Follow these steps to regrow romaine lettuce from its stem end. A fun way to use kitchen scraps. If you love growing things and fun kitchen experiments, here’s an experiment for you – regrow lettuce from the stem. Works best for romaine lettuce, but will work for any lettuce with a distinct stem end still intact.

Also Try: Regrowing Green Onions, Regrowing Celery

Have a look at my You Tube video and continue reading below. You’ll see it’s super easy and you have nothing to lose!



Unlike regrowing green onions or regrowing celery, you won’t be able to regrow a full head of lettuce. You’ll just regrow a few leaves 2-4 inches long. Enough for a sandwich. Regrown lettuce will bolt (send out a seed stalk) before it grows a full head of lettuce. But don’t let that stop you – it’s such a cool experiment.

Steps for How to Regrow Lettuce from a Stem

Eat your purchased lettuce, cutting the leaves at about 1 inch from the bottom. Place remaining stem in a shallow dish of water (about 1/2 inch). Place on a window sill or under grow lights. Change water in bowl every 1 to 2 days. Watch your lettuce grow. It is truly remarkable how quickly the new shoots start. You may also notice that roots will start to grow on the bottom. After 10-12 days, your lettuce is going to be as big as it will likely ever get. It’s not going to be a full head of lettuce, it’ll just be enough to top a sandwich or make a small salad. But how cool is that! If you leave your lettuce beyond this point, it will become spindly and bitter as it attempts to produce seed. It won’t be pleasant to eat at this point. You’ll know it has reached this point when the leaves start turning a blue green color and/or the main stalk shoots up and leaves become less dense. Trust me, eat it when it’s like the photo below.

Here’s a photo journey

Does Regrowing Lettuce Always Work?

Not always, results will vary! I’ve tried growing lettuce from the fridge at least twenty times by now. Not every lettuce will work perfectly. Sometimes it won’t grow at all, sometimes it will bolt (go to seed) very quickly and other times it will grow for a few days and then wither away. On some occasions you may even get weird brown spots. So, if the first lettuce you try doesn’t work, don’t give up – try again. Really, what have you got to lose? Here are some various results.

I have also tried potting my romaine lettuce, but I have not had great success with the plants thriving and turning into a full head of lettuce for us to enjoy. I’ve had much more success in this regard with celery and green onions.

In conclusion, don’t expect a full head of romaine lettuce to fill your salad bowl. Regrow lettuce for fun, for topping a sandwich and to become more acquainted with the food you eat. Enjoy the process!

How and When to Harvest Regrown Lettuce?

After about 12-15 days, or until it’s the size in the photos below, your lettuce will be ready to harvest. Do not wait much longer, hoping it will get bigger or better. At some point the lettuce will turn bitter, bolt or start to spoil.

Just cut or break the leaves from the plant and add to a salad, sandwich or wrap.

What Else Can I Regrow From Stems?

1.Celery

I have had great success regrowing celery from stalk ends. I have even been able to successfully transplant celery to the garden.

Growing Celery from Stalks

Here’s a video on how to regrow celery from stem ends.

2.Green Onions

Green onions are another highly successful vegetable to grow from the root ends. And yes, these can be transplanted outside as well. You can harvest repeatedly.

Growing Green Onions from the Fridge

3.Other Kitchen Scraps

I’ve tried regrowing avocado from the pit and pineapple from the crown, but I wasn’t too impressed. Sure I got greens to grow, but it would be years before you’d ever get anything you can eat! I’m not that patient, nor do I have a lot of room to grow bigger plants. It’s like the time my kids planted a seed from an apple – we got a sprout, but that poor little seedling never really had a hope!

Herbs are a different story. Those you can clip, grow roots and regrow with much success. Basil, mint, cilantro, thyme, rosemary and oregano are all great contenders. One day, I may write more about that.

Have you ever tried regrowing any stem ends? I’d love to hear about your experience.

If you try regrowing romaine and you’re on social media, take a photo and tag #getgettys so I can see it and like it!

Getty Stewart is a Professional Home Economist, speaker, frequent media guest and writer dedicated to putting good food on tables and agendas. She is the author of several recipe books on enjoying and preserving fruit, Founder of Fruit Share, a mom and veggie gardener. Sign up to get articles by Getty delivered to your inbox. You’ll get recipes, practical tips and great food information like this.

This post has been updated from when it was initially posted in 2014.