Lettuce 'Reine d' Glaces'

Lactuca Sativa

Translated as "Queen of Ice”, this crisphead lettuce is a French heirloom, dating back to the 1800's. With ornately toothed glowing, green, finely toothed wrapper leaves blanching a crunchy white heart, she is regal. The complex sweet and mineral flavour combines with the crisp, attractive smaller leaves and bi-coloured heart to make this a chef's favourite. Thrives in Spring and Autumn.

Reine d' Glaces was the first lettuce we grew as a seed crop. We have had kilometers of field space dedicated to this lettuce, trialing seeds from many companies which were neither true to type nor uniform – until we tried Wild Garden Seeds' Reine d' Glaces. Frank Morton had maintained the variety exquisitely and we could finally offer this lettuce to well-known chefs in Melbourne who adored it! Simply dressed with a wild rocket vinaigrette, this lettuce was a stand-alone plate!

But in order to be able to harvest our pre ordered weekly quota, we had to sow double the number of heads EVERY week! With even a whiff of heat on our long days in late December and January, she bolted overnight, changing her flavour from complex to bitter. We are indebted to this Queen for showing us what breeding to climate and locale has to offer.

We have continued to grow Reine as a seed crop each season since, continually selecting for a larger harvest window and a better resilience to heat and light – not a quick bolter. She still finds the longest days with our high UV index too harsh – she is a parasoled queen. But that has endeared us more to her as we love varieties that have their sweet spots -they are usually hard to find and worth the search.

She will reward you for gracing her your garden space throughout Spring and then replant her in mid-February for her to shine again in late Summer and Autumn!

Note: This is based on our experiences in Southern Victoria, Australia

We are in our 5th season of seed production of ‘Reine de Grace’ refining the head formation, the days to maturity, and the resistance to bolting through extreme temperatures

Certified Demeter Biodynamic and Certified Organic

SEED COUNT: 250, 1000, 5000 approx.
Germination Rate : Lot#12381 96% APR 2025

PLEASE NOTE: We do not authorize the repackaging of our seed without written permission