Contact: Diane Relf, Extension Specialist, Environmental Horticulture
Posted November 1997
Rhubarb is a rather unique crop. The edible part of this vegetable is a large succulent petiole, or stalk of a leaf.It is served primarily as dessert in the form of pies, tarts, sauces, or puddings. It may also be used for jam or jelly, and the cooked sweetened juice is refreshing as a chilled drink. Rhubarb is quite low in calories, but desserts made from it may have high calorie value because of the sugar used in their preparation. It supplies only moderate amounts of vitamins A and C.
Rhubarb is a perennial plant which originated in the colder parts of Asia, probably Siberia. This crop tolerates severe cold in winter, and dry weather in summer. It grows well in the colder parts of Virginia, but is not adapted to the warmer coastal areas.
Like many other perennial crops, rhubarb does not come true to name from seeds. The plant is propagated by dividing the crown or clump. The best divisions for planting are those which have a large piece of the fleshy storage root and a prominent bud. A well drained fertile loam soil with a high content of organic matter is best for rhubarb. Plant the divisions three feet apart, in rows four feet apart, and cover with three inches of soil. The plantings may be done about a month before the average last frost date in the spring, or in the autumn a few weeks after the first frost has killed the foliage.
Rhubarb needs liberal amounts of manure or chemical fertilizer to promote vigorous growth. Apply eight pounds of 5-10-5 per 100 feet of row before growth starts in the spring. Broadcast the fertilizer over the entire space between the rows and cultivate into the top two inches of soil.
The leaves of rhubarb should not be harvested during the first year after it is planted, and only a few should be pulled during the second summer. After the plants become well established, leaves may be removed for about two months each spring. Rhubarb is easy to harvest by pulling the leaves to one side to detach them from the crown. Cut off the leaf blade leaving one-fourth inch to prevent splitting of the petiole.
Only the petiole or stalk of the rhubarb leaf should be eaten. The blade has a high content of oxalic acid, and may be quite poisonous.
A healthy planting of rhubarb will continue to produce good crops for six or eight years. The petioles may become small and spindly when the plants are ten to twelve years old. The crown should then be divided and replanted in a new location.
(Prepared by Jennifer Shuster, Extension Technician, Environmental Horticulture, Virginia Tech, from Virginia Cooperative Extension materials.)