Bronze Arrow Oakleaf Lettuce
The widest adaptation and toughest constitution I've seen in lettuce. This leaf lettuce survives winter weather when the rest have turned to slime, and I've seen it growing in a gravel parking lot in summer heat. Great flavor, and amazing vigor. I know one gardener who cuts heads fairly high up and then gives a bit of compost so the plant will regrow. She cut seven heads in succession off of one Bronze Arrow plant!
Under the name Bronze Beauty, this was an All-America winner in the 1930's for Germania Seeds. When they cut most of their vegetable offerings, it dropped out of sight except for a few seed-savers. Two decades ago, the Jeavons Center got seed, and gardener Carol Cox spent the next several years selecting for bolt-resistance, hardiness, and flavor. Her work has been continued by Ellen Bartholomew, who grew our seed at Golden Rule Garden. By now, their Bronze Arrow is a different lettuce from the Bronze Arrowhead that some seed companies still carry. Decades of selecting for bolt-resistance and hardiness have paid off. 300 seeds