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Lamb's lettuce vs winter lettuce

Updated: 21 October 2026

You are looking at two packets that both say winter and both say lettuce, and you need the leaf you will actually cut. Lamb's lettuce vs winter lettuce is a species choice. Lamb's lettuce is corn salad, Valerianella locusta, a low nutty rosette. Winter Density and Arctic King are lettuces, Lactuca sativa, grown for a heart. The [lamb's lettuce seeds comparison](/hub/seeds-and-plants/lamb-s-lettuce-seeds) only keeps corn salad. Those plants were separated from the amazon.co.uk titles on 19 October 2026, using the Royal Horticultural Society species page. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you. This is not a frost ranking.

You are looking at two packets that both say winter and both say lettuce, and you need the leaf you will actually cut. Lamb's lettuce vs winter lettuce is a species choice.

Our top picks

MES GRAINES Potagères MES GRAINES full heart 2

Best overall

MES GRAINES Potagères MES GRAINES full heart 2
5.6/10about £3.41
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Unwins Unwins Lambs Trophy

Rank 2

Unwins Unwins Lambs Trophy
7.9/10about £2.08
View offer
Kings Seeds Kings Seeds corn salad Vit

Best value

Kings Seeds Kings Seeds corn salad Vit
3.8/10about £1.35
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Two plants, one word
  2. 2.When lamb's lettuce is the one to sow
  3. 3.When a winter lettuce is the one to sow
  4. 4.What this table will not list

Two plants, one word

The shared word is the trap. Marketplace titles put lettuce on corn salad because the kitchen name is lamb's lettuce, and they put winter on any salad sown for the cold months. The RHS lists Valerianella locusta as corn salad, on a separate page from lettuce. If the packet says lamb's lettuce, corn salad, mâche or Valerianella, you are buying the rosette. If it says Winter Density or Arctic King, you are buying a lettuce. Corn salad is a small cluster of spoon-shaped or teardrop leaves. A winter lettuce is grown to heart. Winter Density is a hardy cos. Arctic King is a hardy butterhead. The Guardian treats both as lettuces you sow so the plant sits in the ground: Winter Density suits a cloche and pots, and Arctic King needs about 30 cm if you want a full head. That piece does not compare them with corn salad. Corn salad is often thinned to roughly 10–15 cm. Do not copy Arctic King's 30 cm onto mâche. Salad Bowl, which also turned up in this raw folder, is a loose-leaf lettuce.

When lamb's lettuce is the one to sow

Choose a corn-salad packet when you want that nutty rosette, in a pot or as a short row, including after summer lettuce has finished. The RHS sows the species in late summer or autumn, rates it H7, and mentions a cloche only in very harsh weather. You are not buying a dense heart to cut once in March. The dates and the cover are on lamb's lettuce for winter. Inside this table the names are Vit, Trophy, Verte de Cambrai, a large-seed type, Ronde Maraîchère and full heart 2. Full heart on the MES GRAINES packet is a corn-salad name, Verte à Cœur Plein 2, not a cos heart. Prices run from £1.35 to £3.41. Unwins Trophy is the top pick only as the most complete named listing, at £2.08 for about 300 seeds. If a new tab might still be a lettuce, the checks are on the buying guide.
MES GRAINES Potagères MES GRAINES full heart 2

Testsieger

MES GRAINES Potagères MES GRAINES full heart 2
5.6/10about £3.41
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When a winter lettuce is the one to sow

Choose Winter Density or Arctic King when you want a lettuce heart: a cos crunch, or a butterhead you cut as one plant. Growers sow them so the plant stands through winter, often under a cloche. A winter-salad table that prints degrees beside each crop is not an RHS trial, and those degrees are not repeated here. You will not find those lettuces scored in this comparison. A cos wants room to heart. Corn salad wants a shallow cover and a closer thin. A cloche can help both in a hard spell, for different reasons. Shared kit is not shared seed. The H7 note belongs to corn salad as a species. It does not transfer to Arctic King. If you want the heart, leave this page. If you want the rosette, stay.

What this table will not list

Four raw files were removed because they were lettuce: Mr Fothergill's Salad Bowl, Just Seed Winter Density, and two Just Seed Arctic King listings. They are not reviewed here. Arctic King is not a lamb's lettuce variety with a colder name. You can still grow both in one winter bed, as two sowings and two spacings. That is not a reason to treat the seed as interchangeable. When the species is settled and you want a packet for a pot or a low price, use best lamb's lettuce seeds.

Common questions

Is lamb's lettuce a lettuce?
No. Lamb's lettuce is corn salad, Valerianella locusta, also called mâche. Lettuce is Lactuca sativa. They share a kitchen word and a place in winter salads. The Royal Horticultural Society keeps them on separate pages. Winter Density and Arctic King are lettuce.
What is Winter Density?
Winter Density is a hardy cos lettuce, not a corn salad. Growers sow it to stand through the cold months, and it suits a cloche and pots. You cut a heart, not a tiny nutty rosette. It was removed from this amazon.co.uk set.
What is Arctic King?
Arctic King is a hardy butterhead lettuce. The Guardian describes about 30 cm if you want a full head. It is not a variety of Valerianella. Two Arctic King packets were taken out of this folder and are not scored here.
Which do I buy for a nutty rosette?
Buy corn salad: lamb's lettuce, mâche, Vit, Trophy or Verte de Cambrai. Full heart 2 on a MES GRAINES title is still Valerianella, despite the wording. You want the small rosette, including a late-summer sowing for winter pickings.
Which do I buy for a hearted leaf?
Buy a winter lettuce, such as Winter Density or Arctic King, from a lettuce category. This table will not list them. Arctic King is the one tied to about 30 cm for a full head.
Can I use the same spacing?
No. Corn salad is thinned to roughly 10–15 cm in rows about 15 cm apart, unless the packet says otherwise. Arctic King is given about 30 cm for a full head. Winter Density also needs room to heart.

Related pages

How to sow lamb's lettuce

Lamb's lettuce seeds

Best lamb's lettuce seeds for pot, price or Cambrai

Lamb's lettuce seeds UK: packet checks before you buy

Lamb's lettuce for winter: August sowing in the UK

Sources

Sources taken from the research digest. Listings were checked on 19 October 2026.

  1. RHS — Valerianella locusta (retrieved 19.10.2026)
  2. Gardeners' World — how to grow lamb's lettuce (retrieved 19.10.2026)
  3. Gardeners' World — winter salad (retrieved 19.10.2026)
  4. Seed Marketing Regulations 2011 (retrieved 19.10.2026)
  5. Defra — plant varieties and seeds FAQ (retrieved 19.10.2026)
  6. Suttons — corn salad seeds (retrieved 19.10.2026)
  7. The English Garden — indoor salad leaves (retrieved 19.10.2026)
  8. Unwins — lamb's lettuce Trophy (retrieved 19.10.2026)