Variety field guide
What to expect from Red Sails Lettuce
Red Sails is an annual lettuce selection grown for salad greens, baby leaf or heads, succession planting, containers, and seed saving.
Read the complete product descriptionTraits, flavor, garden use, variety notes, and the full catalog record
Lettuce Seeds - Leaf - Red Sails is a vibrant looseleaf variety celebrated for its deep red, frilled leaves and tender texture. Lettuce Seeds - Red Sails produces fast-growing, upright plants with a mild, slightly sweet flavor and attractive color that enhances fresh salads. This variety is known for its bolt resistance and adaptability, allowing for extended harvests in varying conditions.
About Red Sails
Red Sails is an annual selection of lettuce, with a rosette habit and an expected height or spread of 7–12 in. It is best suited to salad greens, baby leaf or heads, succession planting, containers, and seed saving. Notable traits include red coloring; harvest baby leaf, loose heads, or mature heads at the listed stage; mild to richly textured leaves according to type.
Treat Red Sails as a named seed line with its own observations, not as a generic stand-in for the entire lettuce crop.
History and provenance
Leafy greens have been selected for rosette form, head type, color, texture, bitterness, season, and bolt resistance. Mixtures and market classes should not be given a single invented pedigree, and forcing chicory, endive, lettuce, and spinach remain botanically distinct crops. Lettuce Seeds - Leaf - Red Sails is a modern heirloom-style variety that reflects both ancient lettuce domestication and more recent breeding efforts focused on color, flavor, and adaptability. Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) has a long cultivation history dating back over 2,500 years to the Mediterranean region and parts of the Near East. Early wild relatives were likely grown initially for their seeds, which were used for oil, before gradual selection shifted toward leaf production. Ancient Egyptians are among the first known cultivators of lettuce, and they played a key role in transforming it into a leafy vegetable crop. As lettuce spread into Greece and Rome, it became more widely consumed as a fresh vegetable. Roman growers in particular began selecting for softer leaves, reduced bitterness, and improved texture. Over centuries, this led to the development of distinct lettuce types, including looseleaf, romaine, butterhead, and crisphead. Loose-leaf types can be harvested leaf by leaf or cut young for repeated salad harvests.
Growing facts
| Scientific name | Lactuca sativa L. |
|---|---|
| Life cycle | Annual |
| Maturity | 30-39 Days |
| Germination | 3-7 Days at 45–60 °F |
| Seed depth | 1/8 in |
| Plant height / spread | 7–12 in |
| Growth habit | Rosette |
| Spacing | 8 in between plants; 18 in between rows |
| Sunlight | Full - Partial Sun |
| Soil | Loamy; pH 6.0–6.5 |
| Water | Moderate |
| Support | No-Support |
Starting Red Sails from seed
Sow 1/8 in deep and keep the seed zone evenly moist. Expect emergence in 3-7 Days when the seed-zone temperature is near 45–60 °F. Germination preparation: Direct sow into a prepared, weed-free seedbed; avoid disturbing developing roots or dense stands. Light requirement: Light aids germination; barely cover. Soaking: None required. Stratification: None required. Scarification: None required.
Planting and care
Plant during spring and provide full - partial sun. Space plants 8 in apart with 18 in between rows. Use loamy with a pH near 6.0–6.5, and follow a moderate watering plan. Support requirement: No-Support. Frost response: Semi-Hardy. Good container fit with drainage, even moisture, and the listed spacing
Harvest and use
Approximately 30-39 Days, from direct sowing or transplanting to the listed baby-leaf or head stage. Weather, soil temperature, and planting method can shift the actual harvest date. Harvest: Harvest baby leaf, loose heads, or mature heads at the listed stage. Uses: Salad greens, baby leaf or heads, succession planting, containers, and seed saving. Flavor: mild to richly textured leaves according to type. Seed saving: Primarily self-pollinated annual. Best uses include salad greens, baby leaf or heads, succession planting, containers, and seed saving. Flavor and eating quality: mild to richly textured leaves according to type.
Saving seed
Select several healthy, true-to-type Red Sails plants that match the expected rosette habit and overall plant form. Avoid saving seed only from the earliest or largest individual unless that is your deliberate selection goal. Pollination system: Primarily self-pollinated annual. Crossing is less frequent than in brassicas but can occur at close range. Separate compatible varieties that may flower together, or use cages, barriers, hand pollination, or another documented control appropriate to the crop. Allow selected plants to pass the eating stage and reach full botanical seed maturity. Harvest only when seed heads, pods, or fruits have matured enough for sound seed development. Clean the seed carefully, dry it thoroughly away from direct heat, label the lot with variety and year, and store it cool, dark, and dry. Test germination before an important planting or distribution season.
Common problems
Common concerns: Aphids, slugs, leaf miners, caterpillars, damping-off, bottom rot, and premature bolting under stress. Management: Use clean beds, even moisture, spacing for airflow, crop rotation, and harvest before heat or crowding lowers quality. Diagnosis note: Similar symptoms can have different causes. Compare plants of the same age, record weather and irrigation, and use local Extension or diagnostic support before applying a control.
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions - Red Sails
When is Red Sails ready? Use 30-39 Days. Approximately 30-39 Days, from direct sowing or transplanting to the listed baby-leaf or head stage. Weather, soil temperature, and planting method can shift the actual harvest date.
How long does germination take? Expect 3-7 Days at about 45–60 °F. Cooler, hotter, crusted, saturated, or dry seedbeds can slow emergence.
How large does it grow? Expect about 7–12 in with a rosette habit. Space plants 8 in apart and rows 18 in apart. Support: No-Support.
Can it grow in a container? Good container fit with drainage, even moisture, and the listed spacing Use a container with drainage and enough volume to maintain the listed spacing and steady moisture.
Can I save seed? Primarily self-pollinated annual. Keep compatible varieties isolated and allow selected plants to reach full seed maturity.
