Rhubarb is a perennial vegetable famous for its tart-flavored pinkish-green stalks, though it’s used as a sweetened fruit in pies, tarts, and jams. Plant in early spring while the plants are dormant or in the fall in zones 6 to 10 or any other zone before frost. Here’s how to plant, grow, and harvest your own rhubarb.
Of the rhubarb plant, only the stalks are eaten. These have a rich, tart flavor. The leaves of the rhubarb plant are poisonous, so be sure that they are not ingested. Rhubarb is easy to grow, but needs cool weather to thrive.
What’s wonderful about rhubarb is that it will produce for many years—five or more. For that reason, rhubarb should be planted in its own bed in any corner of the garden where it can grow undisturbed.
It grows well in soil enriched with plenty of well-rotted manure or compost so some gardeners will even plant near their compost bin!
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The seed stalk and flowers
The seed stalk and flowers should be cut out as soon as they start forming. They will take energy from the plant and you will get less rhubarb to harvest.
rhubarb
I have been wanting to grow my own for years, but can't seem to find anyone in the area who is thinning out their rhubarb plants. Laurie/Davenport,IA
rhubarb
Laurie, just buy some rhubarb starts. You can find them at any garden center and they are not expensive.
Rhubarb
I have a few plants and I would like to move on to a better location. It is the beginning of May in Michigan. Can I do this transplanting now?
Early spring before the
Early spring before the stalks start growing is best for transplanting. Fall, after the stalks start yellowing, is also a good time to transplant.
hard stock
My rhubarb has come up for the 7th year in pots on my balcony in Italy!! I am thrilled to have it in this hot climate (and I grew it from seeds!) but this year, one plant has a hard thick stock coming up. What should I do? I know I can't eat that but what about the shoots coming out of it and how do I eliminate the hard stock for next year?
Rhubarb in Italy
Where are you located? I'm in Rome and desperate to find some rhubarb plants but have had no luck.
rhubarb in Italy
Hi There! I'm in Bergamo which is near Milano. I found seeds in a store (VERY unusual) and started several plants from them. Last week I went into a Consorzio Agricola and found a small new plant and bought that too. If you find any, be sure to keep it well shaded and well watered all summer. It's really a bit too hot in Italy!
Good luck!
how many crowns to plant?
We are a family of 8- I would like to make pies, jelly and have some for summer snacking. How many crowns do you recommend I plant> Thank you!
amount to plant
A general rule is to plant 3 to 6 plants for a family of four. (Some families would do OK with even less, depending on how often they harvest.) So, double that to 6 to 12 plants, and you should be all set.
rhubarb did not come up
I planted rhubarb roots bought at a store in late spring of last year. It never came up. I watered it every couple of days if it didn't rain. I had dug holes and added compost to the hole before planting. What did I do wrong?
rhubarb failed
You know that rhubarb needs a winter chill (below 40°F), right? And a moderate summer (75°F-ish, on average). You do not indicate where you are from.
One of our editors did the same thing and had the same outcome. Twice. (Not very encouraging, huh?) Actually the third time was the charm.
In early spring, she dug a much larger hole (a square yard of space, not merely pot-size, 10 inches down), thus amending the soil (with compost, aged manure, and 5-10-10 fertilizer) in a much larger area. She put the hole in a sunny spot, for full-day exposure. And she made sure that the crowns were near the surface--no more than an inch or so under soil. And she watered to keep it moist, but not soggy.
It seemed to work. The pie was delicious!
We hope this helps— best wishes.
PLANT ROOT IN THE GROUND NOT
PLANT ROOT IN THE GROUND NOT DEEPER THEN 2 INCHES
California Girl
I live inland from Laguna Beach, California. I grew rhubarb very successfully for two years. I had two plants that were in a vegetable garden and planted in the shade of a crepe myrtle tree. Our soil is full of clay. The two plants were Victoria. I did everything wrong. I picked as much as I could the first year and made 4 pies and 4 batches of preserves. I fertilized them with Miracle Grow. The second year I made 7 pies and 4 more batches of preserves. Would have made more but we went out of town in the middle of June for a summer long RV trip. Unfortunately it was SOOO very HOT in Southern California last year that the two plants dried up. They were on a drip watering system but that didn't work when the weather was over 100 for a week at a time. The first of January I tried finding bareroot rhubarb in the nurseries. I found one Canadian Red in a nursery and 2 Victorias at Lowes. Would have loved one more plant but couldn't find one. I am anxious to see what happens this year. Will still pick this year and fertilize because it worked for me.
