Permapotes

Rhubarb

Rhubarb: Sowing, planting and harvest calendar

Culinary rhubarb is a perennial plant of the genus Rheum, in the Polygonaceae family. Many cultivated varieties are grouped under the name Rheum × hybridum. Often associated with fruit in desserts, its useful part is actually the fleshy leaf stalk, or petiole, commonly called a stem. It is neither a fruit nor the stem that carries flowers.

The plant forms a clump of large green leaves carried on long, thick petioles. Their broad, often somewhat triangular blades give rhubarb a strong presence in the garden. Beneath this foliage, a perennial crown supports renewed growth. In temperate climates, the leaves usually disappear during winter dormancy and the same plant starts growing again, rather than requiring a new plant each year.

Petioles can be green, pink, red or a mixture of these shades depending on the variety. Colour alone does not indicate sweetness or maturity. Varieties also differ in clump vigour, stalk length and thickness, texture and earliness. Green-stalked rhubarb is therefore not automatically an unfinished version of a red variety. This range is part of the diversity of culinary rhubarb.

Its characteristic tartness explains its place in compotes, pies, crumbles and jams. You can pair it with strawberries, apples or spices to vary the flavours. Cooking softens the stalks and gives preparations with different degrees of tenderness. They also belong in sauces and chutneys, where their sharp note accompanies savoury foods and adds another use beyond familiar desserts.

The leaves are not edible: culinary uses concern the petioles of varieties intended for cooking. The genus Rheum also includes plants grown for ornamental interest, which should not automatically be treated as culinary rhubarb. The large leaf therefore provides a visual identifying feature without becoming something to put on the plate.

A flower stalk can rise above the clump. It belongs to the plant’s reproductive growth, separate from the petioles used in cooking. In the vegetable garden, rhubarb brings the seasonal rhythm of a perennial and a mass of foliage contrasting with annual crops. It combines a distinctive outline with a recognisable tart flavour.

Rhubarb
Rhubarb
Characteristics
  • Lifecycle : Perennial
  • Exposure : Partial Shade
  • Frost Hardiness : Frost Resistant
  • Cultivation Difficulty : Easy
  • Mature height : 90 cm
Sowing & Planting
  • Greenhouse Growing : Not Required
  • Plant Spacing : 100 cm
  • Row Spacing : 100 cm
Maintenance
  • Maintenance : Moderate
  • Water Requirements : Moderate
Other characteristics
  • Soil Type : Humus-rich
  • Soil pH Preference : Neutral
  • Pest Sensitivity : Moderate
  • Disease Sensitivity : Moderate
  • Weed Sensitivity : Low
  • Pollination : Insect-pollinated
  • Propagation : Division