De Russie is a Russian heirloom lettuce that brings cold-climate resilience and distinctive color to the garden. Its olive-green, leafy heads display light bronze tones and purplish-red speckles, creating a striking appearance that looks almost rain-kissed. The variety matures in 90 days and tolerates frost well, making it a natural choice for cool-season growing. Its crisp, crunchy texture and slow bolting habit reward patient gardeners with reliable harvests even as temperatures drop.
Full Sun
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Moderate
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De Russie's bronzed and speckled foliage is visually striking, but the real appeal is its cold tolerance and refusal to bolt prematurely in cool weather. The leaves stay genuinely crisp and crunchy right through the growing season, and the slow-to-bolt character gives you a longer harvest window than many lettuces. Its Russian heritage shows in every trait: bred for climates where cold comes early and stays late, it thrives when other varieties surrender to the season.
De Russie is grown as a fresh salad green, where its crisp, crunchy texture shines in fresh dishes. The distinctive coloring also makes it visually striking in mixed greens or as a focal point in composed salads where appearance matters as much as taste.
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Direct sow seeds outdoors in spring or fall when soil can be worked. Sow 7 to 10 days before your ideal planting date; seeds germinate in 7 to 10 days when soil temperatures are between 60 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. In cold climates, time fall sowings so the crop matures before the first hard freeze.
Harvest De Russie at 90 days from sowing, or when the leafy head reaches a size you prefer. Cut the entire head at the base with a sharp knife, or harvest individual outer leaves as needed for a longer picking season. The slow-bolting habit means you're not under pressure to harvest at a precise moment; the lettuce will remain tender and crisp even as it matures.
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“This heirloom carries its origin story in its name. De Russie emerged from Russian agricultural traditions, where cool-season vegetables were developed through generations of selection for hardiness and frost tolerance. The variety preserves that regional expertise; Russian gardeners bred lettuce that could withstand the climate's demands, and those traits remain embedded in the plant today. Seed savers and heirloom growers have maintained De Russie as a living link to that horticultural heritage, ensuring its cold-hardy character survives for contemporary gardeners.”