Sanguine Ameliore Lettuce Information
Butter lettuces are known for their tender, sweet leaves, bright green colors, and loosely packed, softball-sized heads. What makes the Sanguine Ameliore variety different and special is the deep red speckling on the bright green leaves. Sanguine Ameliore is a fairly rare variety of lettuce, but you can find seeds online. It originated in France and was introduced in the U.S. in the early 1900s. The word ‘sanguine’ means blood and refers to the blood-red spots on the leaves. For those growing lettuce, Sanguine Ameliore is a great variety to choose both for its uses in the kitchen and the visual interest it adds to vegetable beds.
Growing Sanguine Ameliore Lettuce
With just some basic Sanguine Ameliore information, you can start growing and harvesting this tasty lettuce. Grow and care for this type of lettuce as you would other varieties. As a cool weather crop, you can start the lettuce in the early spring or late summer to early fall for two crops. Sow your Sanguine Ameliore seeds about one inch (2.5 cm.) apart. If starting outdoors, thin the seedlings until they are just 10 inches (25.5 cm.) apart, and if starting indoors, transplant seedlings outside with this same spacing. The heads will grow about 8 inches (20.5 cm.) wide. Keep watering your lettuces regularly, but be sure the soil drains well and they don’t get saturated with water. It takes 60 days for Sanguine Ameliore to reach maturity. Before then, you can start harvesting individual leaves, enjoying baby lettuces. You can also wait until maturity and harvest the entire head at once. Use this lettuce as you would any other, but like most butter lettuces, these are best enjoyed fresh from the garden. You can enjoy the leaves in salads, but they also work well in recipes for lettuce cup dishes, as the leaves are large enough to hold a filling. Sanguine Ameliore is an easy lettuce to grow and well worth the minimal effort to enjoy the tasty leaves.
