Grow guides › Rhubarb Grow Guide
Rhubarb: how to look after your plant
Your rhubarb will crop for 10 years or more if you give it a good start. Here's everything you need, from the day it arrives.
- PositionSun or part shade
- SoilRich, moist, well drained
- Spacing75–90cm (2½–3ft)
- First harvestLightly, in year 2
- HardinessFully hardy
Rhubarb leaves are poisonous to people and pets. Cut them off the stalks and put them on the compost heap – that's perfectly safe.
When your plant arrives
- Unpack it straight away, stand it upright and give it a drink if the compost feels dry.
- Keep it outside or in a cold greenhouse in good light. Rhubarb is fully hardy and doesn't want to be kept indoors.
- Your plant is young. Its job for the first year is to grow roots, not stalks.
From about October rhubarb leaves yellow, collapse and die back, and the plant sits as a bare bud (the "crown") at soil level until spring. This is completely normal. Keep the compost just moist, not wet, and you'll see fat pink buds pushing through in February or March.
Floppy leaves?
Young plants raised under cover haven't had wind to toughen them up, so some leaves may flop. Cut floppy leaves off halfway up the stalk. The plant will replace them with sturdier ones and put more energy into its roots.
Planting out
You can plant any time the ground isn't frozen or waterlogged. Autumn and early spring are ideal. If your ground is very wet or frozen in winter, keep the plant in its pot (or move it into a 2–3 litre pot) in a sheltered spot and plant it in spring.
- Choose the spot. An open, sunny or partly shaded place. Rhubarb is in the ground for years, so pick somewhere you won't need to dig.
- Prepare the soil. Dig a hole about 30cm (1ft) deep and twice as wide as the pot. Mix a bucket of well-rotted manure or garden compost into the soil you dug out.
- Plant at the right depth. Refill the hole and set the plant so the top of its rootball is level with the soil surface. The buds should sit at, or just above, ground level – never bury the crown.
- Firm and water. Firm gently around the rootball and water well.
- Space them out. Leave 75–90cm between plants. They grow big.
Rhubarb hates sitting in water. Plant in a raised bed, or plant on a slight mound, and mix grit or sharp sand into the soil to help drainage.
Looking after it
- Watering: water in dry spells during the first summer. Established plants only need watering in long droughts.
- Feeding: rhubarb is hungry. Each spring sprinkle a general fertiliser such as Growmore or fish, blood & bone around the plant, and in autumn or winter spread a thick layer of well-rotted manure or compost around it. Keep the manure off the crown itself.
- Flower stalks: if a tall, thick flower stalk appears, cut it off at the base. Flowering takes energy away from the stalks you want to eat.
- Weeds: keep the area around young plants weed-free.
When can I start picking?
| Year 1 | Don't pick. Let every leaf feed the roots. |
|---|---|
| Year 2 | Pick a few stalks in spring, then leave it alone. |
| Year 3 onwards | Pick from spring until early summer. Stop by the end of June (July at the latest) so the plant can build up strength for next year. |
How to pick
- Pull, don't cut. Hold the stalk near the base, twist and pull it away from the crown.
- Pick stalks when they're about 20–30cm (8–12in) long.
- Never take more than a third to half of the stalks at once.
- Don't eat stalks that have gone soft or mushy after a hard frost.
Rhubarb is lovely stewed with a little sugar, in crumbles, on porridge, or made into cordial.
Forcing for early, sweet stalks
Forcing means covering the plant in late winter so it grows pale, tender, sweet stalks weeks early. Want rhubarb from January? See our forcing rhubarb in a pot guide.
- Only force a strong plant that's at least 2–3 years old. Forcing a young plant can weaken or kill it.
- In January or February, clear away dead leaves and cover the crown with a forcing jar, a large upturned bucket or a dustbin. It must block out all light.
- Stalks are usually ready 6–8 weeks later. Pick them when they reach the top of the cover.
- Don't pick a forced plant again that year, and don't force the same plant two years running. If you have several plants, take turns.
Growing in a container
Rhubarb does best in the ground, but it can grow in a big pot. Use a container at least 50cm (20in) deep and wide, with drainage holes. Fill it with a loam-based compost such as John Innes No. 3 mixed with some well-rotted manure. Container plants need regular watering in summer and feeding every spring.
Problems
- Crown rot (the crown goes soft and brown, buds rot): caused by wet, poorly drained soil or planting too deep. Improve drainage and keep the crown at soil level.
- Thin, spindly stalks: the plant is hungry, too crowded, or was picked too hard last year. Feed, mulch and give it a rest.
- Leaves wilting in hot weather: usually just heat. Water well in the evening.
- Slugs and snails: can damage young plants in spring. Check after dark and protect small plants.
- Old, tired plants: every 5–8 years, dig up the crown in winter, split it into pieces each with a bud, and replant the healthiest outer pieces.
Bought a dormant crown instead?
Plant crowns from autumn to early spring, as soon as the soil can be worked. Prepare the soil as above and plant the crown so its buds are just at or slightly above the soil surface. Water in and follow the same picking timetable.