Lettuce
Lactuca sativa
Also called Salad leaves, Cos and Butterhead
Garden plant · Herbs, veg & fruitCut the outer leaves and leave the heart; it goes on for weeks. Heat makes it bolt and turn bitter.
Care at a glance
- Ease
- Medium
- Water
- Every 2 daysWater the ground — water at the base, in the morning, not over the leaves.
- Light
- Sun, part shade in high summer
- Feed
- Every 21 days
- Humidity
- Average
- Hardiness
- Tender — no frost at all RHS H2, to 1°C
- Size
- 0.25 m tall · 0.3 m across
- Lifecycle
- Annual
- Origin
- Mediterranean and Middle East
Is it safe for pets and people?
PetsNothing recorded against it
No animal-poison authority lists this plant either way.
PeopleNot checked yet
Nobody has checked this one against a source for us yet, so treat it as unknown rather than safe.
Checked against ASPCA, Johnny's Selected Seeds and Clemson HGIC on 2026-07-31. Where a source says nothing, we say nothing.
A guide, not veterinary or medical advice. If a pet or a person has eaten a plant and you are worried, call your vet or doctor now — don’t wait for signs to appear. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
First signs of trouble
- A ragged notch chewed out of an outer leaf edge overnight and a silver trail across the leaf or the pot rim in the morning.Slugs and snails · pest
- Pale angular patches on the older outer leaves, squared off by the veins, with a fine white-grey mould on the underside beneath them.Lettuce downy mildew · disease
- The heart of the plant lifts and firms as a stem starts up through it; the leaf goes bitter within a few days of that.Bolting · disorder