Rhubarb is a perennial vegetable famous for its tart-flavored pinkish-green stalks, although it’s used as a sweetened fruit in pies, tarts, and jams. Here’s how to plant, grow, and harvest your own rhubarb!
About Rhubarb
Rhubarb originally came from Asia. It was brought to Europe in the 1600s and to America not long thereafter. It thrives in areas with a cooler climate, making it popular in northern gardens. Rhubarb is easy to grow, but needs a dormancy period to really thrive and produce an abundance of huge stalks.
The stalks are the only edible part of the rhubarb plant. These have a rich, tart flavor when cooked. The leaves of the rhubarb plant are toxic—they contain an irritant called oxalic acid—so be sure that they are not ingested.
What’s wonderful about rhubarb is that it’s a perennial: It will produce for many years—five or more. For that reason, rhubarb should be planted in its own space in any corner of the garden where it can grow undisturbed.
Rhubarb grows well in soil amended with plenty of well-rotted manure or compost; this has inspired some gardeners to just go ahead and plant it near their compost piles!
Reader Comments
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Rhubarb leaves are getting Yellow
I live is Michigan. I planted 4 new rhubarb crowns from a company in MASS. I planted them 5ft apart in mounds in a sunny location. All 4 came up and looked nice but lately each plant started to get yellow on the outer large leaves. Our garden is new and pretty sandy. We added compost in the spring. I don’t think it’s root rot but how can I tell what’s wrong with the plants or is it just that time of year? I’m new to growing anything…. Do you have any ideas?
Thanks
Rubbard
Do I leave alone leaves on a new plant or pull up.
Rhubarb
Hi I planted three crowns this year my rhubarb seems to have taken but the leave are full of holes is this okay or should I put down some slug pellets
Rhubarb stalks
Amanda, if you haven't already done so, cut the flower stalk off. It will only sap energy from the plant that you want to go to the stems and roots. You may also want to think about dividing the plants since I assume your mother's patch has been around a while. Lots of good on line advice about that. Good luck with the rhubarb!
Huge stalk from center of rhubarb plant
I am now the caretaker of my mother’s garden after she recently passed away. She always grew and harvested the rhubarb so this is all new to me. I went to harvest stalks and there is a very big (3 foot tall) center stalk with flowers/seeds from one of the plants. What do I do with this stalk? Leave it? Cut it?
Rhubarb stalks
Second season grown from seed. The stalks are hollow how is that righted for future growth?
Rhubarb going to seed
what is wrong with my rhubarb or how to prevent my rhubarb from going to seed as soon as it comes up in spring & during the whole season. Thanks
Tiny rhubarb plants--what to do with them this time of year?
Hi--I ordered 2 rhubarb crowns from a seller on Etsy and they have arrived alive. But they are very small. Including the root ball, no more than 3 inches long and the 'live' end is at most 1/2 inch. Should I plant these in containers and keep them in my (unheated) basement near a sunny window for the winter OR should I go ahead and plant them in the prepared raised bed. I live in NC, growing zone 7b. Thanks for any advice!
rhubarb in winter
That is remarkably small. The NC Coop Extension suggests that it’s possible to grow it; see here https://lenoir.ces.ncsu.edu/2018/04/will-that-plant-grow-here/ You should contact them directly for specific advice; the phone number is given. Our research suggests that zone 7b is right on the line of survivability and success, so rather than recommend any particular care, call the coop extension. Here’s another page for the service: https://www.ces.ncsu.edu/ Good luck!
Months that rhubarb can be harvested
Can rhubarb still be harvested in Sept? I had heard to only harvest in months with no "R".
Harvesting Rhubarb
Yes, that is an old rule of thumb. The idea is that you leave the stalks after August so that they can continue to grow and stay healthy. If you have prolific amounts of rhubarb, I’m sure it’s okay to cheat a little and harvest into September but be sure to harvest no more than one-third of your stalks at a time. Of course, if the stalks get too big, they taste woody and unappetizing so keep that in mind.
rhubarb leaves
Can you please advise me as to what I should do with my the leaves from my rhubarb?
I was told not to compost them.....thank you
Dispose of Rhubarb Leaves
Hi Donna,
You can dispose of the rhubarb leaves in your compost. The oxalic acid in the leaves will be broken down over time, rendering it safe.
From seed
I was given a PKG of rhubarb seeds, which I planted in the spring in a container. They grew! It is now mid-July and they are getting larger with nice leaves. It is too hot to transplant into the ground. What do I do with them from here?? Do I transplant them into larger containers till fall?? What?? Didn't really think they would grow - but now here they are! What next??
Young Rhubarb
If the rhubarb seems to have outgrown its container (roots are visible coming out the bottom), then you can transplant it into a larger container until the weather cools off in early fall, at which point you should plant them in their permanent home! After repotting, be sure to keep it watered and out of the hot sun.
