Perennial stem
How to grow rhubarb
Rheum × hybridum
Rhubarb is a hardy perennial that crops for ten years or more from one planting. Plant dormant crowns between November and March in deep, rich, moisture-retentive soil in sun or light shade, with the tips of the buds just showing at the surface. Take nothing in the first year, pull lightly in the second, then harvest from April to the end of June. A thick mulch every winter and a summer rest keep the crown strong.
- Hardiness
- Fully hardy, needs winter cold to crop
- Position
- Sun to light shade
- Soil
- Deep, rich, moisture-retentive
- Ideal pH
- 6.0 to 6.8
- Water
- Moderate, water in a dry summer to keep the crown strong
- Feeding
- Heavy feeder
Sowing and planting rhubarb
WhenPlant crowns Nov to Mar; harvest Apr to Jul (forced Feb to Mar); rest after midsummer
Starting off
Plant bare-root crowns November to March or pot-grown plants any time the soil is workable; 'Timperley Early' for forcing, 'Victoria' or 'Stockbridge Arrow' for maincrop. Propagate by division: in November to February lift a 5 to 6 year old crown and split with a spade so each piece has 1 to 2 fat buds and a good root. Seed is slow and variable; crowns are the way.
Spacing and planting
Plant crowns 90 cm apart in rows 1 to 1.2 m apart; each plant spreads to 1 m across. Dig a 45 cm hole, fill with compost and set the crown with the tips of the buds just showing at the surface, or slightly proud on heavy clay. Not a container plant long-term, though 'Timperley Early' will manage 2 to 3 years in a 50 litre tub.
Varieties worth growing
- Timperley Early
- The earliest, pulling from March outdoors and February when forced. The usual choice for forcing under a pot.
- Victoria
- The old, heavy-cropping maincrop with thick green and red stems from May. Vigorous and long-lived.
- Stockbridge Arrow
- Yorkshire-bred, with long, straight red stems and arrow-shaped leaves; good flavour and reliable for forcing.
- Champagne
- Early, with long, slender pink-red stems that are sweeter than most; also good for forcing.
- Livingstone
- Bred without the usual summer dormancy, so it can be pulled in September and October when other varieties are resting.
Rhubarb month by month
Timings are for central England. Allow two weeks later in the north and on cold, heavy soil.
- January
Cover an established crown with a forcing pot or upturned bin to force it. Plant new crowns in workable soil.
- February
Pull forced stems at 20 to 30 cm, about six weeks after covering. Plant and divide while crowns are still dormant.
- March
Uncover forced crowns once picked and leave them alone for the rest of the year. Feed all crowns. Last planting of bare-root crowns.
- April
Start pulling from established plants. Take no more than a third of the stems at once.
- May
Main harvest. Cut out flower stalks at the base as soon as they appear.
- June
Keep pulling until the end of the month, then stop.
- July
Feed after the last pull. Water in dry weather. Leave all the foliage to rebuild the crown.
- August
Water thoroughly every week or so in drought.
- September
Nothing to do. Pull autumn-cropping Livingstone if you grow it.
- October
Clear away the leaves as they die back so the crown is exposed to cold.
- November
Mulch around, not over, the crown. Lift and divide crowns more than five years old. Plant new ones.
- December
Plant and divide in mild spells. Leave crowns uncovered; they need the frost.
Feeding rhubarb
A hungry perennial that is fed twice a year around a heavy winter mulch: nitrogen in March to drive the stems, and a balanced feed after the last pull to rebuild the crown for next year.
A hungry perennial, mulch heavily with organic matter in autumn or winter and give a nitrogen feed in spring.
Feeding plan
Planting, November to March
Fruit & Vegetable Fertiliser 4-5-6
100 g/m² mixed into the soil and compost returned to the planting hole: 100 g per crown, as each plant takes up about a square metre.
Every winter, November to February
Garden compost
A 5 to 7 cm layer of compost or well-rotted manure in a ring around the plant, kept off the buds.
March, as the buds break
Organic Nitrogen Fertiliser 13% N
30 to 40 g per crown, one rounded handful, scattered over the square metre around it and watered in. This is the label rate of 25 to 40 g/m² for leafy crops.
