Growing Rhubarb

Rheum rhabarbarum : Polygonaceae / the dock family

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

(Best months for growing Rhubarb in Australia - temperate 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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27 Apr 20, Chris Calvert (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Our plants were from an earlier patch that was at least 50 years old. We have had them for about 3 years and are harvesting them almost all year. They slow down a bit in winter but we still get feeds off them then. They now get tons of manure and pellets with mulch over the coldest part of the year and they are grown in a substantial raised bed with frequent watering (not sure the watering is required as frequently but we do it when the leaves wilt a bit). The raised garden is still settling so I am hoping the watering can slow down a bit as the soil compacts and retains more of the water.
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23 Apr 20, Michael G (Australia - temperate climate)
I am in Adelaide and have just seeded rhubarb. Am I too early or will they turn into crowns to plant in spring?
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08 Apr 20, Anon (Australia - temperate climate)
What about growing rhubarb in the San Francisco Bay Area - Oakland - South/across the bay from SF?
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23 Mar 20, gary ellard (Australia - temperate climate)
have been growing rhubarb in a 2mtr square wicking bed. Have shreddard old horse manure and placed it on top of the bed as a mulch. Before i did this , i was cultivating stalks regularly but then the leaves turned red and i lost the lot. I was led to believe rhubarb loves manure of horse. Have i done any thing wrong?
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24 Mar 20, Chris (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
It might be too acid. Have you checked the soil pH?
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24 Mar 20, (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Manures generally have little NPK. When you put these or other mulches in the soil, they grab all the N to break the manure down, therefore the plant has little access to N and don't grow much. In future put the manure in a pile and wet it and turn it over regularly to break it down to compost before putting it on the garden. When applying mulch over put it on about 50mm thick. Mulch 200mm thick will take a long time for water to pernitrate through to the soil.
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09 Feb 20, Mary Russell (Australia - arid climate)
I am growing my rhubarb in a tub.The plant grows 3 slim stalks .One stalk dies then another grows.lt keeps repeating this pattern.So into able to use in cooking I keep the plant in semi shade as the sun was too harsh in good topsoil Can you help please
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15 Feb 20, Cassie (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Also rhubarb is a heavy feeder and evolved in cooler temperate climates. It does not like its roots to get hot and being in a tub in a hot climate might be impairing irs growth
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10 Feb 20, Another gardener (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Rhubarb needs full sun and tolerates light shade. As I have outside garden beds I don't do pots. Pots need a lot more attention to soil requirements and watering. In most cases plants will survive in hot weather if watered regularly and if need be some shade. You say in a tub, does it have enough drainage.
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20 Jan 20, Louise R (Australia - temperate climate)
I haven't been able to buy Rhubarb Crowns in Armadale 6112. W.A. You can only buy Punnets.
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Showing 61 - 70 of 474 comments
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I am growing Victoria rhubarb in three-gallon nursery pots in North Georgia. I started the plants (small roots) this spring in a sunny area during cool weather, but moved them into partial to full shade as the heat increased. The soil in the pots is a loamy sand mixed half and half with compost. I water daily, about a quart of water per plant. I top dress each pot with about a teaspoon of granular 13-13-13 fertilizer whenever I notice growth slowing down, roughly once a month.. So far, it has handled temperatures up to 95 F with no problems. My plants are huge, about 3.5 feet across with long thick stems. One thing I have noticed! is the stems are mostly green, not red, this could be due to the shade, or possibly heat. They still taste great in strawberry rhubarb pie, though I'm harvesting very little this first year, hoping for the plants being larger and stronger next year. As a precaution against disease, any leaves and stems that are starting to yellow with age I pull off of the plant and compost them.

- Catt Mandu

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