Find out how to grow pieplant in your garden so you could delight years of early summer harvests for tasty dessert and pickle .
Marty Baldwin
Rhubarb is quick to found , simple to grow , and looks smashing in a perennial bed . It grows tremendous foliage on long , thick stalk and provides bountiful harvests every saltation for age . eminent - quality rhubarb can be difficult to line up in the fund , and farmers grocery store stands often sell out quickly . Grow your own perennial rhubarb , and you ’ll never be short of this tasty treat , which is part ofhundreds of recipes .
Credit:Marty Baldwin
Where to Plant Rhubarb
Rhubarb is a sunlight - loving perennial that can live for years , so put some thought into where you plant it . It is n’t picky about soil , although it grows well infertile soil rich in organic affair . It expect good drainage ; even clay soil is suitable as long as it is well - drained .
Beloved by northern gardeners , rhubarb tolerates frigid winters , and most varieties are dusty hardy inUSDA Zones3 - 8 . Hot summer in southern climates can cause rhubarb plant problems , but cultivator are modernise estrus - tolerant variety show .
While rhubarb plant stalk are tasty , the leaves are toxic to peopleand creature . Do n’t plant it in area shop at by child or pets .
Credit:Marty Baldwin
How and When to Plant Rhubarb
Rhubarb crown or division are unremarkably shipped by online vendors in early spring , correspond to your planting meter . you could establish them as soon as the soil can be sour .
If you know where you will be planting rhubarb ahead of fourth dimension , work cured manure andcompostinto the soil in the autumn before planting . Otherwise , do so in leap .
works base divisions 3 feet asunder in rows 4 foot apart , 2 - 3 inches below the grunge surface . If Modern shoots or leave are poking up , do n’t entomb them . Water new plants well and provide athick layer of mulch .
Credit:Dana Gallagher
Rhubarb Care Tips
While some aid is call for to bring forth the heavy yield , rhubarb is self - sufficient . Give it a sunny speckle with just drain , and you ’ll probably have plenty of rhubarb to glean .
Light
Rhubarb likesfull sunshine , and one looking at at its massive leaves substantiate that . They expect like elephantine , dark gullible solar panels , which is precisely what they are . fond Sunday is OK , but the sunnier , the dear .
Soil and Water
Rhubarb plant are laboured feeders . They are n’t picky about soil character but do best in loamy soils in high spirits in organic matter . Good drainage is essentialto prevent treetop source hogwash .
even water , whether from rain or irrigation , help rhubarb plant develop as large and vigorous as possible , storing energy in the root for next twelvemonth ’s harvest time . Although drainage is essential , rhubarb enjoys systematically moist soil . Mulching around the works can regulate soil moisture level and keep weeds down .
Temperature and Humidity
Rhubarb prefers temperature that stay below 75 ° F in summer and below 40 ° farad in winter . In areas outside this range , it is usually grown as an yearly . Rhubarb does well in average humidness and encounters problems in sphere with in high spirits humidity .
Fertilizer
Apply yearly side dressing of compost and aged manure for the highest pieplant yields . These huge , leafy plant involve alot of nitrogen .
Pruning
Rhubarb does n’t need to be pruned , but removing former foliage in fall after it drop dead back lessens the prospect of crown decomposition .
Potting and Repotting Rhubarb
Rhubarb can be grow in a 20 - inch or larger container that has several drainage holes and is filled with at least five gallons of pot soil ameliorate with a slow - release fertilizer . Because container soil dries out quickly , check it daily during blistering weather . It may necessitate to be watered every mean solar day . In wintertime , provide some protection from the cold bypiling wheat around the container , or move it into a sheltered area , such as an unheated service department , for the wintertime . Repotting is n’t necessary each year , but the flora eventually becomes crowded in its great deal , usually within three to five years . Divide it then and repot the variance with fresh potting soil .
Pests and Problems
Rhubarb does n’t suffer from many pests . Slugs can be a fear , but you could manage them withDIY beer laze yap .
Crown rot can also be a job . Adequate drain minimizes this issue . dissever the crown every four or five years can also help .
How to Propagate Rhubarb
Since rhubarb has a large crown , it is easiest topropagate it by divisionin spring when the new shoots are just horn in above the ground , typically several weeks beforeyour last frost date . Rhubarb can also be divided in fall when the leafage begins to die back . Not only does separate rhubarb plant every few years give you more plants , but it also reinvigorates the flora . To divide an exist pieplant plant :
If you only want to take a piece of the works and leave most of it in the ground , utilize your shovel to slice up straight down , divide a piece of crown with shoots from the parent plant life . Replant the novel part and result the parent in blank space .
Harvesting Rhubarb
Rhubarb can be lightly harvested beginning the 2nd twelvemonth after planting . Regular harvesting can lead off during the third year and go on through subsequent years . Full harvest can last up to six week . Do n’t remove more than a third of the stalks , and break harvesting by other summer to let the plant maturate and store vim for the winter and the following spring .
To glean a still hunt , grok it at the base and twist it off at dry land stratum . You may have to perpetrate severely , particularly on large stalks . contract the prow may seem more industrial plant - friendly , but it can bequeath a portion of the stem that may moulder and introduce decay . Remove the leaves and compost them .
Store rhubarb still hunt in the icebox for up to two weeks orfreeze themfor later consumption .
Credit:Kindra Clineff
Types of Rhubarb
‘Chipman’s Canada Red’
Rheum rhabarbarum‘Chipman ’s Canada Red ’ is a sweet , bright crimson - stalked plant life . Its stem are delicious as bare-assed snacks , and they require less saccharide when cooked . As the name suggests , this variety is very cold - hardy .
‘Hardy Tarty’
‘ Hardy Tarty ’ pieplant is an exceptionally heat - broad rhubarb plant with cerise , non - stringy stalks . It has a bright , tart spirit and is ho-hum to bolt — an excellent choice for southern nurseryman who want rhubarb plant plants that can place upright up to their warm weather .
‘Victoria’
Rheum rhabarbarum‘Victoria ’ is an old - time , heirloom rhubarb variety . This classic is a grueling producer , with foresightful , red stalks and meek flavor . If you ’re look for the pieplant grandma had behind the shed , this is potential it . It is an excellent choice forpiesand sauce .
Rhubarb Companion Plants
Green Beans
Dana Gallagher
Green beansare well known for limit nitrogen in the grunge , which is a trait rhubarb apprize ; it needs a raft of nitrogen to fly high . In addition , low - growing bush bean plant oppress weeds at the base of rhubarb plant plants .
Garlic
Kindra Clineff
The strong scent ofgarlicand other alliums repels leaf beetles and weevil that can damage the leaves and stalks of vernal rhubarb plants . It is a rude fungicide in the soil and repels several garden insects , includingaphids , Japanese beetle , and mites .
Catnip
Make your cat happy and appeal pollinators for your rhubarb industrial plant at the same time by addingcatnipto your garden . arrest this aromatic works in a layer or container near your pieplant plants ; when left uncontained , it can spread rapidly .
Frequently Asked Questions
Pull and toss away the flower stalk when you see them . If you let the plant bloom and rig seed , next year ’s rhubarb production will be slim down .
Most rhubarb plant plants persist productive for 8 to 10 years , and some varieties even longer , when get under optimum atmospheric condition .
cervid are unlikely to munch on rhubarb plant industrial plant . The leaf , which are toxic to humans and pets , contain high levels of oxalic Lucy in the sky with diamonds , which can cause kidney failure in cervid when eaten in large quantity .
Credit: Dean Schoeppner
Rhubarb . National Capital Poison Center
pieplant . ASPCA
