The first clip I ever tried rhubarb , it was a spongy mountain inside a pie at a chain of mountains eatery somewhere . I never desire to eat it again .
That all changed the summer I moved to Alaska , when my parents convinced me to try the Proto-Indo European at a quaint local establishment , with the best view ever of the surrounding mountains and the Matanuska Glacier .
Because of the breathtaking view plus gasp - desirable Proto-Indo European combo , we visit as often as we can .
My three-week-old seedling in an eight-inch container. Photo by Laura Melchor.
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Now an enthusiastic rhubarb convert , the sweet , tangy tang of the violent - green stalk haunted my winter dreams and made me ache for summer . Even though all of my friends had pie - plant life bandage in their gardens , I still did n’t .
That ’s when I realized that I needed to turn rhubarb in containers at home during the winter .
My three-week-old seedling in an eight-inch container. Photo by Laura Melchor.
My state may freeze for over half the year , but that does n’t mean I ca n’t get a head set out on get my pet pie filling in the world .
And so can you ! In this clause , I ’ll show you how .
Here ’s what I ’ll cover :
What You’ll Learn
Why Grow Rhubarb in a Container?
A phallus of the Polygonaceae class , Rheum rhabarbarumproduces violent or reddish - unripened stalks from spring to former or midsummer , depend on the variety .
While the leaves are inedible , or even toxic if consumed in gravid amounts , the stalks are lusciously comestible .
Cooked down with bucket of sugar , they shine in a pie . That ’s reason enough for me to want to grow a whole field of pie plant !
Growing rhubarb in containers is an easy way to have your own tonic harvest home of stalk , even if you have n’t got much infinite in your garden .
container also aid keep this industrial plant in check . Once it ’s give in your yard , rhubarb tends to take over , spreading so magniloquent and wide – up to four feet both manner – that it can overshadow other crop growing in the surface area .
In southern climes – USDA Hardiness Zones9 and above – rhubarb plant perish when temperatures rise in the summer , which is why it ’s often grown as an annual in those locating .
If it is n’t too hot out – think temperatures stay around or below 80 ° F throughout the hot parts of the twelvemonth – rhubarb thrives , and then naturally decease into quiescence during the late declination and into the wintertime months .
Rhubarb then needs to chill out at a temperature of between 28 to 49 ° F or below for at least six hebdomad .
This varies according the the cultivar you are growing , but on average , this works needs 500 chill hours for best yields .
For those in Zones 7 or 8 , the atmospheric condition does n’t always follow with this requirement .
Bringing your plant into a nerveless property like a basement or barn during these month will keep it happy during its wintertime rest stop , allowing it to put all its DOE into producing tasty new stalks get spring .
This is easy to do if yougrow your plants in a container .
Choosing the Right Container
Are you plan to constitute crowns , divisions , or bare beginning in pots outside ? Then you ’ll need a container that ’s at least 20 inches grandiloquent and wide .
It ’s up to you whether you want to use a light plastic one , a more racy terra cotta variety , or something pretty and ornamental . Read more about whatmaterial is best for containers , stool , and planters here .
For starting germ that you ’ll later transplant to a with child outdoor container , select a pot that ’s at least eight inches wide and seven inch deep .
This gives your works plenty of room to mature and become demonstrate before transplanting clock time – without taking up lashings of infinite in your home .
Alternatively , you could part come in traysand transplant the seedlings later .
Make trusted you select a pot that has a enfeeble looker , drainage holes that do n’t leak out onto your selected raise surface , or a ego - lacrimation insert .
you could also fill a regular flock with a layer of crushed rock at the bottom to encourage drainage away from the base system .
Preparing Your Container
take your 20 - by-20 - inch container with either :
employ agood caliber , organically rich potting soilthat drain well . Rhubarb savour grease with a pH between 5.0 and 7.0 , or light acidulous to inert .
If you ’re using garden soil , you may take to amend it with compost or well - molder manure . carry a soil testif you are unsure about the composition and pH level of your soil .
How to Grow
you could distribute rhubarb in four ways : from a crown ( a one - year - old industrial plant ) , a division , a dormant bare root egg , or source .
We ’ll discuss each method as it refer to container mature so that you could make the adept selection for your garden .
Planting a Crown
A rhubarb crown is a just way to commence if you need angry walk that are quick to harvest in the first time of year after you ’ve planted it .
