It’s true that everyone says lettuce is easy to grow and beginner gardeners should start with lettuce for this reason.
As true as this is, lettuce can also throw some surprises at the unsuspecting gardener; and these surprises can become a concern for beginner gardeners.
One of the surprises about growing lettuce is when your Romaine starts to grow tall. What does it mean when you have a tall leafy green plant?
Romaine lettuce is a tall lettuce variety, and it makes leaves longer than the majority of other leaf lettuce. This is considered “normal” growth for Romaine lettuce.
If the lettuce also develops a tall, central stalk, it is moving onto the bolting stage to seed, and your lettuce leaves will also develop into bitter and tough leaves.
For the unsuspecting gardener expecting a small lettuce plant when they originally planted their lettuce seeds, Romaine lettuce will no doubt surprise.
So what if your Romaine lettuce is growing longer than what you expected? You may be second guessing whether the plants are doing something wrong as a result of something you did wrong in your cultivation of the plant.
Is Romaine Lettuce Supposed To Grow Tall?
Just like all of the leafy greens we eat (lettuce, spinach, swiss chard, and so on) in the cycle of growth for this green leafy plants is the beauty of feeding you with the delectably delicious leaves, and the flowering and seeding stage.
Romaine lettuce is a tall growing lettuce. It is a large lettuce variety, one of the few leaf lettuce varieties which is much taller than the majority of leaf lettuce varieties most gardeners will know. The leaves are tall and supported by the structural stalk that grows completely upright from the central core.
Romaine lettuce has bigger, darker green crunchy leaves. That explains why romaine lettuce is the traditional lettuce of choice in a Caesar salad.
Romaine lettuce is a variety of lettuce that can grow very tall, so that even a casual glance at the plant can lead to mistakenly identifying the plant as spinach based on the height as it can achieve.
Romaine lettuce is a variety of lettuce that is considerably larger so the distance apart between plants on the planting bed need to be greater to avoid crowding and stunted growth:
- To give the plants enough distance apart and appropriate habitat for the plant’s large leaves, Romaine lettuce should be planted at least 12-inches or 30-centimeters apart from each plant.
- The distance between plants will allow for nice air circulation in and around their dense leaves so they will not rot due to too much moisture.
Romaine lettuce is a variety of lettuce that is more tolerant to heat compared to most lettuce varieties so it is preferred by gardeners in hot climates.
Other Reasons Your Romaine Lettuce Is Growing Tall
The leaves of Romaine lettuce are not the only entry to growth for the plant.
At the end of the plant’s growing cycle, or if it gets too hot, it may bolt. In preparation to produce seeds, the plant will produce a flowering stalk that reaches to greater heights.
Bolting is the term used for plants, especially the leafy green plants, when they begin to produce a flower stalk in preparation for flowering, and thus produce seed.
Some gardeners will also use the term going to seed instead of bolting as a synonym for this natural process.
Why Does Romaine Lettuce Bolt?
Most leafy vegetable plants are considered cool weather plants because the leaves on these plants can not handle the harsh summer temperatures and will lose too much vapor to sustain the plant.
When the temperatures get warmer, it sends the plant signals to bolt which then produce a flower stalk.
When the lettuce plant detects hostile conditions like heat or dry conditions it realizes it can no longer sustain its prime growing season.
The plant redirects all the nutrients, energy and resources from the leaves to the growing flower stalk and ultimately into the reproductive stage of production of the seeds, used to propagate the plant.
Lettuce is not the only condition to trigger bolting.
When insufficient water or dry conditions occur on the plant, it puts the plant under stress which leads to bolting in lettuce attempting to create seed before the adverse conditions kill the plant.
When lettuce bolts, the leaves suffer, are shriveled and unhealthy looking, as well as become course and the flavor turns bitter.
Remember This: Leaves from a lettuce that bolted is practically inedible, and definitely will not belong on your salad plate!
Can You Stop Lettuce From Bolting?
As a gardener growing lettuce as part of your food crop, you want to delay the bolting of your lettuce for as long as possible to keep pulling off nice, juicy, crisp sweet leaves for as long as possible.
Once the process of bolting has begun, there is little you can do to prevent the plant from going to seed. The best way to delay bolting is to give the plant an environment that delays the bolting process and that will allow for a longer time for harvest and enjoy sweet, tender, & vibrant lettuce.
Some gardeners have had luck pinching off the flowering stalk, as they see it develop on the plant.
This approach only prolongs the end, so really your ability to halt inevitable bolting is limited.
Even though Romaine lettuce is more heat tolerant than other lettuce types, it will ultimately go to seed if the temperatures are consistently hot and the plant does not have enough water.
Use these methods to delay bolting in your Romaine lettuce.
Time Your Planting
Once frost has passed, you can plant at the end of winter. This will give you the extended spring growing season where it is not too hot.
In some places, the winter is mild enough and you can even grow this plant in winter.
Grow Lettuce In Dappled Midday Shade
If ya live in a hot summer climate, you could try planting ya lettuce in a location where it is in partial shade in the heat of the day, but the lettuce receives some direct sun in the early morning and evening.
Shade cloth allows light to come through while limiting UV exposure. They should help slow down the plants from overheating and eventually bolting.
Water Lettuce Regularly
Lettuce can also bolt if stressed by under watering.
You always want to keep the soil around the lettuce wet.
The top layer may dry a little during the day, but if the root area starts to dry, the plant will bolt.
Conclusion
Romaine lettuce is a naturally tall lettuce variety, however most of the leaf production should happen relatively close to the ground.
If your Romaine lettuce seeks to make a tall central stalk, it is likely in a state of bolting.
This shows that the plant is reaching the end of its life cycle with a final solution of creating flowers for seeds.
At this time, the lettuce will no longer be edible.
Therefore it is recommended that the plant be allowed to flower for the seeds, collect the seeds and replant them in a cooler place.