I live in the mountains above
I live in the mountains above Santa Barbara it also gets very hot through the summer. Last year I bought a six pack of rhubarb at Green Thumb nursery in Ventura. I planted them in a raised bed fairly close together.
Five of them grew just like you'd expect, the sixth one just exploded, and we had a hard time keeping up with the amount of rhubarb it produced. Without any exaggeration we got at least ten pies off of the one plant. We never harvested any useable stalks off of the other five, Then, I suppose it was as the weather turned hot all we got were thin stalks and short stalks. The heavy producing one also went to seed. I have just transplanted them and gave them a little more room.
You can find it for sale at Whole Foods in season, and also at some Farmer's Markets.
rhubarb
what is the kind of rhubarb can i grow in georgia? i am original from wyoming and we used to be able to grow some there, my grandmother made the best rhubarb pies out of and man for the last few years i been wanting to make me a pie or two but they do not sell rhubarb in the stores here. is there a kind of rhubarb i can raise and plant so i can grow my own? if so were would i get them so i can plant next year or start in the greenhouse during winter spring months
The summer heat in the south
The summer heat in the south and lack of cold during winter play a part in rhubarb's scarcity in your area. It can be grown, but you have to prepare. Buy seeds now to start indoors(check www.burpee.com) and plant outside in the spring as soon as soil can be worked. Use lots of compost where you plant your rhubarb. Plant in partial shade, opposed to the usual instructions of planting in full sun. Georgia gardeners also report having more luck with rhubarb when planted on the eastern side of their home or garage.
Good luck!
Rhubarb in Georgia
Don't buy seeds unless you are planting a HUGE garden. If you just want a few plants then buy bareroots from Burpee if you can't get them in your local nursery. Maybe your local nursery will order them for you and they mights cost less. Good luck. California Girl
seeds are like 70-80% sucess
seeds are like 70-80% sucess rate but i would suggest starting them inside, as they are fragile and weeds are hard to control, keep them inside for 2+months then you can plant them outside, control weeds
I am also from Georgia, and
I am also from Georgia, and while I never grew Rhubarb there, my mother-in-law successfully grew it. You will not have much success if you are South of Atlanta, as it get much too hot and dry during the summer months. She grew hers on the North and East side of the house. It will get plenty of sun, but not the hottest sun from the afternoon. The north side because it will get enough cold in the winter to cause the dormancy. Good Luck.
Rhubarb
do deer and other animals like to eat the plants
Rhubarb leaves are toxic so
Rhubarb leaves are toxic so deer and other animals tend to stay away from them, especially given other choices.
growing Rhubarb in Cental FL
I purchased plants at a Feed store and was told the plants do well FL. I don't kow the varity. The plants have long stalks and are vine like. I haven't found any pctures that will help me identify the varity? Can anyone help?
Rhubarb isn't well adapted
Rhubarb isn't well adapted for Florida climates though I've heard there is one variety that manages. See this link from your Florida cooperative extension service: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/mv124
Perhaps you could go back to your Feed store and ask the variety; then call your cooperative extension to get more local information (and Google the variety!).
rhubarb
Here it is last of Aug and my rhubarb,which is on the west side of my hose is beautiful.I think it most be cause it does not get direct sun. It really only gets direct sun in the afternoon.
rhubarb
My rhubarb plants are still growing like crazy and this is August! Can i still harvest and eat this late in the season?
Jeanne, Auburn, IN.
If your rhubarb is still
If your rhubarb is still putting out new growth and not dried out, then you can still harvest it! Sometimes cooler nights in late summer can bring on growth. Once it starts to lay down and it doesn't look so great, it's done. Usually it's done in September.
rhubarb with green stalks
some of my rhubard stalks ar green, but most are red. Are the green any good?
The color of rhubarb stalks
The color of rhubarb stalks can vary, based on the cultivar. For example, Victoria and Linneaus cultivars have green stalks that blush a little red near the base. More recent cultivars, such as Ruby, Valentine and Canada Red, have solid red stalks.
rhubarb leaves
I was admiring my garden and noticed that one of my rhubarb leaves was almost completly gone from the inside out. Is this crown rot? And when i harvest my rhubarb will it grow back?
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