VegetableLettuce
Sweet Valentine Lettuce
Sweet Valentine is a compact romaine lettuce that brings both beauty and flavor to the spring and fall garden. Its outer leaves blush with a lovely pinkish-red tinge against light green inner leaves, making it as visually striking as it is delicious. Maturing in 50 to 65 days, this open-pollinated heirloom grows in an upright, crisp bunch that reaches just 8 to 10 inches tall, fitting neatly into small spaces, containers, or tight garden rows. Hardy across zones 3 through 9 and known for resisting the urge to bolt even as temperatures warm, Sweet Valentine offers gardeners a reliable, heat-tolerant lettuce that doesn't sacrifice flavor or tenderness.
Photo © True Leaf Market
Growing Conditions
USDA Zone
3-9
Sunlight
Full Sun
Soil
Well-drained, Fertile Loam With Consistent Moisture
Growth Stats
10 in
Height
TypeUpright
Spacing
12
Plant Profile
Sunlight
Full Sun
Water
—
Zones
3-9
Size
10in H x ?in W
Growth
—
Care
High
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Highlights
Sweet Valentine's resistance to bolting sets it apart in warm-season growing, a rare trait that lets you harvest quality leaves well into early summer without the bitterness that plagues other romaines. The combination of mild, fresh flavor with that distinctive pinkish-red coloring makes it equally at home on the dinner plate and in the ornamental edible garden. Its compact growth habit and 12-inch spacing requirement mean you can tuck multiple plants into containers, raised beds, or narrow garden strips without the sprawl typical of other romaine varieties.
Common Uses
Sweet Valentine shines in fresh salads, where its mild, sweet flavor and crisp texture provide the foundation for everything from simple green salads to composed plates. The tender inner leaves can be used whole in salads, while larger outer leaves work well torn into wedges or chopped. Its compact size also makes it convenient for single or small-household meals where a whole head of lettuce would otherwise go to waste.
Growing Timeline
No timeline data available yet for this variety.
Care Instructions
Start Indoors
Start seeds indoors 4 to 6 weeks before your last spring frost, sowing them at a shallow depth in moist seed-starting mix. Keep soil temperature between 60 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit for reliable germination, which typically occurs within 7 to 10 days.
Transplant Outdoors
Transplant seedlings outdoors after hardening off for 7 to 10 days once soil temperatures reach at least 50 degrees Fahrenheit and frost danger has passed. Space transplants 12 inches apart with 18 inches between rows. Handle seedlings gently to avoid damaging the developing root systems.
Direct Sow
Direct sow seeds outdoors in spring as soon as soil can be worked, and again in late summer for a fall crop. Sow seeds shallowly and keep the seedbed consistently moist until seedlings emerge. Thin seedlings to 12-inch spacing once they develop their first true leaves.
Harvesting
Begin harvesting outer leaves once the plant reaches 6 to 8 inches tall, typically 50 to 59 days from sowing, or wait to harvest the entire head when it reaches full maturity and feels firm and crisp to the touch. For a continuous harvest, pick outer leaves from the base of the plant, allowing the center to continue growing and producing new leaves. The distinctive pinkish-red coloring on outer leaves signals maturity and peak flavor.
Growing Calendar
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Companion Planting
Ecology & Traits
Edible
Scientific Classification
Lactuca sativa
Family
Asteraceae
Genus
Lactuca
Growth Habit
Upright
Native Status
L48 (I)PR (I)VI (I)CAN (W)
History & Origin
“Sweet Valentine descends from the romaine lettuce family, a type with roots stretching back centuries to the Mediterranean. This particular cultivar is an open-pollinated heirloom variety, preserved and passed through generations of gardeners who recognized its superior heat tolerance and sweet flavor. The variety's development reflects a long tradition of selecting for traits that make lettuce more adaptable to variable climates and more resilient to bolting, addressing one of the classic challenges home gardeners face when growing romaine in transitional seasons.”