Purple lettuce and purple leafy greens look pretty in the garden as well as in salads and other dishes. Eating a rainbow of colors and the pigments that produce them are good for your health. Purple lettuce, cabbage, kale and greens are nutritious and easy to grow.
Purple Lettuce Varieties
Lettuce is an accessible green. It’s easy to grow and easy to eat. While lettuce doesn't pack as much nutritional value as some of the sturdier greens, the purple and red varieties offer additional antioxidants.
- Red Sails - This is a classic variety of lettuce that is easy to find. It has frilly leaves in a deep reddish purple color. It doesn’t bolt as easily as some varieties, and even tastes good after bolting.
- Merlot - This leaf lettuce is the color of your favorite red wine. It produces large leaves that are great for salads and sandwiches. You can harvest the baby leaves in about 30 days and mature leaves in 60.
- Sea of Red - Known as a cutting lettuce, Sea of Red has pretty purple leaves that you can remove as needed. The leaves are narrow and lance-shaped, providing an attractive row to vegetable beds or even the edges of flower beds.
- Red Deer Tongue - This heirloom variety is harder to find but well worth the search. It produces sturdy, long, and narrow leaves of deep purple. It does blot quickly in summer, so grow it in spring and fall for the best results.
Purple Cabbage Varieties
Some cabbage varieties are more strikingly purple than the lettuces that have a reddish hue. Try these cabbages for their pretty colors, nutritional value, and diverse culinary uses.
- Red Acre - Red Acre is a great option if you only choose one cabbage for the garden. It produces bright purple leaves and matures earlier than most other varieties. The heads are fairly small, so it's good for tight spaces. It is also resistant to some common diseases.
- Amarant - For a purple cabbage that better tolerates the heat of summer, choose Amarant. It stores well, too, so you can harvest in the fall and enjoy cabbage well into winter.
- Purple Savoy - Savoy cabbages have crinkly, textured leaves and a sweeter flavor than smooth cabbages. The purple cultivar is truly unique in appearance, with a mix of green and purple colors.
Purple Kale Varieties
Kale is a sturdy green that also comes in purple. You can find edible purple varieties, but be aware that many flowering kales are purely ornamental.
- Redbor - Redbor is a beautiful variety of curly care with dense, tight frills and a deep reddish purple color. It looks striking in the garden and is also very nutritious and versatile in the kitchen.
- Red Russian - Originating in Siberia, this is a very hardy variety of flat-leaf kale. The leaves are mostly green but have a pretty purple coloring that begins in the veins and stems and extends partway into the leaves.
- Glamour Red - This is a pretty ornamental cultivar with green outer leaves and purple/magenta leaves inside the rosette. The leaves are all very frilly and tightly packed.
Other Purple Greens to Try
Other types of greens come in purple and red shades and can serve as ornamentals and edible vegetables. Radicchio is naturally purple, but you can also find purple mustard greens, chard, and kohlrabi. Also, look for other members of the cruciferous family (this includes kale and cabbage), like purple Brussels sprouts and purple cauliflower.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Are Some Lettuce Leaves Purple?
Lettuces, and other plants with purple leaves contain compounds called anthocyanins. These compounds give them their unique color. Some plants evolved these pigments to absorb extra photons of light that would otherwise cause free radical damage.
Is Purple Lettuce Good for You?
All vegetables are good for you, but the red/purple color comes from compounds with specific health benefits. They are called anthocyanins, and they are antioxidants. Anthocyanins have been linked with longevity, improved cardiovascular health, improved eye health, reduced cancer risk, and reduced dementia risk.
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FAQs
Purple lettuce and purple greens like kale and cabbage are lovely in the garden but also pack a healthy punch. Purple lettuce and purple leafy greens look pretty in the garden as well as in salads and other dishes.
What leafy greens are purple? ›
Many salad greens come in burgundy to purple versions, such as the particularly cold-tough red orach and red mustard; the red stalks and leaves of several chard varieties; Asian greens such 'Rosie,' 'Red Rain' and 'Red Pac' pak choi, and leaf lettuces such as 'Outredgeous,' 'Red Sails,' 'Red Salad Bowl,' 'Lollo Rossa,' ...
