Optima Lettuce
Best butterhead lettuce for home gardeners seeking reliable spring harvests.
Optima Lettuce is a premium, open-pollinated butterhead variety, ideal for spring gardens. This organic, non-GMO seed produces large, dark green heads with a thick, velvety texture and a rich, buttery flavor. It's known for consistent, uniform growth and excellent resistance to common issues like bolting and downy mildew. Optima Lettuce thrives in cool seasons, preferring loose, well-drained soil with a pH of 6.2-6.8 for optimal development.
$4.15
Owner Satisfaction
4.7
/ 5
Category Rank
270
/ 5876
#270 in Seeds & Seed Tape
Price vs Category Average
-61%
Below average
Days to Maturity
52
/ days
Who it's for
- Gardeners in hot climates wanting a longer harvest season
- Home cooks prioritizing tender texture and sweet flavor
- Organic growers seeking reliable, non-GMO seed performance
Who should skip it
- Market growers needing high-volume yields per plant
- Meal preppers requiring long-lasting refrigerator storage
- Gardeners managing heavy slug and snail populations
Performance breakdown
Disease Resistance
Robust defense against downy mildew and tip burn ensures reliable harvests.
Growth Uniformity
Consistent development makes for a predictable and tidy garden bed.
Bolting Tolerance
Stays sweet and tender even as spring temperatures begin to climb.
Texture Quality
Velvety leaves offer a premium mouthfeel superior to standard butterhead varieties.
Ease of Cultivation
Straightforward requirements make this an accessible choice for home gardeners.
Flavor Profile
Delivers a rich, buttery finish that elevates simple garden salads.
Key Specs
Days to Maturity
52 days
Seed Count
24,000 seeds/oz avg.
Seeding Rate (Baby Leaf)
96M seeds/100’ bed (~ 4 oz)
Seeding Rate (Full Size)
360 plants/100’ beds (~1/32 oz)
Seeding Depth
1/8"
Plant Spacing (Full size)
8-12”
Soil pH Requirement
6.2-6.8
Storage Conditions
Near freezing with 98% humidity
Features
- Premium organic butterhead lettuce
- Large, dark green, dense heads
- Thick, velvety leaves
- Rich, buttery flavor
- Resistant to bolting and diseases
- Uniform stand production
- Ideal for spring harvest
- Open-pollinated, Nancy-type variety
What customers say
Optima Lettuce is overwhelmingly praised by gardeners for its exceptional reliability and robust performance. The most celebrated feature is its consistently high germination rate, which builds planting confidence. Users highly value its remarkable heat tolerance and slow bolting, ensuring extended harvest periods even during summer heat when other varieties fail. Flavor is another major highlight; the leaves are frequently described as tender, buttery, and sweet, making it a salad favorite. Despite a premium price reflecting its organic quality, customers find the consistent yields and dependable growth offer excellent overall value. Optima is viewed as a high performing, trustworthy lettuce that delivers on its promise of quality and vigorous production.
Know before you buy
Optima is specifically bred for cool-season growing and is highly resistant to bolting, meaning it will hold its quality longer even as temperatures begin to rise in late spring.
You can expect to harvest full-sized heads approximately 52 days after planting.
Yes, Optima provides intermediate resistance to several common lettuce issues, including downy mildew, bottom rot, lettuce mosaic virus (LMV), and tip burn.
For the best results, plant in loose, well-drained soil with a pH level between 6.2 and 6.8. Ensure the seeds are planted at a shallow depth of about 1/8 inch.
Yes, you can harvest it as baby leaf. If you are planting for baby leaf production, use a seeding rate of approximately 96,000 seeds per 100-foot bed.
To allow the heads to develop their full, dense size, space your plants 8 to 12 inches apart.
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