VegetableLettuce
Okayama Salad Lettuce
Okayama Salad Lettuce is a Japanese heirloom butterhead variety that matures in just 50-55 days, offering gardeners a quick path to tender, delicate greens. This early-maturing cool-season annual grows into compact rosettes reaching 5-10 inches tall, forming small but deeply flavorful heads with deep green leaves. Hardy across zones 2-10, it thrives in full sun and handles moderate cold well, making it a reliable choice for spring and fall gardens where its true character emerges.
Photo © True Leaf Market
Growing Conditions
USDA Zone
2-10
Sunlight
Full Sun
Soil
Well-drained, Fertile Loam With Consistent Moisture
Growth Stats
10 in
Height
TypeRosette
Spacing
14
Plant Profile
Sunlight
Full Sun
Water
—
Zones
2-10
Size
10in H x ?in W
Growth
—
Care
High
Hover over chart points for details
Highlights
Deep green leaves unfurl into small, tender heads that pack surprising flavor into a compact package. This Japanese variety earns its reputation for delicate taste and surprising heat tolerance for a butterhead type, with moderate resistance to bolting that keeps it productive even as temperatures climb. The quick 50-55 day harvest means you can succession plant it throughout the season, capturing multiple crops before summer peaks.
Common Uses
Okayama Salad Lettuce is eaten fresh in salads where its tender leaves and delicate flavor shine without heavy dressings. The small heads are ideal for individual portions or intimate meals, and the leaves' delicate texture makes them particularly suited to simple preparations that highlight their natural sweetness. They work beautifully in Japanese-inspired salads, as a bed for sashimi or sushi accompaniments, or simply dressed with light vinaigrette to let the flavor speak.
Growing Timeline
No timeline data available yet for this variety.
Care Instructions
Start Indoors
You can start seeds indoors 4-6 weeks before your last spring frost, though this butterhead variety is equally successful with direct sowing. If starting indoors, sow seeds in cool conditions and transplant seedlings that are 4-6 weeks old once they have developed a true leaf or two.
Transplant Outdoors
Harden off seedlings by gradually exposing them to outdoor conditions over 7-10 days. Transplant when soil temperature reaches 50-60 degrees Fahrenheit, spacing plants 14 inches apart in rows set 12 inches apart. Handle seedlings gently to avoid damage to the delicate leaves.
Direct Sow
Direct sow seeds outdoors in early spring as soon as soil can be worked, or in late summer for fall harvest. Sow seeds thinly where they will grow, keeping the soil consistently moist until germination occurs.
Harvesting
Harvest Okayama Salad Lettuce when heads feel firm and full, typically 50-55 days after planting. You can harvest individual outer leaves as they mature, or cut entire heads at soil level in the morning when leaves are crisp and full of moisture. Heads are small but compact; harvest before any sign of bolting begins, which typically signals the beginning of the end of harvest season.
Growing Calendar
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Companion Planting
Pests & Diseases
Ecology & Traits
Edible
Scientific Classification
Lactuca sativa ‘Okayama Salad’
Family
Asteraceae
Genus
Lactuca
Growth Habit
Rosette
Native Status
L48 (I)PR (I)VI (I)CAN (W)
History & Origin
“Okayama Salad Lettuce carries the heritage of Japanese heirloom vegetable breeding, a tradition steeped in careful selection for regional climates and culinary preferences. The variety's name traces to the Okayama Prefecture region of Japan, where such butterhead lettuces were developed to balance the delicate flavor prized in Japanese cuisine with the practical need for crops that wouldn't bolt in challenging growing conditions. This careful regional adaptation has preserved the variety as an heirloom, passed through generations of gardeners who valued both its table quality and its reliable performance.”