What are the best leafy greens to grow in the garden? ›
Kale, collards, and turnip are hardy (can withstand heavy frosts in spring and fall); mustard is semi-hardy (can withstand light frosts, but not heavy frosts or freezing). Planting: In spring, plant seeds as soon as soil can be worked (3 to 4 weeks prior to frost date).
What is the name of the purple lettuce? ›
Radicchio. Radicchio is also known as Red Chicory, Red Leaf Chicory, and Red Italian Chicory. The name is pronounced “ruh-dee-key-o”, or just call it red chicory. It is a dark purple or red colored veggie that's referred to as a lettuce, though it's actually a chicory or endive.
What is the purple leaf in mixed greens? ›
Just like its greener cousin, but with more purple, its leaves are loose and very tender. They are commonly found in mixed green salads and have more frilly looking leaves than other cultivars.
What are the purple vegetable gardens? ›
You can find purple cauliflower, sweet potatoes, bush beans, artichokes, radishes, beans, and peppers in many specialty grocery stores and in seed catalogs. Malaga radish by rareseeds.com. Mature in 35 days. Round roots are a very unusual color—a deep plum purple/violet, so pretty in contrast with the snow-white flesh!
Is purple lettuce healthier than green? ›
Red and green lettuce are both nutrient-dense vegetables to add to your diet. Green leaf lettuce is slightly higher in vitamins and minerals, whereas red leaf is higher in anthocyanins, which have some health benefits.
What's the healthiest lettuce? ›
Why is lettuce healthy? There are five different categories of lettuce: loose-leaf, cos/romaine, butterhead, crisphead, and asparagus-stem lettuce. Romaine lettuce and lettuce greens are the most nutritious types of lettuce.
What is the benefit of purple leaf lettuce? ›
Vitamin A: Purple lettuce is a rich source of vitamin A, primarily in the form of beta-carotene. Beta-carotene is a precursor to vitamin A, and the body converts it as needed. Vitamin A is essential for maintaining healthy vision, a strong immune system, and proper functioning of the heart, lungs, and kidneys.
What is the Queen of greens? ›
Indeed, while spinach has long been the king of greens, kale is now being crowned the queen. In recent years, the leafy green vegetable has been touted as a superfood that ounce for ounce packs a mighty nutritional punch.
Our purple tree collards are planted along the south side of our house and so far they're thriving. Tree collards even taste better after a frost—the cold tends to sweeten the leaves a bit. They do taste good. We use them a lot as cooked greens but we also chop them up and use them with other greens in salads.
What are the leafy greens with colorful stems? ›
Swiss chard
Swiss chard has dark green leaves with a thick stalk that is red, white, yellow, or green. It's often used in Mediterranean cooking and belongs to the same family as beets and spinach. It has an earthy taste and is rich in minerals and vitamins, such as magnesium and vitamins A, C, and K.
What is the purple plant in salads? ›
Purple Lettuce Varieties
Red Sails - This is a classic variety of lettuce that is easy to find. It has frilly leaves in a deep reddish purple color. It doesn't bolt as easily as some varieties, and even tastes good after bolting. Merlot - This leaf lettuce is the color of your favorite red wine.
What are the purple leaves that you can eat? ›
Purple dead nettle is easily identified by its square stem, spade-shaped leaves, and purple tops. Depending upon the quality of the soil, the lower leaves may be green, or all of the leaves may be purple. More purple leaves just means a phosphorus deficiency in the soil, but they're all completely safe to eat.
What leafy plant has purple under the leaves? ›
Tradescantia zebrina is a herbaceous perennial often grown as a houseplant. It has interesting variegated foliage striped green, white, and gray leaves with purple undersides. The leaves are ovate and clasp the stem at the base.
Are purple greens good for you? ›
Purple vegetables are claimed to help protect against Alzheimer's disease, cancer and type 2 diabetes. Some studies have suggested that the anthocyanins present in naturally purple foods help our bodies to regulate blood sugar levels, reducing the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
