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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retracting my previous comment
I decided to try my rhubarb again today since we love it so. Just pulled 2 stalks and cooked a very small helping of sauce. Walaa!! it tasted fine. Could I have harvested the first batch too early in the season? I'm at a loss.
Rhubarb Taste
Good! Harvesting too early could have been the cause of the subpar taste. Mature stalks should be at least an inch in diameter and be full and juicy. Harvest in the morning before the afternoon sun and heat have a chance to draw moisture from the leaves.
How to harvest rhubarb stalks
Which is the better method of harvesting rhubarb stalks, cutting them close to the ground or pulling the stalk away from the crown?
Harvesting Rhubarb
It’s best to cut the stalks, as pulling them could damage the plant!
my rhubarb taste
I brought in some rhubarb that has been in the same place for 50 or more years. I made some rhubarb sauce the same way as always. When we ate it the next morning for breakfast, we were VERY disappointed. It had NO rhubarb taste. What could be the cause?
Rhubarb
One of my rhubarb plants has what looks like a large gall like growth coming from the crown. There are stalks growing from areas near but not directly from that growth. I can't seem to find anything about this type of issue, any ideas? The growth is partially below the ground and 3-4 inches in diameter at ground level.
Volunteer rhubarb (I think)
While weeding a neglected area of my yard, I came across several small rhubarb looking plants. Years ago I had a rhubarb plant in another area of the yard about 30 ft from these plants. It eventually died out . Could these babies be from that plant? Thanks for any information.
look-a-like rhubarb
Rhubarb does not spread by root, as your observation might imply, so it is not likely “true” rhubarb. The suspcious plant is probably common burdock (Arctium minus), aka wild rhubarb. It has large wavy leaves and rosy red stalks like the spring plant that goes so well with strawberries…but don’t be fooled. The wild one is not edible.
Rhubarb
This spring my years old rhubarb plant grew so fast, it now(5-26-20) has a huge seed stalk. Do I cut this off or let it go? The stalk is about 3" diameter. Will cutting it damage the plant for next year? Thanks for any advice.
seed stalk
Yes, cut it, if you prefer to harvest the edible stalks. The seed stalk can seem to appear overnight! It will not harm the plant to leave it but it will consume energy that would otherwise go into producing stalks for pie and sauces. Your call, but I’d be there with a sharp knife before coming to the end of this sentence.
Yellow leaves & marks on stalks
The last few years I contiue to get yellow leaves, especially lower area of plants. Pull them out. Is part of plant low on nutients? Also, rhubard is stated to be disease free, but something eats on the leaves and this year, long dryish blemishes on the some stalks. Idea?
yellow leaves
It sounds like your rhubarb is begging for some rich, aged manure. Rough up—don’t actually dig—the soil under the leaves and around the plant and spread around a couple to a few inches of aged manure, store bought and bagged is fine. Then give the plant and manure a good soaking. The plant should begin to show improvement although it may be much better next year. You could repeat the manure this fall; rhubarb can never get enough! Based on the harvest of a farmer we met in Maine a few years ago, some of the best rhubarb grows on the edge of old cow manure piles!
Rhubarb
I have a rhubarb plant that I have been growing for a few years now. It grows in the same area as my asparagus. Some of the asparagus has actually migrated over into the Rhubarb. That is not my question. My question is, what happens when it starts to flower? Do I cut the flowers off so that it can get bigger or are they not a problem. Most garden plants when they flower they are almost finished and going to seed. I do not recall ever getting big stalks or plants nearly as tall as some in the pictures. Is this from not cutting the flowers or is there another issue with my rhubarb? Mine is usually about 5 feet in diameter with the leaves but not that tall. Maybe foot to two feet high. Thank you for any advice. Talk soon and be safe out there. :)
Rhubarb Flowers
It’s generally recommended to prune off flower stalks when they appear, as this will encourage the plant to put more energy into growing foliage rather than flowers. Unless you enjoy the look of the flower, there’s no real reason to let rhubarb produce flowers.
Rhubarb
Yeahh so my father in law an oldschool farmer said hes tried growing rhubarb many times failing each time, so ofcourse i had to take on the challenge, so far so good, i will say it has been hardest thing ive ever grown so far, and ive grown a lot, i think i will prevail
Rhubarb in herb garden
I just planted a rhubarb in a corner of my herb garden but now wonder if this as a good idea given that rhubarb leaves are poisonous ....should I move it?
Rhubarb Leaves
Rhubarb leaves are toxic because they contain oxalic acid, which is a chemical that causes irritation. Daffodils and a number of other plants also contain this substance. If ingested, it can cause a variety of problems—typically indigestion and stomach pain, but also kidney failure or even death (though rare).
