Crisphead Lettuce
Ice Queen Lettuce, also known by its French name Reine des Glaces, is a crisphead lettuce that thrives in cool conditions and delivers exceptional quality from spring through fall. This heirloom variety grows in 80 days to a full, crisp head with distinctive frilled outer leaves in a darker green shade. It tolerates frost well and excels as an early or late-season crop in zones 4-9, making it invaluable for gardeners who want lettuce when others struggle to grow it. The variety earned its reputation as widely regarded among the best crisphead types for its clean, slightly bitter interior and versatile outer leaves that can be harvested young for salads or left to mature into a dense, crisp head.
Full Sun
—
4-9
?in H x ?in W
Annual
Moderate
Hover over chart points for details
Ice Queen's cold tolerance sets it apart in the lettuce world; plant it in early spring or late summer when most lettuces bolt or struggle. The darker green color and subtle bitterness of the interior leaves offer more character than typical iceberg types, while the mild, frilly outer leaves give you flexibility to harvest baby greens or wait for a full head. Its ability to produce reliably in zones 4-9 makes it a gardener's safety net during the shoulder seasons when temperatures matter most.
Ice Queen functions as both a salad green and a full-size crisphead depending on your harvest timing. Harvest the outer frilled leaves early for tender baby greens in mixed salads, or allow the plant to mature for a dense, crisp head suitable for composed salads, sandwiches, and wraps. The slightly bitter notes of the interior leaves add complexity to vinaigrettes and work well in green salads where a more nuanced flavor balances creamy dressings.
Start seeds indoors 4-6 weeks before your last spring frost. Sow seeds on moist potting mix at 60-70 degrees Fahrenheit and expect germination in 7-10 days. Keep seedlings under bright light and maintain cool conditions around 65 degrees to prevent leggy growth. Transplant outdoors once seedlings have 2-3 true leaves.
Harden off seedlings over 7-10 days by gradually exposing them to outdoor light and temperature fluctuations. Transplant into garden soil when daytime temperatures remain above 50 degrees, spacing plants 8 inches apart. Ice Queen's frost tolerance allows transplanting earlier than heat-loving lettuce varieties, making it ideal for cool spring weather.
Direct sow seeds in garden beds 2-3 weeks before your last spring frost, or 8-10 weeks before the first fall frost. Sow seeds 1/4 inch deep, keeping soil moist until germination occurs in 7-10 days. Direct sowing works especially well for Ice Queen since the cool spring and fall conditions favor steady germination without bolting.
Begin harvesting outer frilled leaves once the plant reaches 4-6 inches tall, cutting them at the base or snapping them off by hand for tender baby greens. For a full crisphead, wait 80 days from planting until the head feels firm and dense when gently squeezed. Harvest in the morning when leaves are most turgid and crisp, cutting the entire head at soil level with a sharp knife. Ice Queen reaches full maturity in 80 days from direct seeding, and the dense, tight head indicates peak harvest time.
Enter your ZIP code to see a personalized growing calendar for this plant.
“Ice Queen carries a French heritage reflected in its alternate name, Reine des Glaces. This heirloom variety represents generations of selection for cold tolerance and crisp texture, preserved and passed down through seed saving traditions. Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds catalogs it as a superior crisphead type, recognizing its place in the broader story of lettuce cultivation where gardeners in cool climates developed varieties specifically to extend the growing season beyond the typical warm-weather window.”