Beginners Guide to Growing Rhubarb
Rhubarb is a wonderful perennial plant. You will want to get this growing in your garden sooner than later since it is a plant that comes back every year and produces more as the years go on. Growing rhubarb is a simple garden task that can be done with just a little extra space.
Why Should Rhubarb be Growing in Your Garden?
Rhubarb is a great perennial plant to get started in your garden. It is known for its beautiful red stocks that emerge as one of the first plants every spring. It is a welcome sight after a cold winter, giving hope to longer, warmer, and greener days to come.
versatile
Rhubarb is mostly known and used in sweet desserts, jams, and sauces. Many people pair it with strawberries in the spring. We love using rhubarb this way, but also in savory chutneys that go well with pork or chicken, and also as a simple syrup concentrate that makes a delicious drink.
easy to grow and maintain
Rhubarb is also an easy addition to your garden. It really takes minimal care and is not picky about soils or moisture. Once you get it established by seed or plant, you will have it for many years to come.
I drive by rundown or abandoned farms in our rural Wisconsin area and one thing I notice is where the garden used to be on these farms. The giveaway? The rhubarb plants are still there, faithfully coming up year after year even without anyone tending to them anymore.
When we moved across the country, I had to leave my rhubarb plant behind. The first year we were here, I found some at a flea market. I just bought one, but the first year it really took off. I knew I wanted more and to my surprise, my neighbors blessed me with a whole wheelbarrow full of rhubarb. They had dug them up because they no longer wanted them. One Saturday morning I found them at the end of our path to the front door!
This was such a great gift because rhubarb plants can be a bit pricy to put in, especially at this scale!
Where to Plant your Rhubarb
Location
One thing I appreciate about growing rhubarb is that there is little to no animal or pest pressure. Because the leaves are toxic, animals leave them alone. The wild bunnies and deer, along with my chickens do not bother the rhubarb. So it can be planted outside of the garden area and not need to be protected by the fence.
That is why I chose to plant it outside the garden fence along the edge. That way I know where it will come up each year, but it will not take up valuable protected space my other plants need from wild animals.
Soil considerations
Rhubarb will do best with well-draining soil as opposed to a hard clay. The roots thrive in soil rich in organic matter that drains well so that the water does not pool around the roots, which could lead to root rot.
Rhubarb is easy to care for. However, it will thrive with just a bit of attention. These plants are heavy feeders, which means that they will do best with nutrient-rich soil. Using compost or rotted manure will help your rhubarb thrive. Adding a layer each year will help the plants grow and produce more stocks.
How to Plant Your Rhubarb Crowns
When planting rhubarb in your garden, I would suggest getting a crown versus starting from seeds. You will be able to harvest a few years earlier and it will not be that much of a cost saving for the time spent.
when to plant
You want to plant your rhubarb in the fall after the weather has started to cool down. Or in the spring after the ground can be worked. If you plant in the fall, you could start harvesting the next year. Planting in the spring means you will need to wait until the next year to harvest any stocks. Crowns are usually 2-3 years old and can be harvested lightly the first year you plant them.
I have done both here in Wisconsin. If you have a neighbor like mine what wants to share plants, they can dig up and divide the crowns either in the late fall or early spring to share with you. I am sure most people growing rhubarb would love to share for the fact that rhubarb does grow and need to be separated for the health of the plants once they have been established and grown at least 4 or 5 years. They can then be dug up and divided every 5 years or so.
How to Plant
Once you have decided where to plant your rhubarb crown or crowns, get a large shoved and dig a nice sized hole. It really depends on how big your crown is. But the hole needs to be dug larger than the size of the roots. Make sure you loosen the soil around the hole so that the roots are able to have enough room to grow into soft soil. Add soil back to the hole up to the crown. If you have stocks and leaves on the crown, they need to stay above the soil.
Mix in compost or aged manure or your chosen fertilizer. Water in the plant and make sure to continue watering if the rains are not sufficient while the plant is being established.
When Is the Best time to Pick Rhubarb?
Spring and Summer
Rhubarb is one of the very first signs of spring around here. When the ground is waking up out of its deep frost and we are still having light frosts and sometimes snow, the rhubarb appears. The rhubarb starts showing its first signs in early April around here. It pops up with beautiful red curly leaves all tightly smushed together.
As the sun’s warmth increases, the large green leaves start to grow in size. The last part to grow is the stock, which is what you want to pick.
By May, our rhubarb is abundant. We usually harvest heavily then and throughout June. By July the rhubarb slows down a lot, but we are still able to harvest some throughout the mid summer.
By August, it is usually looking like it is slowing down and this is when you should let it be. It needs some time to recover and store its energy before it starts to die back in the fall to survive through the winter.
Rhubarb Harvest Tips
Color and size as an Indicator
The stocks can vary in size and color (green to dark red). So the color is not really an indication of whether the rhubarb is ready to harvest or not. See below for which varieties give the best deep red colors.
Each plant seems to throw up some thinner stocks and thicker ones. The thickness of a stock is also not an indicator of when it is ready to harvest. I like to harvest all the thick stocks first, but any of them are able to be used.
How to Know when to harvest
If the color and thickness of a stock are not indicators of when to harvest, what is?
I let the plants grow quite a few stocks before I start harvesting. I also make sure they are at least a foot long or longer before I harvest. Make sure you leet stocks be at least 10 inches before harvesting.
You do not want to harvest more than 1/3 to 1/2 of the plant at a time.
Spring and Summer Harvests
In spring, you can harvest up to half of the stocks at any given time. You will need to leave the other half for the plant to continue producing. The leaves will gather the sunshine and let the rest of the plant continue to grow.
In mid summer, you can continue to harvest.
The rhubarb plants will continue to grow, petering out as the daylight gets shorter and the days get cooler.
You do not want to do big heavy harvests in the mid to late summer as the plant will use the leaves to gather energy from the sun. This energy is needed to put into its winter survival.
So while rhubarb will grow all summer long, you will mostly see it used for recipes as a spring and early summer vegetable.
How to Harvest
Rhubarb is very easy to harvest. I take a knife and harvest basket with me to the garden.
I pull up the large green leaves and look for the largest and longest rhubarb stocks on the plant. Then, I grab the stock and pull straight up with a slight twist and it pops off the plant.
The knife is used to cut the leaves off the plant. They are not edible for humans or animals so they get thrown into the compost bin right away.
Then I take the rhubarb inside and wash off and cut it up.
Rhubarb does not store too well, as it will dry out quickly. So I either like to cut it up and throw it into the freezer for a later recipe or use it right away.
had any red on the stalks.
was disappointed with its color.
Types of Rhubarb
I have no idea what types of rhubarb I have because they were not labeled or were a gift.
What I have found out, however, is that there is a wide range of colors of ripe rhubarb. It can be almost all green to a nice deep red.
I like having the red varieties the best. If you are looking for the most deep reds also, here you go.
dark red Types of Rhubarb
- Crimson Red (Crimson Cherry/Wine): Widely regarded as having the reddest stalks throughout, even in lower-light conditions.
- Valentine: Produces deep red stalks that hold their color well when cooked and are less acidic than others.
- Canada Red: Known for its deep red color throughout the stalk, though it can have slightly shorter, more slender stalks compared to other varieties.
- Cherry Red: A vigorous, productive variety with long, thick, deep-red stalks.
- Colorado Red: A rare, deep-red variety found in high altitudes that is red both inside and out.
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