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Free Rhubarb

stbr25457stbr25457 Posts: 5
in Fruit & veg
An anonymous friend has left a rhubarb crown on my door step. It has health growth with some leaves 6" diameter. Giving that it is still only March, and with another blast of cold from Siberia forecast for this weekend , what should I do with it? Also, I'd like to grow some in containers. Is this a successful way of producing good quality rhubarb?

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  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited March 2018
    I'd prepare a good spot with lots of organic matter and plant it. Don't take any stems this year and only a few next year, then you'll have a healthy plant that will provide wonderful crops for years to come. 
    Im afraid I don't think rhubarb is very suitable for growing in most containers. Mine is over 1m x 1m ... rhubarb also needs plenty of water and that can be a problem with container growing. 

    My four year old rhubarb last summer.  :)
    rhubarb originates from Siberia ... An arctic blast won't faze it at all. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • stbr25457stbr25457 Posts: 5
    Wow, I really don't want that much Rhubarb. Just one crown is more than enough for me. Is position a factor to think about?
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    That is one crown.  Most years I pick from early March until the end of June, never removing more than a third of the stems ... I don't pick from July onwards to allow the crown to replenish and build up for the following year. I mulch with homemade compost in autumn and spring and feed with chicken manure pellets in early spring. 
    Decent soil with plenty of humus is best but as you keep mulching it will improve the soil as the plant grows ... semi-shade is fine. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • stbr25457stbr25457 Posts: 5
    Thank you.
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