Gardening : Invasion of the European Lettuces : Planting: Seeds for several varieties of the tasty, tender lettuces can now be obtained in U.S..

European gardeners and cooks know and savor lettuce. Most would certainly not be satisfied with the mundane offerings found in American supermarkets.

Their kitchen gardens abound with a marvelous array of lettuces that feature colors, tastes, shapes and textures that differ from lettuce varieties found in this country.

Thanks to a trio of mail order seed firms, these sweet, crisp, tender and colorful European lettuces are now available to gardeners in this country.

Now through early spring is a great time to sample these new varieties in your garden. And you don’t actually need a garden. Lettuce is simple and quick to grow in a container on a sunny patio.

European lettuces (as do American lettuces) come in four basic types. Here is a rundown of the four types along with some of the exciting varieties found in each.

Butterhead Lettuce

Many gardeners and gourmets feel that the butterhead varieties have the best flavor of all the lettuce types. The butterhead lettuce varieties are soft and fragile in texture, containing a buttery colored heart surrounded by vividly colored outer leaves.

The spongy leaves have a delicate, sweet, buttery flavor. The heads of butterhead lettuce are very loosely folded and never become solid. Unlike American butterhead varieties which are usually green, the European butterheads come in a range of colors that typically include crimson or bronze, tapering to various shades of green and yellow at the heart.

Of the four lettuce types, Europeans tend to favor the butterheads and have developed some outstanding varieties. Sangria comes from France and has outer leaves tinted a rosy red color and pale yellow interior leaves.

Its thick wavy leaves are tender and succulent. From Switzerland comes Pirat, a very mild butterhead whose pale green leaves are mottled with bronze. Capitane is a gourmet Dutch butterhead that is sold by very fancy Common Market greengrocers. It has rosettes of large, velvety green leaves and a buttery flavor that requires only the simplest oil and vinegar dressing. Merveille des Quatre Saisons is a beautiful, tender French lettuce with very large ruby-tipped leaves that surround pretty green hearts. It has great ornamental as well as eating qualities.

Romaine Lettuce

Romaine lettuce derives its name from Roman lettuce, which was grown by 14th-Century popes in the palace gardens and its cultivation quickly spread throughout Europe. It is also referred to as cos lettuce in some seed catalogues. Romaine became famous as the lettuce used in Caesar Salad. And indeed, if grown and harvested properly, it deserves its reputation for excellence of flavor. In contrast to the delicate flavor of butterhead lettuce, romaine has a bold, hearty flavor.

Rouge D’Hiver has beautiful, wine-red leaves and comes from France. It has better heat tolerance than most romaines. Winter Density is a beautiful English romaine. Its compact deep-green heads are more tender than most romaines.

Romance is a French romaine with upright crispy green leaves that have a unique, sweet flavor. Little Gem is a miniature romaine that comes from England. The heads are four or five inches tall with bright-green, wavy leaves that are perfect for individual salads.

Batavian Lettuce

European batavian lettuce somewhat resembles American crisphead or iceberg lettuce, however, it has a wider range of colors and shapes, and the heads are generally looser.

In addition, unlike our crisphead lettuce, batavian heads are sweeter and never bland tasting. They are also easier to grow than American crisphead lettuce varieties.

Rouge Grenobloise is a beautiful French batavian lettuce with shiny green leaves tinted with burgundy red. The leaves are sweet and crunchy.

Kristia, also from France, has crispy, large medium green leaves that are juicy and never bitter. It takes hot weather better than other batavians. Canasta is a gorgeous French batavian with red tinged, bright green leaves. It is sweet, crisp and juicy.

Looseleaf Lettuce

Looseleaf lettuce is the easiest of all lettuces to grow and the most rapid to reach maturity. As its name implies, looseleaf lettuce does not form heads. Looseleaf lettuce makes an attractive landscaping item as the many looseleaf varieties offer a multitude of colors which include deep burgundy, lime green, bronze, red-tipped and dark green. The foliage is crinkled, frilled, wavy or curled depending on which variety you grow.

In outlining the virtues of European lettuces, I don’t want to give the idea that American varieties are vastly inferior; they’re not. Our looseleaf varieties such as Red Sails, Black Seeded Simpson, Oakleaf, Prize Head and others are the equal of European varieties. However, for both flavor and beauty the European lettuces are hard to beat.

FINDING SEEDS FOR EUROPEAN LETTUCES

You probably won’t be able to locate seeds for the European lettuces in local nurseries; most will have to be ordered by mail. The following mail order companies stock seeds for varieties mentioned:

Shepherd’s Garden Seeds, 6116 Highway 9, Felton, Ca. 95018. Catalog $1. Lists Capitane, Merveille des Quatre Saisons, Romance, Little Gem, Rouge Grenobloise and Kristia.

Johnny’s Selected Seeds, Foss Hill Road, Albion, Me. 04910. Catalogue free. Lists Sangria, Winter Density, Canasta and Concarde.

The Cook’s Garden, P.O. Box 535, Londonderry, Vt. 05148. Catalogue $1. Lists Pirat, Rouge D’Hiver and Lollo Rossa.

In addition to varieties mentioned here, these three companies offer a huge selection of other unique European and American lettuce varieties.

GARDENER’S CHECKLIST

For dedicated gardeners, here are suggestions from the California Assn. of Nurserymen on what to do in the garden this week:

* Thanksgiving is on its way. Brighten up the indoors with potted chrysanthemums or decorate with autumn-hued leaves, brightly colored persimmons, pomegranates and berried branches.

* If you don’t have a deciduous tree that gives a glorious show of leaf color in the fall, check at your local nursery and see what they suggest for your area of the state. Don’t prune existing deciduous trees until they are completely dormant this winter.

* You can lift and divide phlox and primroses this month.

* Soggy soil from winter rain will rot the tubers of tuberous begonias, so be sure to lift them out of the ground and store them in a cool, dry area.