Rhubarb is loose to raise , and an excellent choice for beginners and experts alike . Especially if you desire a low-pitched - care choice for your vegetable garden .
This dauntless perennial is a staple for many long - prison term gardeners . But , to be successful , you must first understand how to worry for it aright .
In this guide , I ’ll secernate you everything you call for to bang about growing your own rhubarb , no matter what your acquirement layer . You ’ll find all of the essential information about soil , water , fertilizer , sun , temperature , plague ascendence , and much more .
Large rhubarb plants growing in a raised bed
board of substance
Quick Rhubarb Plant Care Overview
Information About Rhubarb
Rhubarb ( Rheum rhabarbarum ) is a perennial veg native to Asia that ’s been cultivated worldwide for hundreds of class .
It has long stalk , or ribs , with large dark-green leave at the top . A matured plant can be 4 ’ wide or large and have stalks that are red , pink , or light-green .
The leaf incorporate oxalic acid , which makes them toxic and inedible ( source ) . But gardeners love the stalks for their saturnine , tart flavor . They ’re popular in baking , preserves , desserts , and sauce .
These low - maintenance plants rarely has pest or disease problems , and they can continue to produce for 8 - 15 years .
Different Types
There are many change of rhubarb with differences in hardiness , theme color , sizing , and growth rate . But thankfully , all of them can be wish for in the same fashion . Here are a few of the most popular type :
Hardiness
Rhubarb is a very cold hardy perennial that will add up back every year in zones 3 - 8 . temperature as low-down as -20 ° F ( -28 ° C ) wo n’t damage it .
In fact , it needs the low temperature to grow new stalks every year . You ’ll have a hard time growing rhubarb if it does n’t get below freezing where you live .
How Does Rhubarb Grow?
The comestible sinewy chaff grow from buds that take form around the crown or rootball . Each twelvemonth , clusters of new buds build up on the outside of the old class ’s , step by step do the works to become wider .
prominent , blanket greenish leaves grow from the top of each stalk . On mature plants , diminutive clusters of flowers can develop on marvelous capitulum in the spring .
As it warms up in the summer , the stalks will get thinner and short as the plant focuses on storing free energy for next year ’s bounty .
Related Post : How To Make Rhubarb Jam : Easy Recipe
Where To Grow Rhubarb
In the cooler zones of 3 - 5 , choose a full sun location to encourage the quick growth . In the warm zona of 6 - 8 , retrieve a smirch that nonplus partial shade in the afternoon to protect it from the hot Sunday .
For best final result , the bottom should have has copious , fecund , and well - drain soil . An orbit that stay consistently moist , but not overly wet , would be perfect .
When To Plant
Plant your Rheum rhabarbarum as soon as the ground is feasible in the early spring . you could start it from ejaculate , but it will take several class to reach full matureness .
Dig abstruse kettle of fish and fill them withcompostor a well - rot manure . Add aslow - outlet fertilizer , then plant the crown 1 - 2 ” under the land .
A single rhubarb plant plant will grow wide over the eld , so ensure to space them 3 - 4 ’ apart so they have plenty of room , and do n’t become overcrowded .
Large rhubarb plants growing in a raised bed
Rhubarb Plant Care & Growing Instructions
Now that you have the proper location in brain , it ’s time to speak about how to care for your rhubarb plant . My tips below will help make it an loose summation to your garden .
Sunlight
Rhubarb require 6 - 8 minute of sunlight to bring forth good for you stem , and to ensure the jacket crown has enough energy memory board to develop back every class .
Choose a full - Dominicus fix , unless you populate in a quick mood ( zone 6 - 8) . In that case , provide shade in the afternoon during the hottest part of the day to forestall burn .
Water
While it can palm short period of drouth , rhubarb grows best with consistent wet , and it does n’t wish to dry out for too long . urine deeply when the top 1 ” of land is dry .
Give it a bass soaking , but never to the period where the piddle pools or the undercoat is soggy , because too much can contribute to crown rot .
Mulch around the base of the plant to help retain moisture , especially in the summertime when temperatures turn out . Compost , hay , or chopped barque will play gravid for that . Stop watering in the fall when the leafage dies off as the plant life enters its dormant period .
Related Post : How To Can Rhubarb At Home
Temperature
These cold hardy plants do not like the heat , and will grow the most in the springtime and former summer when it ’s between 40 - 75 ° F ( 4.4 - 23.9 ° C ) . Anything hotter can cause drought stress , wilting , bolt , or scorching .
cool temperature will trigger the plant to go dormant in the drop and wintertime . But that ’s a unspoiled affair , because it needs a rest menstruum below 40 ° F ( 4.4 ° C ) to produce new stalks the following outflow .
Fertilizer
Rhubarb is a heavy feeder and will benefit from regular app of a balanced world-wide - intent vegetable fertiliser from springiness through summertime .
Use anall - design liquidtwice a calendar month natural spring through early summertime , or top - wearing apparel withslow - release granulesbefore it breaks dormancy in the outflow .
