Red oakleaf lettuce
Lactuca sativa 'Red Salad Bowl'. Family Asteraceae. Annual.
Also called Red Salad Bowl lettuce, Red oak leaf lettuce.
Lactuca sativa 'Red Salad Bowl' is a loose-leaf lettuce grown as an annual for its tender, deeply lobed, bronze-red leaves. It forms an open rosette rather than a firm head and suits salad beds, containers and repeated picking in cool weather.
At a glance
- Sun
- Full sun in cool weather; afternoon shade in warm weather helps reduce heat stress.
- Water
- Keep the root zone evenly moist but not waterlogged; shallow roots dry out quickly, especially in containers.
- Soil
- Fertile, moisture-retentive but well-drained soil, ideally pH 6.0-7.0.
- Height
- 0.5-1 ft (0.15-0.3 m), before flowering
- Spread
- 0.75-1 ft (0.23-0.3 m)
- Foliage
- Soft, deeply lobed, oak-shaped leaves with bronze-red to burgundy colouring over green bases; colour varies with light and temperature.
- Growth
- Fast; harvest-sized rosettes usually develop about 45-60 days after sowing in suitable conditions.
- Care needed
- Low
The year at a glance
- Low allergen
- Edible
| J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fruit | ||||||||||||
| Plant |
Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Toughness
- Needs looking after
Will it suit your garden?
Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.
Full sun is 6 or more hours of direct sun a day, part shade 3 to 6 hours, shade under 3.
How it grows
Planting day
0.5 ft (0.15 m)
After 1 year
0.7 ft (0.22 m)
full size
Full size in one season.
From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.
Good to know
- Cats and dogs
- Safe
- Growth rate
- Fast
Care
Jobs through the year
- WaterMar–May, Sep–Oct, every 3 days
- Water established plants when the surface starts drying; seedlings need closer checks.
- WaterJun–Aug, every 2 days
- Keep established plants evenly moist, adjusting for rain; do not allow repeated wilting.
- MulchApr–May, Aug–Sep
- Apply a thin clean mulch around established plants without covering their crowns.
- ProtectMar–Apr, Oct
- Use fleece or a cold frame against hard frost.
- ProtectJun–Aug
- Provide afternoon shade during hot spells and pause sowing in extreme heat.
- ProtectMar–May, Aug–Sep, every 7 days
- Check seedlings for slugs and snails; remove hiding places and use approved controls if needed.
- HarvestApr–Oct
- Pick outer leaves without damaging the centre, or cut whole rosettes before bolting.
- Water at soil level whenever the surface begins to dry; avoid repeated wilting.
- Mix mature compost into the bed before planting; feed container plants lightly with a balanced liquid fertiliser if growth slows.
- Thin or transplant seedlings to 8-12 in (20-30 cm) apart for full-sized rosettes.
- Apply a thin layer of clean mulch around established plants, keeping it away from the crown.
- Provide afternoon shade during warm spells and replace plants that bolt.
Pruning. No routine pruning is needed beyond harvesting and removing damaged outer leaves. Pull up plants once they send up a flowering stalk unless you want to save seed.
Harvest
Pick baby leaves when they are about 3-4 in (7.5-10 cm) long, often 25-35 days after sowing, or take outer leaves from larger plants while leaving the central growing point intact. For a whole rosette, cut just above soil level when it is well filled out, usually after 45-60 days; harvest before the centre elongates and the leaves become bitter.
Through the year
- Early spring
- Sow shallowly under cover or outdoors as soon as the soil is workable; protect young plants from severe frost.
- Spring
- Thin seedlings and make small repeat sowings every two to three weeks for a steady supply.
- Late spring
- Begin regular leaf picking and check beneath leaves for slugs and aphids.
- Summer
- Use afternoon shade and steady watering; pause sowing during extreme heat, when germination and leaf quality decline.
- Late summer
- Resume sowing as temperatures fall for an autumn crop.
- Autumn
- Harvest before hard freezes; use fleece or a cold frame to extend picking during mild weather.
In the garden
- Edge potager beds with low ribbons of red foliage beside green lettuces.
- Grow in wide containers near the kitchen for frequent leaf picking.
- Plant in repeated blocks with parsley and spring onions for contrasting leaf shapes.
- Fill temporary gaps in edible borders during the cool growing season.
Garden styles it suits: Potager (kitchen garden), Edible landscape, Cottage garden, Small-space, Family-friendly and Accessible garden.
Plant it with: Green leaf lettuce, Radishes, Spring onions, Carrots, Parsley and Calendula.
Wildlife: Slugs, snails, rabbits and deer may eat the leaves. Plants left to flower can provide some food for small visiting insects, but regularly harvested lettuce offers little wildlife habitat.
Problems to watch for
- Slugs and snails chew seedlings and leaves: remove hiding places, inspect after dark and use an approved iron-phosphate bait where needed.
- Aphids cluster in leaf folds: inspect regularly, rinse them off and remove badly infested leaves.
- Downy mildew causes pale patches above and whitish growth beneath leaves: improve spacing, water at soil level and remove affected plants.
- Bolting and bitter leaves follow heat, long days or water stress: grow mainly in cool seasons, keep moisture steady and replace bolting plants.
Safety
Not known to be toxic to people, cats, dogs or horses. The leaves are edible; large or unfamiliar servings can still cause digestive upset in animals.
Easily confused with
Green Salad Bowl lettuce (Lactuca sativa 'Salad Bowl')
It has similarly lobed oakleaf foliage but stays green rather than developing the characteristic bronze-red colouring.
Red Sails lettuce (Lactuca sativa 'Red Sails')
Its red-tinged leaves are broader and more ruffled, without the same deeply cut oakleaf outline.
The name
Lactuca refers to the plant's milky sap, sativa means cultivated, and oakleaf describes the resemblance of its lobed leaves to oak leaves.
Propagation. Grow from seed, sowing about 1/8 in (3 mm) deep and keeping the surface moist until germination. Germination is best in cool soil and may be poor above about 75°F (24°C); seed saved from isolated, open-pollinated plants generally comes true.
Checked against open data
- Accepted botanical name
- Lactuca sativa
- In the US and Canada
- Introduced in the lower 48 states, Pacific Basin, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands.
- Native range
- Iraq.
- Measured
- Average height 42 cm.
Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0), USDA PLANTS and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.
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