Growing Rhubarb

Rheum rhabarbarum : Polygonaceae / the dock family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec
                    P P

(Best months for growing Rhubarb in New Zealand - cool/mountain regions)

  • P = Plant crowns
  • Easy to grow. Plant pieces of rhizome or roots 8 - 10 cm (3 - 4 in.) deep. Best planted at soil temperatures between 41°F and 68°F. (Show °C/cm)
  • Space plants: 35 inches apart
  • Harvest in approximately 1 years. You will have a stronger plant if you leave it for about a year before using..
  • Compatible with (can grow beside): Brassicas (Cabbage, Broccoli, Cauliflower, etc)

Your comments and tips

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11 Feb 16, Val Burns (Australia - temperate climate)
I use horse manure and its fine some people poo poo it but we have plenty so that's what we use, not fresh aged is best.
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18 Jan 16, Stuart Carlin (Australia - temperate climate)
Used to grow around hen run in NZ but when in Victoria all Rhubarb got eaten by earwigs then in SW WA got eaten by slaters.
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09 Jan 16, Jan Eigenhuis (South Africa - Humid sub-tropical climate)
Bought a few small rhubarb plants from Montana Nelspruit nursery a couple of months ago. Plants are struggling to survive in our high compost vegetable box. Too much sun? Temperatures too high? HELP!
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17 Mar 16, Bee-Pie (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
Yes. Rhubarb is a cold climate loving plant. Everybody in my village lost theirs during this drought. Mine are thriving as I've planted in the cold shady corner of of our garage. :-)
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10 Jan 16, Gaby (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Rhubarb loves water and manure. In summer it can go a bit dormant if it is under watered. Try using some seaweed based liquid feed once a week until the plant settles in.
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28 Dec 15, (Australia - temperate climate)
My sister in Whangarei New Zealand has great Rhubarb in her garden. She uses a split peice of pvc pipe around the stalks to make them grow longer. About 30 cms or more long.
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26 Dec 15, James (Australia - tropical climate)
What would be the best rhubarb to grow in Townsville? as it is not a cool climate and can get very hot. Would I be able to buy plants up here I have looked around but have not seen any.
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11 Jun 18, Debra Farrell (Australia - tropical climate)
what rhubarb is suitable to grow in Townsville
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22 Apr 16, Tempest (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Apparently this is an old Queensland variety: https://www.diggers.com.au/shop/vegetables/rhubarb/rhubarb-mount-tamborine/prhmt/ Not sure if the climate is the same as Townsville, but might be worth a try?
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18 Dec 15, Bev OMullane (Australia - temperate climate)
My sister gave me some stalks of her rhubarb, which is green and she doesn't like it. I cooked it and put red food colouring in it. Looks like red rhubarb, same taste. I didn't know that there were two types of rhubarb, red and green. Where does the green variety come from?
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Showing 421 - 430 of 635 comments
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you really are better off putting them in a raised garden bed with mixed clean top soil, lots of compost, peat moss, blood meal, and a slow release fertilizer. Rhubarb get very large and can live for many years and their root systems can get quite large, keeping them in pots will restrict their growth and you will have to water more often and continually use fertilizer more often then them being in the ground.

- Laura Ellington

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