Skip to content

Parris Island Romaine Lettuce Seeds For Planting (Lactuca sativa)

1 total reviews

Delivery Truck 2 Streamline Icon: https://streamlinehq.com

Shipped by Seed Needs

Seed Needs items ship for $3
Order 2+ items for FREE shipping
More Information

Regular price $3.59 Sale price $3.99

as low as $2.69

400 Seeds Per Packet
3 ITEMS
5% OFF
4 ITEMS
10% OFF
5 ITEMS
15% OFF
6 ITEMS
20% OFF
10 ITEMS
25% OFF

About

Growing

Reviews

Description

Not sure if you want large, crisp heads of romaine-style lettuce, or tender young greens to add to mixed salads? You can have both with Parris Island Cos romaine lettuce grown from our non-GMO, open-pollinated seeds!

This heirloom lettuce, originally developed by Clemson University and the USDA and introduced into American markets in 1952, is among the most nutritious lettuce varieties available. High in vitamins A, C, and K, and potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, calcium, and folate, Parris Island Cos offers more than just fabulous texture and flavor. 

And its hardy and easy to grow! Parris Island Cos romaine is resistant to tip burn and mosaic virus, and healthy plants hold their own against other garden pests that enjoy nibbling on greens. It handles hot weather better than many varieties, meaning you can get a longer season and higher yields from successive plantings. Once harvested, they store well when kept cool. All of these traits make this variety a favorite for farmer's market vendors, or just for gardeners who want to get the most out of their home-grown produce. 

How do you use Parris Island Cos in the kitchen? The variety's crisp outer leaves are a great choice to replace tortillas in sandwich wraps, and their creamy-colored hearts are often described as having a flavor similar to—but milder than—butter lettuces. The tips can turn slightly bitter when the weather gets hot, but the savory flavor is welcome to those who like their sandwiches and salads to have a little bit of kick to them.  

How did this delicious, easy-to-grow lettuce get its name? Cos (actually Kos) is a Greek island where many romaine lettuces were first developed, and "Cos" and "romaine" are interchangeable labels. In other words, its redundant to call Parris Island Cos romaine, but many seed suppliers like us do it anyway!

It's difficult to find out where, geographically, Parris Island lettuce was actually developed, but its named after a North Carolina coastal island with a long history as a military base, coaling station, and a Confederate prison camp. Perhaps Clemson and the USDA wanted a lettuce that would help feed those based at the island's Port Royal Naval Station, and/or supply military personnel beyond coastal North Carolina. Given the lettuce's hardiness, nutritional value, and relatively long shelf life, its a pretty good guess.

Growing Conditions

Here's what you need to know about choosing the right garden spot for this slow-to-bolt, easy-to-grow romaine lettuce: 

  • Sunlight requirements: Give your Parris Island Cos lettuce 6-8 hours of direct sunlight each day. In hotter climates, or when planting midsummer crops, they will do better with a little less direct sunlight, or with light shade in the hottest part of the day. 
  • Soil requirements: Plant seeds or transplants into humus-rich soil to facilitate drainage. 
  • pH: 6.0 to 6.5
  • Watering requirements: Keep all lettuce varieties consistently moist, and water them in the morning, so the leaves have time to dry. Water at ground level whenever possible when you're aiming for full-grown heads; overhead watering with a fine mist is acceptable for baby greens. 

Are you planning successive plantings? Amend the soil with fine compost in between crops, or fertilize biweekly with a balanced 10-10-10 or 5-5-5 solution, preferably diluted by half.  

Germination & Growth

You'll love how quickly Parris Island romaine gets going in your garden, and how it will look among your other vegetables. Their gray-green tops, especially when planted close together, are pleasing to the eye. Baby greens are tender yet resilient, and can be grown in raised beds, flats, and directly in the soil. 

  • Days to germination: 7-14 days
  • Plant height: 10" to 12" tall
  • Plant width: 8" to 10" wide
  • Growth habit: Upright, compact heads
  • Days to maturity: 75 for full heads, 18-21 for baby greens

Customer Reviews

Based on 1 review
100%
(1)
0%
(0)
0%
(0)
0%
(0)
0%
(0)
K
Katherine C.

I started two medium-sized pots of this romaine. Romaine has been finicky for me in the past, probably due to the heat here in Alabama, so I left these pots in partial shade. This romaine all came up quickly and started out strong, and then just stopped growing. It looked healthy, just stunted. As an experiment, I gently pulled two of the romaine plants out and planted them alongside one of my tomatoes in the sun, but still partially shaded by my tomato plant. Those two took off and got huge and beautiful! I would say sunlight and the proper amount of space make a big difference! These are great seeds.

NON-GMO?

Title

We will never knowingly sell GMO based seed products. Hardly any exist in the market anyways, but if they do, you can trust that we will steer clear of them. We pledge to always supply Non-GMO seeds.

HEIRLOOM?

Title

99% of all seeds on our website are heirloom and are passed down from generation to generation. Bred for quality of flavor, productivity, hardiness and adaptability.

UNTREATED?

Title

Yes, our seeds are untreated! We never knowingly purchases treated seed products. We also do not treat any of our seeds with substances such as neonicotinoid or thyram.

ORGANIC?

Title

Seeds by Seed Needs are not certified organic, no.  But we are firm believers that "organic" is how YOU decide to grow things. You can still organically grow your own produce with, non certified seeds.

WHY BUY OUR SEEDS?

A SEED COMPANY ON A MISSION FOR CHANGE

Seed Needs has been providing gardeners with quality seed products since 2010 and has shipped millions of packets to happy customers all over the US. We offer flowers, herbs, vegetables, vines, wildflower blends, seed packet collections and seed packet favors.

 

With the success of our brand, we have kept our promise to continually donate to different organizations and personally sponsor children all over the globe each and every month. We grew our sponsorships from just 1 child to over 100 children worldwide in only a few years. We would like to sincerely thank all who support us because it wouldn't be possible without you!

OUR KIDS

We sponsor children from all over the world. Check out how many kids we currently sponsor below!

100+ KIDS

ASPCA

We love animals as much as the next person! We currently donate the amount below monthly!

$400 MONTHLY

St. Jude

Cancer is a terrible thing, especially in children... We have committed to donating to SJCH.

$250 MONTHLY