How to Grow Rhubarb

Rhubarb plants are easy-to-grow fruit plants that are loved for their distinctive tart flavour. For adding to crumbles and pies, making preserves or mixing into cordials, they have a range of uses that make them a fantastic addition to any grower’s garden. They are particularly hardy plants, being a hardy perennial that can survive even the coldest of winters.

In this guide, we cover how to grow rhubarb plants to produce vigorously growing, piquant stalks. Rhubarb doesn’t need very much maintenance, making it a popular choice for many gardeners. However, there are one or two things to bear in mind to ensure that your rhubarb grows to its full potential. So, read below to find out all you need to know.

Rhubarb is more commonly grown from plants than seeds. These are available in either potted plants or bare-root dormant plants called crowns. This is because rhubarb seeds can be difficult to grow, take several years to produce stalks, and vary in quality with unpredictable characteristics.

Instead, rhubarb is more commonly grown from crowns and plants, offering a much easier alternative to growing from seed and providing great flavour from reliable, established cultivars.

Rhubarb will grow in almost any soil, provided it doesn’t become waterlogged in winter, but best results will be obtained on moist, well-drained and fertile soil. So, dig in plenty of well-rotted organic matter, like farmyard manure or garden compost. Just before planting, rake in a dressing of balanced fertiliser, such as Growmore, to help plants establish.

How to Grow Rhubarb Crowns

Rhubarb crowns can be planted between autumn and spring, though they should be planted as soon as you receive them. Choose an open site in full sun or where there is no more than very light or partial shade. Don’t plant your crowns in soil that is waterlogged or frozen.

Set plants 90cm (3ft) apart each way and with the growing point 2.5cm (1in) below the soil surface. After refilling with moist soil, firm in each plant with your boot.

Do not pull any sticks in the first season, and pull only lightly in the second year to allow plants to establish and build up strong crowns.

Rhubarb will need very little maintenance while growing as a very easy fruit plant to manage. It’s capable of being productive in your garden for over 10 years when grown in fertile soil, making it a highly worthwhile choice to grow.

How to Force Rhubarb

For an especially sweet and early spring crop, strong plants are easily forced by covering them in January with suitable containers, such as buckets, bins or large pots. Cover these, in turn, with a thick layer of straw and check regularly as they will grow very quickly. The stalks will then be ready for harvesting around eight weeks later. Forcing has a weakening effect on crowns, so don’t force the same plants again for at least two years. 

How to Grow Rhubarb in a Pot

As well as growing rhubarb crowns in the ground, rhubarb is also sold as plants for growing in containers. These can be planted and grown all year round, as long as the weather isn’t especially hot and dry. However, it’s best to grow them in spring or autumn.

Choose a container that’s at least 50cm (20in) in diameter and height and grown in quality, peat-free compost. Potted plants dry out faster than plants grown in the ground. So, be sure to bear in mind that your rhubarb plants will need to be grown in evenly moist soil and will need watering in particularly hot weather. Otherwise, the advice found in the rest of this guide will apply.

Watering

Rhubarb doesn’t need watering very often, but water newly planted plants well through their first growing season until they’re well rooted. Remember to water crowns well in dry spells. As mentioned above, rhubarb plants grown in containers will need watering more often to keep the soil moist, as containers dry out faster than ground soil.

Mulching

Mulch the base of your rhubarb plants generously in winter to help maintain moisture within the soil, keep the area free of weeds and provide your plants with valuable nutrients for growth. This can be done with organic matter, such as well-rotted manure or compost. Take care not to completely cover the crown, however, as this can cause rotting.

Feeding

Rhubarb is a heavy feeder, so apply a balanced fertiliser in spring to provide a boost of growth.

Pruning

You should remove any flowering stems that may appear, as this will redirect energy back into growing the stems. You should also remove fading leaves, as this prevents diseases and focuses plant growth on new, healthy growth.

Rhubarb should not be harvested in its first year and only have a few stalks harvested in its second. Harvest your rhubarb plants between April and early July in their third year, holding each stalk close to the ground and pulling upwards with a twisting motion. Never remove all the stalks; always leave at least four strong ones on each plant. 

After several years of cropping, stems tend to get thinner, and yields start to decline. When this happens, it’s best to lift plants, divide the crowns into pieces (each with at least one strong bud), and replant these divisions, if possible, on a fresh site.

Rhubarb is a hardy and resilient plant, typically offering no trouble for gardeners. However, there are one or two potential issues that you could encounter. Below are the most common problems and methods of how to prevent or remedy them:

• Slugs and snails: These pests can attack younger plants, though there are a range of slug and snail control products that can prevent or control the problem. 

Crown rot: Crown rot is the most common disease that can affect rhubarb. This is a fungal infection that affects the base of rhubarb stalks and causes crowns to rot. Affected plants should be removed and disposed of either by binning or burning. Unaffected plants should be transferred to a new site, and new rhubarb plants should not be planted on that site for several years.  Crown rot occurs in waterlogged and heavy soils, so growing in well-drained soil should help to reduce the risk of this disease.

Now that you know how to grow rhubarb crowns and plants, you can find a great selection of quality rhubarb cultivars at D.T. Brown. In our range of fruit plants, you can find many varieties of rhubarb plants to produce stalks with fantastic flavours from your own home.

To find out how to grow many other fruit and vegetable plants, you can find many more in-depth growing guides like this one in our garden blog.

If you’d like to learn more about our range offlower seeds, herb seeds, garden accessories, or anything else in our collection, get in touch with us today and we’ll happily answer any questions you may have.