Paris White Lettuce Seeds are a Romaine / Cos Type lettuce. With crisp leaves and a fine, sweet flavour that is second to none! Attractive, uniformly shaped heads average 25 cm tall with emerald green outer leaves sheltering an inviting, creamy white heart. Good resistance to bolting and tolerance to tip burn.
Parris Island Cos Lettuce OriginsThe variety was introduced to the U.S. market in 1952. It was named after Parris Island in South Carolina, United States. There is no link between this variety's name and Paris in France!
Lettuce was an important crop for Thomas Jefferson, who recorded planting it for nearly sixty years in his Garden Book. He first listed Cos Lettuce in 1794. Also known as Romaine, Cos lettuces produce long, erect heads that are largest at the top and taper towards the roots. Paris White Cos Lettuce is an 18th-century variety that was sold by Philadelphia seedsman Bernard McMahon as early as 1802.
Direct sow this white-seeded variety in early spring to allow it to mature before the heat of summer. Keep well-watered to ensure crisp leaves.

GROWING LETTUCE FROM SEED
Choose the right varieties and you can have lettuce almost all year round. There are
so many types of lettuce to choose from – all with different colours, flavours and
textures – that salad need never be boring! There are two main types of lettuce –
hearting lettuces have a dense centre, while loose-leaf lettuces have open leaves
and no heart. You can also grow a variety of salad leaves that can be picked while
young and tender.
Grow lettuces in full sun on moisture-retentive soil. In some parts of the country
early and late sowings may need protection against cold, using cloches, plastic
tunnels or horticultural fleece. All these types of protection will be available at
garden centres.
There are several different types of hearting lettuces:
ï‚· Butterhead lettuces have an open habit, are quick-maturing and tolerate
poorer growing conditions.
ï‚· Cos types have an upright growth habit and oblong head.
ï‚· Crisphead types produce large hearts of curled and crisp leaves and are
more resistant to bolting (going to seed prematurely); this group includes
iceberg lettuces.
Sow a short row every fortnight to ensure continuity of cropping. Sow seed thinly
13mm deep in rows 30cm apart.
You could also grow lettuces in grow bags or containers – follow the sowing
timings and spacings as below.
Time of sowing depends on when the crop is wanted:
ï‚· For a summer/autumn crop: sow outdoors from late August. For an even
earlier crop, sow indoors in early August in seed trays and plant out in early
September.
ï‚· For an early winter crop: sow outdoors in early Autumn and cover the plants
with closed cloches before the first frost.
High soil temperatures in summer can prevent some cultivars from germinating.
Sow in the evening, water with cold water and provide some shade to keep
temperatures down.