In early springtime , top - dress withcompostor well - rotted manure , then workslow - button granulesinto the dirt monthly . Or enforce a liquid likecompost teaorfish emulsionevery two weeks .
Soil
One of the things that makes rhubarb plant so easy to care for is that it can develop in almost any type of territory , as long as it ’s well - draining . But the ideal mixing is rich , prolific , porous , and loamy
It should also be slenderly acidic , or between 6 - 6.8 ona ph investigation . If your land is alkaline , you’re able to amend it with aslow - release acidifier .
you may improve poor - quality garden filth by dig a deep hole before planting , and addingcompostor well - rotted manure , as well asslow - discharge fertilizer granulesinto it . Or you may top - dress your industrial plant .
Pruning
You do n’t need to occupy about dress your rhubarb , it will grow just fine without it . But regular clipping can avail maintain the show and see to it the sizing of the plant .
take away dead or damaged stems by simply twisting or cutting them off . Use sharppruning shearsto prune away the flower stalk as they appear , to allow the plant to divert the Department of Energy back into the crown to store for next twelvemonth .
Propagation
If your pieplant is elder than five years , you could remove new clusters or separate the crown in the late wintertime or former leaping , while the plant is still dormant .
Use a sharp , sterilegarden knifeto split them , and check that each subdivision contains at least one bud . Share them with protagonist , or replant them with batch of blank to grow .
Pest Control Tips
Though they are unremarkably pest - free plants , the rhubarb curculio beetle enjoy feeding and put down orchis on the radical .
These pesky bug overwinter in plant debris and dead folio , so make trusted to clean house up your garden in the fall to help preclude them .
Holes and exude sap in the stalks are signs of an infestation . mitt - pick the insects off the plant and set down them into a bucket of soapy water to get rid of them .
Disease Control Tips
Crown rot is a common problem in operose , poor - draining stain , and is usually triggered by overwatering . The main symptoms are wilting , yellowing leaves , and easygoing root word .
Leaf spot is a fungus that can spread from water or wind . It causes red , sensationalistic , or brownish circular lesions on the leaves . Keep the priming coat clear of old plant debris and water supply at the nucleotide to prevent spattering on the leaves .
If you remark point on any of the leafage , remove and destruct the infect ones immediately to keep the disease from spreading .
Tips For Harvesting Rhubarb
you’re able to begin lightly harvesting your rhubarb in the 2nd year of growth by murder just a few of the heavy proscribed stalks .
By the third year , you may remove up to ⅓ of the industrial plant with each harvest as shortly as the stalks reach 12 - 18 ” tall .
The best agency to pick it is by holding a bow firm in your helping hand and twisting it from the base . Remove the leaves like a shot and fling them . They ’re inedible and will make the stalks diffuse if you will them on for too long .
Related Post : How To Freeze Rhubarb ( With Or Without Blanching )
Troubleshooting Common Problems
Rhubarb is low - criminal maintenance and rarely has yield , but no plant is problem - gratis . If you run across one of these more common publication , my hint will get you back on track .
Thin, Spindly Stalks
want of light , nutrient , or age can all cause thin stalk . If your pieplant works is in full sun , adjudicate fertilizing it with add anall - use liquidorslow release granules .
If sun and nutrients are n’t the issue , and your industrial plant is between 5 - 10 years old , it may be time to fraction it . you’re able to restore it by cutting the crown into discussion section , or by removing and transplanting the new bud clusters .
Brown Spots On Leaves
folio spot , a fungal disease , is often the cause of brown staining on rhubarb leaves . It can come from wet baby-sit on the foliage , inadequate airflow , or old industrial plant junk .
The best approach path is to remove any affected leave of absence and destroy them . Keep the plant ’s base clean and jerk , avoid overhead watering , and make indisputable your flora are not overcrowded .
FAQs
Rhubarb grows quickly , but is not harvestable until the 2nd or 3rd year , look on the specific variety you have .
Rhubarb does not spread by acquire offshoots or runners , but each year the plant will acquire all-encompassing as new buds develop around the outside of the diadem .
Yes , rhubarb is easygoing to grow because it tolerates a wide range of a function of soils , is pest and disease - resistant , cold - hardy , and it ask very small attention .
Rhubarb is a veg . People often mistake it for a fruit because it is frequently used in sweet recipes , like crush , jellies , and desserts to offset the sour flavor .
Rhubarb is a hardy recurrent flora that will return each year in zona 3 - 8 . It does n’t do well in warmer climates because it needs a cold wintertime to produce lots of thick , edible stalks .
Yes , rhubarb plants will come back every year in growing zone 3 - 8 .
If you ’d care to pick up how to make the most of your space and get as much homegrown food for thought as possible , then myVertical Vegetablesbook is perfect ! It will teach you all you need to know , has oodles of gorgeous photos , and include 23 DIY projects you could build for your own garden . Order your copy today !
memorise more about myVertical Vegetables book here .
