Growing Rhubarb

Rheum rhabarbarum : Polygonaceae / the dock family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec
      P                

(Best months for growing Rhubarb in USA - Zone 5a regions)

  • P = Plant crowns
  • Easy to grow. Plant pieces of rhizome or roots 8 - 10 cm (3 - 4 in.) deep. Best planted at soil temperatures between 41°F and 68°F. (Show °C/cm)
  • Space plants: 35 inches apart
  • Harvest in approximately 1 years. You will have a stronger plant if you leave it for about a year before using..
  • Compatible with (can grow beside): Brassicas (Cabbage, Broccoli, Cauliflower, etc)

Your comments and tips

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19 Feb 23, Rebecca (USA - Zone 8b climate)
Advice on planting Victoria rhubarb in pots.
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20 Feb 23, Anonymous (USA - Zone 8b climate)
Read the notes here or google how to grow it.
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19 Feb 23, Tony (South Africa - Dry summer sub-tropical climate)
What is the best way to havest rhubarb
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29 Apr 23, Celeste Archer (Canada - Zone 7a Mild Temperate climate)
I find the best way to harvest rhubarb is: hold the stalk (flat hand) close to the ground (about 3/4 of the way down) -- push the stalk sideways and backwards (45 degree angle out away from the plant) -- once you hear the snap, grab the stalk twist and pull simultaneously.
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19 Feb 23, Liz (Australia - temperate climate)
Hold the stem close to the ground and twist gently as you pull it up
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30 Jan 23, phil coppola (USA - Zone 7b climate)
What variety of rhubarb is best to grow as a perennial in zone 7. I tried rhubarb about 45 years ago and was unsuccessful. Reason being that the temperature in the winter wasn't cold enough in the winter and if you were to try to grow it you were required to expose the bulb (?roots) to a freeze. Are there new varieties that don't require that. Please advise.
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23 Jan 23, Graeme Horn (Australia - temperate climate)
What is eating my Rhubarb Leaves, nearly nothing left of leaf.
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12 Feb 23, Nat (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Possums? Put some netting over it!
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25 Oct 22, Niki Farr (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
What is the best way to harvest rhubarb stalks-cut using a knife or twist and tear? Thanks
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11 Nov 22, Celeste Archer (Canada - Zone 5a Temperate Warm Summer climate)
I sort of do a bend (push the stalk to the side - and I generally hear a snap) -- then I twist and pull. This gets the whole stalk out -- and sometimes some "white" (which is not edible and needs to be cut off). When I use a knife, I don't get the entire stalk out, which leaves a nub sticking out of the ground. So for me, it is the bend, twist and pull that works best.
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Showing 41 - 50 of 636 comments
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I live in Howick KZN. I grow rhubarb in deep pots on the north side of our house (probably too hot) in a compost/soil mix regularly watered. Our area has heavy clay about 200mm below the surface, hence the reason for the pots. Our rhubarb grows many thin stalks (5/8mm dia.) quite slowly and many die before getting above 5mm dia.. The picked stalks are tasty if one has sufficient of them. The plants are about three years old and grown from a split off from a crown. Does rhubarb favour any particular soil PH? More or less water? Any particular soil mix? Require any special feeding? What is ideal soil depth? Your guidance would be appreciated. Thank you.

- David L.

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