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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12 May 14, Ian (Australia - temperate climate)
Thank you for reply and help.
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14 Apr 14, john (Australia - arid climate)
I put a rhubarb plant in this summer in a pot the leaves start to wither and the plant is still green should it be planted in the grown
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10 Apr 14, jan (Australia - temperate climate)
I have brought 3 & they have all died??
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13 Mar 14, Louise (Australia - temperate climate)
I am leaving for the winter(live coastal Tassie). Do I need to do anything to my healthy rhubarb before I leave later this month?
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07 Mar 14, (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
This morning I found all the stema of one plant limp and lying on the soil and the leaves, were discoloured and looking sick. I have 2 other crowns in the same area and despite applying liquid fertilisers and solid manures they have not produced any significant growth. There is a fig tree about 2 metre away.
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24 Mar 14, Charlie (Australia - temperate climate)
I have 6 plants in a very similar condition & treated them similarly to you. They used to grow quite strongly in the past. I have today dug them up to plant in another part of the garden. This will be just trial & error at this stage. Will be interesting to see if it makes any difference. One thing I did find when digging the area was 4 curl grubs, but I don't think there were enough to cause the problem?
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26 Apr 14, Newcomer (Australia - temperate climate)
"Be sure to mix compost, rotted manure, or anything high in organic matter in the soil. Rhubarb plants are heavy feeders and need this organic matter. Don't add a chemical fertilizer when planting rhubarb or during the first year of growth. Direct contact with nitrates can kill your rhubarb plants." (source: almanac.com/plant/rhubarb)
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03 Mar 14, Deb Hallam (Australia - temperate climate)
I cook Rhubarb with a banana sometimes counteracts the tartness and lessens the need to add sugar. .
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23 Jan 14, robin (Australia - temperate climate)
try cooking rhubarb with golden syrup and a bit of vanilla essence and of course some sugar but no where near as much if cooked without golden syrup. it takes the bite out.
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12 Jan 14, Deb (Australia - temperate climate)
I planted 2 rhubarb crowns, 1 died and the other has grown well but the stalks are still green while the leaves are now dying. Can you pick and eat the green stalks before the whole thing dies.
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I am from East Washington but moved to Texas. Rhubarb is one of my favorite things and when I was growing up in my Washington hometown, my grandma had a huge, really old rhubarb plant that had been producing stalks since before I was born. And I would just pull a stalk out of the ground, wash off with her hose, and snack on whenever I felt like it. Well, I married a military man, and he got stationed in San Antonio and then he got offered a civilian job here, so we are now here to stay. I would really like to grow rhubarb in my garden, especially because I can't even find it here in the store (and the only two times I have found it fresh in the store, the cashiers didn't even know what it was. I kid you not. That's how rare rhubarb is here, so uncommon that the locals don't even know what it looks like as a fresh vegetable). Anyway, does anyone know how I might grow rhubarb here in my new climate? I really miss it. Thanks!

- Washingtonian in Texas

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