My grandfather used to put an old tin bucket around his rhubarb
Does rhubarb need anything around it?
Rhubarb
We were given a fresh bunch of pulled rhubarb. Many had small fresh leaves started and we trimmed each carefully and placed in a dish with water. Will it continue to grow or should it be placed in soil?
Rhubarb success
I purchased 4 potluck 1 yr old rhubarb crowns from my local garden centre this spring (over winter the labels had been misplaced). They arrived with tiny signs of life and a few limp small leaves. To be honest I feared the worst. Nothing ventured, 1st April, I planted them up anyway, in a dedicated area of my hugelculture bed and got on with the rest of my spring planting. Now less than 3 months later all 4 crowns have multiple stems at least 3/4 of an inch thick and leaves of approximately 70cm in diameter on 2 crowns which have heart shaped leaves and the same from top of stem to leaf tip on the 2 crowns with narrower more triangular leaves. Very impressed with them. Will manure well at the end of the year and cover well in preparation for our very cold winters (-12 to -18 deg Celsius) wish me luck!
thin stalks
Will thin stalks grow thicker when other thick stalks are harvested? I have loads of thin stalks, but not many 1"ers.
Thin Rhubarb Stalks
Hi Ann,
Thin stalks are usually a sign that the plant is either immature (less than 2 years old), or needs to be divided. Harvesting the thicker stalks won’t do much to help the thin ones grow bigger. We hope this helps!
First time rhubarb grower
I am very new to gardening and planted a rhubarb crown in March. It seems to be flourishing, there are 7 stalks growing from the centre, some of which are now similar to the size you would buy at the supermarket for eating, but everything i've read says you shouldn't harvest rhubarb the first year. My question is, if I am not harvesting the rhubarb what do I need to do instead. Do I just leave all the growth until it dies back (assuming that's what happens) and then cut it all back when it dies?
Rhubarb
You want to put a lot of thought into the location of where you plant this! Once it gets established, the roots go halfway to Australia. Ask me how I know this...
Green Stalks
Is there anything I can do to improve the colour of my rhubarb stalks? I believe I planted Canada Red, but the stalks have very little red on them.
rhubarb red or green
In order to maintain the redness of your rhubarb, make sure you clean up the dying foliage from it each fall. Cut the stems off as they begin to die back or thoroughly rake the area after all the plant material has died back. Be sure to divide regularly. But usually, it actually doesn’t matter if it’s green or red in terms of cooking or taste; it’s just the color.
holes in leaves of Rhubarb
my rhubarb has holes in the leaves and it is not producing well, we have moved it from the original spot about 2 years ago. What can I do to help with this problem?
Holes in Rhubarb Leaves
In terms of hole in leaves, that’s often a sign of slugs, common garden pests. Slugs prefer moist, shaded habitats and will shelter in weeds or organic trash. Be extra careful to remove any garden or plant debris near the rhubarb to promote good air circulation and reduce moist habitat for slugs. At night, go out and you’ll see slugs with a flashlight. PIck slugs to decrease population; spread wood ashes around plants; we like to use “lure” by putting out grapefruit skins which they would rather eat. Destroy any slugs found feeding on lure. Another popular way to get rid of slugs is to sink shallow dishes filled with beer into the soil to attract and drown the molluscs; organic controls include ferrous phosphate.
It’s fine to transplant rhubarb in spring, preferably early spring. Just make sure that you place each section upright in the planting hole with the buds 1 to 2 inches below the soil surface. To aid establishment, don’t harvest any rhubarb the first 2 years after planting. Rhubarb can be harvested for 4 to 6 weeks in the third year and until mid-June in succeeding years.
Rhubarb leaves
So I know the leaves are toxic - but I've been told it's great to cut them off the stem and throw them in the vegetable garden as ground cover to prevent weeds. Is this safe to do? If it's near other edible plants, won't that possibly transfer toxicity to those plants? Thanks for your reply!
Rhubarb leaves toxicity
While rhubarb leaves do contain poisonous oxalic acid and should not be eaten directly, they can be placed in the compost pile. And decomposing rhubarb leaves can be safely applied to the vegetable garden. Oxalic acid, like other organic acids, are not readily absorbed by plant roots.
Opportunity to transplant about 8 plants.
I have an opportunity to transplant several rhubarb plants, it is currently June 3, any tips?
Transplanting Rhubarb
June is not the ideal time for transplanting rhubarb, as it’s typically too hot and sunny and can cause the plants stress, greatly reducing their likelihood of surviving. If you don’t have the luxury of waiting until fall (or, even better, next spring), you should focus on keeping the newly-transplanted plants well watered. After transplanting, monitor the plants closely and do not allow them to dry out. Consider using a layer of a light-colored mulch (such as straw) to hold in moisture, too.
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