Botanical Name
Rheum rhabarbarum
Grown as
Toxicity
Sun Exposure
Water Needs
Height
Spread
Special Features
Resilience
Plant Type
Planting
When to Plant Rhubarb
- Rhubarb can be planted in late fall or early spring.
- Plant rhubarb crowns after dormancy has set in in the fall, and you’ll have rhubarb cropping in the spring!
- In spring, plant crowns when the soil is workable, when the roots are still dormant, and before growth begins (or as plants are just beginning to leaf out). If you have a temperature gauge, soil temperature should be 50°F minimum.
Where to Plant Rhubarb
Rhubarb grows best in full sun but will tolerate partial shade.
Choose a site with soil that is well-draining and fertile. Good drainage is essential, as rhubarb will rot if kept too wet. Mix compost, rotted manure, or anything high in organic matter into the soil. Rhubarb plants are heavy feeders and need this organic matter. Learn more about soil amendments and preparing soil for planting.
Rhubarb gets big! It can grow to 2 to 3 feet tall and wide. Make sure you choose a site where it won’t be crowded.
How to Plant Rhubarb
- Plant 1-year-old rhubarb crowns, which you can find at a garden center or nursery, or order online. Plants will be sold as bare-rooted specimens or young plants already growing in pots, ready for transplanting. (Rhubarb can be grown from seed, but this is not recommended.)
- Before planting, eliminate all perennial weeds in the planting site.
- Dig large, bushel-basket-size holes.
- Space rhubarb plants about 2 to 4 feet apart and 3 to 4 feet between rows.
- Plant crowns so the eyes are about 2 inches below the soil surface with buds facing up.
- Water well at the time of planting.
Check out this video to learn more about how to plant rhubarb:
Growing
Overcrowding is a common problem with rhubarb and can lead to subpar growth. Dig and split rhubarb roots every 3 to 4 years. Divide when plants are dormant in early spring (or late fall). Divisions should have at least one large bud on them.
- Mulch generously with a heavy layer of straw to retain moisture and discourage weeds.
- Water your plant well and consistently. Rhubarb needs sufficient moisture, especially during the hot, dry summer days.
- Remove seed stalks as soon as they appear, as they will only drain energy from the plant that could be used to produce stalks or roots.
- Each spring, apply a light sprinkling of fertilizer (10-10-10) when the ground is thawing or has just thawed. See your local frost dates.
- In the fall, remove all plant debris. Once your ground freezes, it’s best to cover rhubarb with 2 to 4 inches of organic mulch, preferably well-rotted compost. By adding nitrogen to the soil, you’re preparing the rhubarb plants for a good spring season.
Toxicity
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.
Types
These common varieties have attractive red stalks and excellent growers:
- ‘Canada Red’
- ‘Crimson Red’
- ‘MacDonald’
- ‘Valentine’
In addition to the previous four, there is a reliable, green-stalked cultivar named:
- ‘Victoria’
Our rhubarb was crushed by fallen trees during the July 4th storm. Fast forward to yesterday, it is growing amazingly, large and healthy. Before I read this article, I harvested a few stalks to make some oat bars. 3 smaller stalks were left. Ugh! Did I kill my harvest for next Spring? Anything I can do to compensate for this blunder?
Don’t worry—you almost certainly haven’t harmed next spring’s crop. Harvesting only a few stalks from a vigorous plant leaves plenty of foliage to replenish the roots before winter. Let the remaining stalks grow, avoid further harvesting this season, and water during dry spells. After frost, mulch lightly once the ground freezes.
My brother's in-laws lived outside of Muncie, Indiana and had a rhubarb patch. We were in the far southwestern part of the state and some people grew rhubarb here, but it never was quite as good. I believe it was because our summers have much longer stretches of very hot weather. They also had long stretches of very cold temperatures in the winter consistently.
That's to say that we may have a blizzard oñe year or temperatures in the teens for 2 weeks and the next year never below 20 degrees and/or less than 5" of snow total.
Theirs was always more robust, yet tender and not stringy. It was a welcome site to see Mr. P getting out of my brother's car with 2 bushels of fresh rhubarb every spring.
I’m 68 and I grew up eating rhubarb out of my parents garden as a kid. Pull it and dip the stalk in a bag of sugar! Sold the family farm, the plants had to be 50 years old. I dug some out and moved them wherever I lived. Those 50 year old plants live on! I’ve moved to Florida. You don’t find it here, because it’s too hot. So I have moved and taken one of the family plants. I’ve potted it. It grew, I put the pot in our refrigerator in the garage to “fake” winter it. So far so good. I hope it works, I can’t live without my rhubarb crisp!
Can you grow rhubarb in a big planter. And would I want to bring it into my garage?
I have a wonderful stock of rubbarb, with an abundant number of stocks. The problem I am having is that all the stocks are green! The variety is Canada Red. What is lacking in the soil that needs to be supplemented to make the stocks red? Please reply to my email please. Thanks.. I live in zone 7, near Indianaoplis, IN.
I live in zone 9b on the San Francisco peninsula near San Jose. Growing and keeping rhubarb alive during our hot summers has been a challenge. Is there a rhubarb species that grows well in a Mediterranean climate?
It’s really hot & dry in denver but rhubarb grows like crazy here. Make sure u dig a big enough root ball area and fill with 50/50 garden soil and compost. Helps to put some straw in the bottom before u plant it. Rhubarb takes a lot of water and prefers being watering under the leaves, not overhead (same with tomatoes). Maybe plant it in a partial shade area, like avoiding the hottest sun the last few hours of the day..
After some asking around, there seems to be some consensus that KangaRhu, Raspberry Red, Canadian Red, and Victoria might be good varieties to look for.
Our friends at the Texas extension service offer some advice as well: https://travis-tx.tamu.edu/about-2/horticulture/edible-gardens-for-austin/vegetable-gardening-in-austin/rhubarb-texas-style/
And here's a quick video from a grower who had success growing rhubarb in Spain, in conditions similar to yours: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gazf3Bdlx6k.
Good luck and happy planting!
I live in Raleigh NC. I did not plant my rhubarb in the garden (due to extreme clay), but instead planted in a giant pot. It did well last year, but I did not harvest due to it being the first year. This year it has only put out 2 stalks so far. There are ants crawling over the plant. Any ideas as to how I can safely deal with the ants? Would they affect the number of stalks produced? Thanks for your reply.
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