| Their tasty, tangy, green or red stems are pretty enough for the vegetable or flower garden. Use stewed in pies, sauces, preserves and even in wine. Also excellent baked. Eat stalks only as leaves are poisonous. Hardy, they grow best where there is 2 months of winter freezing and a long cool spring. In mild winter areas, use varieties that need less chilling. Sow seed in spring, or plant root divisions which produce quicker and more reliable crops. Harvest first few stems the 2nd year after planting. Wait until the 3rd or 4th years for full, 8- to 10-week harvest. Harvest stalks of 1 inch or more diameter by gently twisting sideways near the base. Cut off flowering stalks to keep plants vigorous. Divide and replant when plants lose vigor and stalks become small. |
Preferred for its deep red stalks. The roots of Rhubarb are so thick that, to divide them, you will need to cut them with a spade. Once established, plants produce for years with little care. Only stalks are edible, so discard poisonous leaf blade.
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Attributes - Rheum rhabarbarum 'Valentine'
Plant Type: Perennial
Foliage: Deciduous
Height: 2 ft. to 3 ft.
Width: 3 ft.
Sunlight: Full Sun, Partial Sun
Climate: Zones 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Notes: Edible, Poisonous. Susceptible to Aphids, Beetles.
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