Late June or early July, after the last pull
Fruit & Vegetable Fertiliser 4-5-6
50 to 100 g per crown over the same square metre, watered in. Use the higher figure on light soil or a heavily picked plant. In the year of planting keep to 50 g, so that with the planting dose the season stays within the label limit of 150 g/m².
Signs to watch
Thin, spindly stems from year three
Nitrogen short or an exhausted, crowded crown
Heavy manure mulch in winter and divide every 5 to 6 years
Older leaves yellow between the veins
Magnesium short on light soil
Epsom salts or kieserite, not dolomite
Early flower stalks and a weak crop
Drought or an old crown
Cut flower stems at once and water
Pests, diseases and problems
Buds and the top of the crown turn brown and soft; stems are thin, leaves dull and puckered
Crown rot, caused by soil fungi and bacteria and made worse by wet ground or a buried crown
Cut out small areas of rot back to sound tissue. If most of the crown is affected, dig it up and bin it, and plant a new crown in fresh, better-drained ground with the buds at the surface.
Emerging shoots and young stems scraped and holed
Slugs and snails sheltering in mulch and old leaves around the crown
Clear dead leaves away in autumn, keep mulch off the crown itself, and check under forcing pots, where they gather.
Round brown spots on the leaves, the centres falling out to leave holes
Fungal leaf spot, common in wet summers
It rarely affects the crop. Remove the worst leaves and clear all the foliage when it dies back in autumn.
Leaves mottled yellow and green, plant gets weaker each year
Virus, which builds up in old stock passed between gardens
Dig up and destroy the plant. Replant with bought, healthy crowns in a different spot.
Early stems go limp and blacken after a cold night
Frost on the first growth, mostly on early varieties
Pull off the damaged stems and compost them; the crown will send up more. A layer of straw over early crowns helps in a cold March.
Whole plant collapses in summer; white fungal sheet under the skin of the crown, smelling of mushrooms
Honey fungus spreading from nearby tree stumps or hedges
Remove the plant with as much root as possible and do not replant rhubarb or woody plants in that spot.
Harvest and rotation
Harvest and storage
Pull from the second spring, April to late June, when stalks are 25 to 30 cm: hold at the base and pull with a twist, never cut, taking no more than a third of the stems and stopping by midsummer. A mature crown gives 3 to 5 kg a year; forced stems come in February to March. Stew and freeze. The leaves are poisonous: compost them.
Rotation and companions
Rotation: a permanent perennial, so no rotation; site it at the edge of the plot where it can stay 10 to 15 years. Keep away from the rotation beds and from tree roots, which compete for its heavy water and feed.
Good to knowDon't pull in the first year, and stop pulling by midsummer to let the crown recover. Force under a bucket for early, tender stems.
Growing rhubarb in pots
Rhubarb is a poor long-term pot plant because the crown is large, deep-rooted and thirsty. If a pot is the only option, use a tub of at least 50 litres and a compact early variety such as Timperley Early, in loam-based compost with a quarter garden compost and the 4-5-6 at 5 g per litre, which is 250 g for 50 litres. Water regularly from April to September and never let it dry out in summer. Top-dress each March with the 4-5-6 at 2 g per litre, 100 g for the tub. Pull lightly, and after two or three years divide the crown and replant a piece in fresh compost or move it to open ground.
Rhubarb: common questions
When should you stop picking rhubarb?
Stop at the end of June, or by mid July at the latest. The plant needs the rest of the summer in full leaf to store energy in the crown for the following spring. Picking on into late summer gives thinner stems each year.
Can you pick rhubarb in the first year?
No, leave a newly planted crown completely unpicked for its first season. In the second year take a few stems in spring, and from the third year harvest normally, never taking more than a third of the stems at one time.
How do you force rhubarb?
Cover a dormant crown in January with a forcing pot, bucket or upturned dustbin that excludes all light. Pale, tender stems are ready in six to eight weeks. Only force a strong crown at least three years old, do not pick it again that year, and give it a year off before forcing it again.
Sources
Growing information on this page was checked against these references in November 2026. Feeding rates are Dr Forest label rates.