If you fear that the leaves will get eaten mistakenly by children or pets, consider moving it to a more secure location. However, as long as no one eats the leaves, the plant won’t affect any of your herbs negatively. In other words, its toxicity will not spread to other plants.
Hearty Rhubarb Myth?
I grew up hearing that rhubarb was like a weed and could grow anywhere and was tough as nails. After my experience with it never growing no matter what I do, and reading all the comments in here, I'm beginning to think it is the hardest thing TO grow, where am I wrong?
Frustrated in Ma.
rhubarb's secret
The most important things for rhubarb (like other plants) are soil, sun, and water. It needs and loves aged manure as well as but not only compost, and it needs full sun and regular watering. It also needs a cold season, but if you’re in Massachusetts (Ma), so you’ve got that. Keep trying and piling on the aged manure.
Older Rhubarb
I have a Rhubarb plant that has been on this property well over 20 years i would venture to guess. I have it in a bed with other perennials. In the last 3 years it has not gotten a lot of sun due to a tree we got removed this year. So my question is...I plan to redo the bed it is in this fall. I will hopefully get 5-6 plants out of what I have now. Next Spring 2021 Do I count that as year 1 and do not harvest or is the division regarded as the same plant as the one split from? Thank you for your answer.
counting the years
You are better off giving the newly divided plants a couple of years to establish themselves before harvesting.
My rhubarb is turning yellow
I got a small rhubarb transplant late last summer and it is coming up but the leaves are turning yellow. Should I add nitrogen?
yellow rhubarb leaves
This does not happen often, so an answer is hard to discern. Try surrounding it with aged manure, soak the plant and manure, and if there has been no heavy rain, soak it again in 5 to 7 days. If you do not see improvement —and it is getting full sun (except of course if it rains)— do a soil test.
Sad Looking Rhubarb
Plant the Rhubarb now. It's not too cold unless the ground is frozen. Put some mulch around them, but do not fertilize them the first year or pull any stalks.
Sad looking Rhubarb
I have recently purchased some rhubarb plants from the local nursery. Its been unusually cold, so I have kept them inside before transplanting them outside. At first, they were doing great! Sending up a lot of new stalks and what not. Now, they are look pretty sad. The stalks are thin and they dont stand up on their own anymore. Any thoughts? Should I transplant them now?
Planting Rhubarb For The First Time
We want to plant a new rhubarb plant, do we buy seeds to plant or a pre-started rhubarb plant or something else? Like, roots? Our current rhubarb came from a plant already growing in a friend's yard that we dug up part of and transplanted to our yard, so we don't know where to get a new one.
Rhubarb
We recommend buying and planting dormant crowns (roots), as they’re less fickle than seed. You can likely purchase them from a local nursery in the spring, or from an online seed retailer.
HELP ABOUT MY RHUBARB!...
HELLO OLD FARMER'S ALMANAC -
HELP!...I'VE GROWN RHUBARB IN MY GARDENS, OFF & ON FOR YEARS...THIS YEAR, WHEN I HARVESTED MY SMALL PLOT OF RHUBARB, CHOPPED IT & FROZE IN ZIPLOC BAGS, I, THEN, PULLED OUT A COUPLE OF BAGS TO MAKE RHUBARB CRISP.
WHEN I SERVED IT FOR DINNER FOR MYSELF, I FOUND THAT EVERY SPOONFUL I TRIED WAS LIKE A SALMON THAT HAD NOT BEEN 'DEBONED' - IT HAD PIN BONES ALL THROUGH EACH BITE OF RHUBARB CRISP!
I'VE NEVER HAD THIS HAPPEN BEFORE...WHAT IS WRONG WITH MY RHUBARB???
IT WAS A TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE & RUINED MY CRISP.
SO DISAPPOINTED...WILL I HAVE TO THROW THE OTHER BAGS OUT INTO THE COMPOST?
HAVE YOU EVER HEARD ABOUT THIS HAPPENING WITH RHUBARB BEFORE?
HOPE YOU CAN RESPOND ON THIS, THANKYOU.
LAYNA
VANCOUVER, CANADA.
Boney rhubarb
Oh, what a tragedy! We have all experienced the anticipation and ensuing disappointment when a dish doesn’t work. We have never heard of rhubarb having texture like you describe and have no explanation for it. Perhaps a reader can clear it up for all of us? We can only observe that rhubarb stalks have stringy ribs, something like celery does, so maybe those dried up dried up during cooking, to become brittle??
As for composing the remainder…we’d be tempted to taste each package. You never know; it might have been a one off. And add ice cream. That has a way of making everything right. ;-)
green stalks all year
I have read that my rhubarb may just not be a red rhubarb plant as the stalks never turn red but when do I cut the green stalks and do I use them just as you would red ones? Extra sweeteners added while cooking?
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