Magenta Lettuce Care: How To Grow Magenta Lettuce Plants

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) is a very rewarding plant for a home garden. It’s easy to grow, thrives in the cool season, and is something most people eat regularly. In addition, you can choose from dozens of varieties you’ll never see in your grocery store, since commercial growers only grow lettuce that ships well. While you are looking at your options, consider Magenta lettuce plants. It’s a crisp variety with pretty, blushing leaves. For information about the lettuce ‘Magenta’ plant, read on. We’ll provide tips on planting Magenta lettuce seeds as well as Magenta lettuce care.

What is a Lettuce ‘Magenta’ Plant?

Some lettuce varieties are delicious, others are just plain lovely. Magenta lettuce offers both. It offers that crisp, crunchy texture you look for in a summer lettuce, but also attractive, bronze leaves loosely surrounding a bright green heart. Growing Magenta lettuce has other advantages. It is heat tolerant, meaning that you can plant it in summer as well as early spring. Magenta lettuce plants have a strong disease resistance and, once you bring them into the kitchen, a long shelf life.

Growing Magenta Lettuce

In order to grow lettuce of any kind, you need fertile soil, rich in organic content. Many lettuces only grow well in cool sunshine and scorch, bolt, or wilt in higher temperatures. These should only be planted in early spring or late summer so that they can mature in cooler weather. But others lettuce varieties take the heat in stride, and Magenta lettuce plants are among them. You can sow Magenta lettuce seeds in spring or in summer with great results. The variety is both heat tolerant and tasty.

How to Plant Magenta Lettuce Seeds

Magenta lettuce seeds take 60 days from the day you plant them to reach maturity. Plant them in loose, fertile soil that gets some sun. If you are growing Magenta lettuce with the intention of harvesting baby leaves, you can plant in a continuous band. If you want your seeds to mature into complete heads, plant them between 8 and 12 inches (20.5-30.5 cm.) apart. After that, Magenta lettuce care is not difficult, requiring only regular irrigation. Sow seeds every three weeks if you want a continual harvest. Harvest Magenta lettuce plants in the morning for best results. Immediately transfer into a cool location until you are ready to eat the lettuce.