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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03 Aug 13, Bob Baker (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
How shady is shady? We are on the Gold Coast. The area I have in mind is a passage on the south side of a north facing house so sees very little direct sunlight. Is that too shady?
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03 Aug 13, Gene (Australia - temperate climate)
The more sun the better. I had mine growing in a fairly shady position - similar to what you are describing and they didn't crop very well at all. Probably two pathetic harvests a year. I was almost going to give up on it but decided to transplant it (about this time of the year) and it spent last year from August onwards in full sunlight. Considering the transplanting, I was expecting it to do almost nothing again - BUT - the cropping was sensational. Plenty of fertiliser at regular intervals and I was picking it every couple of weeks. So my advice is - the more sun the better. Plant it in the shade and it will still perform, but not very well.
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04 Aug 13, Bob Baker (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Thanks Gene, info greatly appreciated. Will rethink where to plant rhubarb. Now just have to find serious shade loving plants. Bob
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08 Aug 15, anna (Australia - temperate climate)
My rhubarb is planted in a spot where it gets maximum sun all day. Garden bed is also elevated to improve drainage with masses of gypsum and good compost to improve clay soil. Re shade loving plants - My favourite shade loving plant is clivea - i have pale yellow flowers and red flowers in July and they brighten up a very shady area. Need snail bait though as snails love the flowers.
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25 Jul 13, Ann lee (Australia - temperate climate)
How do you prevent rhubarb going to seed
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12 Jul 13, (Australia - temperate climate)
what can be added to rhubarb when cooking to neutralize the acid
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20 Oct 13, Robert McCudden (Australia - temperate climate)
I add Arrowroot (Tapioca Flour) to the warm cooked rhubarb. Dissolve half a teaspoon, depending on amount cooked, in the juice of the cooked rhubarb. When dissolved stir into the rhubarb. Works a treat.
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04 Aug 13, (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
STRAWBERRIES GO REALLY WELL WITH RHUBARB. MAKES GOOD JAM LIKE THIS AS WELL, AS IT SETS BETTER WITH THE STRAWBERRIES IN IT.
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23 Jun 13, Helen Simmons (Australia - temperate climate)
The outer leaves of my rhubarb keep falling to the ground and eventually die off. Is this normal, is there anything I can o to rectify this problem?
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23 Jun 13, Jill Selwood (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate)
My rhubarb has very large leaves and very short stems. How do I get it growing the other way round?
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Showing 551 - 560 of 639 comments
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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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