Chocolate Dipped Romaine Lettuce
Lactuca sativa var. longifolia 'Chocolate Dipped'
Height: 7 inches
Spacing: 12 inches
Sunlight:
Hardiness Zone: (annual)
Description:
Small and bitter free, this variety is both visually stunning and delicious; perfect for containers or small gardens; beautiful crimson leaves with green ribbing and veins and a butter texture and mild flavor, great for any salad need
Edible Qualities
Chocolate Dipped Romaine Lettuce is an annual vegetable plant that is typically grown for its edible qualities. The small oval crimson leaves with pointy green spines are usually harvested from early summer to early fall. The leaves have a pleasant taste and a crisp texture.
The leaves are most often used in the following ways:
- Fresh Eating
- Eating When Cooked/Prepared
- Cooking
Planting & Growing
Chocolate Dipped Romaine Lettuce will grow to be about 7 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 12 inches. When planted in rows, individual plants should be spaced approximately 12 inches apart. This vegetable plant is an annual, which means that it will grow for one season in your garden and then die after producing a crop. Because of its relatively short time to maturity, it lends itself to a series of successive plantings each staggered by a week or two; this will prolong the effective harvest period.
This plant is typically grown in a designated vegetable garden. It does best in full sun to partial shade. It does best in average conditions that are neither too wet nor too dry, and is very intolerant of standing water. It may require supplemental watering during periods of drought or extended heat. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is quite intolerant of urban pollution, therefore inner city or urban streetside plantings are best avoided. This is a selection of a native North American species.; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.
Chocolate Dipped Romaine Lettuce is a good choice for the vegetable garden, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing a canvas of foliage against which the larger thriller plants stand out. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.
