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.
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’
Comments
Hi, Lori: Good thinking! Yes, protect those young sprouts with wood shavings, plastic, straw, or even old blankets--anything to trap Earth's heat! Thanks for asking!
Tom, rhubarb is available as both red and green varieties; for red, you have to get a true red one (even those so named are not necessarily). The good news is that both—all, apparently some gardeners have experienced a mottled combo of colors—are edible. The green stalks may not be as tangy as the red but they are perfectly fine for eating.
Although it can be read either way, the sentence was meant to be read as "After the first [spring frost]" rather than "After the [first spring] frost." There is often more than one frost in early spring, so the article is suggesting to apply fertilizer some time after that first frost during spring, when the ground is thawing or has just thawed, but before growth starts. Hope this helps!
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It depends on how bad a freeze. Rhubarb usually can tolerate temperatures in the low 30s, even upper 20s (degrees F), but can suffer damage below that. To be on the safe side, protect your plant overnight. You have to be careful about rhubarb, because if the leaves suffer frost damage, the oxalic acid from the leaves may filter into the stalks, making them toxic as well. Signs of frost damage are blackened, shriveled leaves and limp stalks. If you see this, discard the affected leaves and stalks.