Rheum rhabarbarum
Family Polygonaceae
Every spring pie tradition starts with rhubarb — tart red stalks arriving April through June, when fruit is otherwise scarce, destined for crisps, jams, and sauce. The rule of the plant is famous and simple: stalks are the prize, leaves stay in the compost.
One established crown throws a dramatic 3-by-4-foot mound of tropical-looking leaves and returns bigger every year for decades in cold-winter gardens. It thrives in zones 3-8 and asks for little beyond sun and room. Plant a crown at a bed's end and start a pie tradition.
Full Sun
Moderate water
Fast once established growth
Excellent edible
Juglone-sensitive
From the print shop
Our Plant Library collection carries rhubarb — Rheum rhabarbarum, print Nº 399, “Rhubarb.”
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Hardy inZones 3-8Rhubarb · Common problems
1 problem on file
Rhubarb Curculio
1 problem on file
Crown Rot in wet soilRhubarb · Growing & propagation
LightPart shade in hot summers
WaterWilts dramatically but recovers
Soil
Fertilizer
PruningRemove flower stalks immediately — seed steals stalk vigor.
SpacingPropagateRhubarb · Harvest & keeping
Years to first harvestTypical yieldWhat you eat
How to tell it is readyHow long it keepsFreezes well
Rhubarb · Seasonal care & spray guidance
early spring
4 jobs
MulchingIn springOnce the soil has warmed and growth is underway, lay 3 to 4 inches of straw or compost around the crowns, keeping the material pulled back from the buds themselves. Rhubarb is a shallow-rooted perennial that cannot be cultivated close in without cutting feeder roots, so mulch is the only practical way to hold weeds off the crown and steady the soil moisture.
FeedingIn springJust before the buds break in spring, scatter about half a cup of 16-16-16 granular fertilizer around the base of each established crown and work it lightly into the soil. Do not apply fertilizer during the establishment year. Rhubarb rebuilds its whole crown from stored reserves in a few weeks of spring growth, and the stalks you pull are that growth, so nitrogen has to be in place before the leaves expand rather than after.
DividingIn March and AprilIn early spring, lift old crowded crowns and replant divisions with at least one bud and a strong root piece. Older crowded crowns produce smaller stalks; division renews vigor every few years.
HarvestingIn April, May and JuneHarvest stalks by twisting and pulling from established plants, leaving enough leaves to rebuild the crown. Rhubarb needs foliage after the harvest window to store energy for next spring.
at bloom
1 jobPruningAt bloomAs soon as a thick flower stalk begins to elongate out of the center of the crown, cut it off at the base. Check the plant weekly through the bolting period, because a crown will often send up more than one. Setting seed spends the crown's carbohydrate reserves on flowers instead of leafstalks, and a plant allowed to bloom drops its stalk yield for the rest of the season and into the next.
the growing season
2 jobsWateringIn summerFor the first three years, irrigate once or twice a week so water penetrates 6 to 12 inches. From the third year on, cut back to once every one to two weeks but water deeply enough to wet 12 to 18 inches of soil. The crown roots deeply once established and pulls moisture from well below the surface, so frequent shallow watering keeps the crown wet without ever reaching the roots that matter.
What to watch forIn summerLook over the leafstalks and crown for a rusty, snouted beetle about three quarters of an inch long, and for oozing holes bored into the stalks. Handpick any beetles you find, and grub out curly dock and wild dock growing anywhere near the patch. The curculio cannot complete its life cycle on rhubarb alone. It breeds in dock, then moves into rhubarb to feed and bore, so removing the alternate host is what actually breaks the cycle.
autumn, and putting it to bed
2 jobsPruningAfter harvestOnce a hard frost has killed the tops, remove every leaf and all the dead litter from around the crowns and destroy it. Do not compost this material back onto the bed. Ascochyta and Ramularia leaf spot overwinter in that dead tissue and release the spores that infect next spring's new leaves, so clearing it is the whole control program for both diseases.
ProtectionAfter harvestAfter the ground has frozen and the tops are gone, cover the crowns with 2 to 3 inches of straw for the winter. Waiting for the ground to freeze is the point: the mulch is there to keep the soil frozen through midwinter thaws, because it is the freeze and thaw cycling that heaves shallow rhubarb crowns out of the ground.
Rhubarb · Calculators & field guides
Rhubarb · Yearly calendar
No calendar activity is listed for this month.
BloomHarvestBloomJune
HarvestApril to June
These are the species' typical months — expect them a few weeks earlier in warm zones and later in cold ones. Watch the plant, not just the calendar.
Rhubarb · Ecology & uses
Rheum rhabarbarum
Moisture
DeerProtect young plants
OriginJugloneThe toxin exuded by black walnut, butternut, and their relatives. Keep it 50+ ft from any walnut or hickory, or its leaves will yellow, wilt, and die back for no obvious reason.
! Some parts toxic — see notesLEAVES TOXIC — stalks only
UseUseUseUseEdible valueApril - June, stop by July 4.
Edibility, identification, and traditional-use notes here are general reference — not medical or veterinary advice, and not a claim that any plant treats or prevents anything. Medicinal ratings record how strongly a plant features in herbal tradition, nothing more. Never eat or dose a plant you have not positively identified. More on how to use this library.
Rhubarb · Varieties & cultivars
Named varieties of rhubarb differ in winter-chill needs, ripening time, hardiness, and whether they set fruit on their own — pick one that fits your climate.
6 varieties
Very sweet, excellent quality — The old standard commercial variety, speckled pink stalks fading to green rather than red throughout. Reliable and the most widely available cultivar, but noted as likely to throw flower stalks, so expect to cut seed stalks more often.
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Good for pies, freezing and canning — Bright pink to red stalks with tender skin, vigorous and upright, and high yielding. A common home-garden choice where you want volume for the freezer.
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Sweet yet tart, non-stringy — Bright red stalks, tall and plump, with a well-balanced sweet-tart flavor and no stringiness. Like Victoria, it is noted as likely to produce flower stalks, so expect to cut seed stalks through the bolting period.
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Also known as Chipman's Canada Red
Tender and very sweet — Shorter and more slender in the stalk than most varieties, but notably tender and very sweet, with good red coloring. Tends to produce few seed stalks, so it needs less bolting patrol than Victoria or Crimson Red.
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Much less acid than green-stalked varieties — A historic deep red variety whose color resists fading when processed. Wisconsin Extension reports few seed stalks, while Ohio State lists it as more prone to bolting, so bolting behavior appears to vary by site.
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Juicy, tender and sweet — Long thick stalks with rich red color inside and out. Related USU listings for Cherry Wine describe moderate vigor and few flower stalks.
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Sources & plant identity
Rheum rhabarbarum
Hardiness, size and timing vary with your cultivar, soil and climate.
University extension research, brought together with hands-on growing experience at Story Thyme Farms.
Publisher marks identify sources, not sponsorship or endorsement.
Rhubarb questions, answered straight.
With care. LEAVES TOXIC — stalks only Site it accordingly if children or pets roam the garden. This is general reference, not medical or veterinary advice — call a vet or poison control if something has actually been eaten.
April - June, stop by July 4.
Division or seed.
Where rhubarb sits in the library.
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