads, as a garnish, in edible borders or in containers close to the kitchen.

Growing Notes

• Sow thinly in a fine seedbed or one to two seeds per module at exactly 3 mm.
• Keep at 15–20°C and evenly moist but never saturated for the full 7–14-day window.
• Transplant without burying the crown and allow 30 cm for a full plant.
• Pick clean outer leaves while leaving the centre intact, or cut the mature rosette before bolting.

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