Make a four - column inch - deep , six - inch - wide hole in the soil . Carefully remove your poll from its planter .
You may need to lightly untangle the tendrils of the rootstock if the root word ball seems very compacted .
Next , gear up the root ball in the hole , and backfill with soil . Do n’t cover any part of the existing stalks or leafage with soil . All you demand to do is make certain the root chunk is cover .
Give the plant a thoroughgoing soaking and set your container in a location that gets at least six hours of sun per day , preferably more . Keep the soil moist , but not waterlogged .
For crowns planted in the drop , reduce watering over the winter months , and increase again when you see the first signs of liveliness in springtime . Then keep the grease evenly moist but not waterlogged through the rise season .
If you have planted your crowns in the spring , get quick to follow them grow . As direct above , do n’t overwater , but do n’t let them dry out , either .
While you may be tempted to start prune those tasty straw off immediately , do n’t !
Wait until stalks are 10 to 12 inches tall , and harvest gently in the first season , taking only 1/8 to 1/4 of the plant ’s total stalks .
This will allow your works to establish the solid antecedent arrangement it require to get genuinely toothsome stalks commence one yr after planting .
Planting a Division
If a friend is tolerant enough to give you a part from her rhubarb plant , rejoice !
To divide them , you have to dig up the rootage and cut it in half ( or into three pieces , depending on how heavy it is ) .
It is good to divide in fountain , when the plant life is first starting to awake up from its wintertime dormancy , or in the fall , just before it goes dormant .
See our fullguide to dividing perennialsfor detailed instructions on how to do this .
depend on the naval division prison term that you choose , the antecedent balls ( rootstock ) will be yellowish , chunky , tuberous thing that may or may not have stalk and leaf attached .
Plant each division in a hole about eight to 10 inches deep , foliage side up . Cover all but the top inch of the root word ball with filth , and leave alone any remain angry walk and leaf uncovered .
irrigate the naval division thoroughly , and find the container a sunny patch on your porch or pack of cards .
If you ’ve planted a rootstock that was divided in the fall , keep the grease moist until the flora goes in full dormant – in other word , until it dies all the fashion back .
For spring - planted division , keep them moist throughout the rest period of the spring and summer , and learn those mature stalk pop up . ( Yes , you’re able to reap them ! ) Spring - planted division will rise quickly and will be quick for harvest as soon as the stalks are 12 to 18 inch long .
For declination - plant divisions , you ’ll be able to glean stalk the undermentioned outflow .
Planting a Dormant Bare Root Ball
A dormant bare theme clod is essentially the same thing as a division . This is what the plant is call in when you purchase it from a nursery , and it will in the main include just one pale , dormant bud .
stab a hole eight to ten inches rich , depending on the size of your bare source .
lay the bare solution inwardly , leaving the bud , exposed . Whatever you do , make sureto ascertain the bud . It ’s commonly a very wan , one - inch - foresightful bud near the top of the nude root .
The surest way to drink down a stripped root is to plant it root - side - up , bud - side - down .
If you do n’t see a bud anywhere , adjoin the seller and explicate the office . They may be able to help you find the bud , or send a replacement .
Water your newly institute root clump thoroughly , find it a gay , warm location , and keep the soil moist . If you imbed in the fall , there ’s no motive to irrigate the plain solution once temperature drop systematically to 60 ° F or below .
The plant will stay comfortably dormant until springtime .
With spring planting , foliage should emerge within two or three weeks . Do n’t harvest during the first time of year .
Rhubarb planted from small bare roots needs sentence to establish a strong and healthy root system , giving you a sound second - time of year yield and a hearty third - season production , as well as high yields in the years to watch over .
Since these plant are very long - lived , they can keep producing for decennary .
Sowing Seeds
Since Alaska – along with other northerly states from Washington to Maine – are excellent locations for grow rhubarb , I decided to start my own from seed in late January .
Rhubarb seeds are kind of funky depend , shrouded in a papery casing .
To speed up germination , soaking the cum in tepid urine for at least two hours before sow is recommended , to loosen the casing around the seminal fluid .
Typically , you ’ll come out seeds indoors about three months before your expanse ’s average last frost engagement .
I chose to start my seeds in neat little starter tray , which you canfind at Gardener ’s Supply . They call it the Deep Root Seed Starting System .
Deep Root Seed Starting System
It ’s definitely sullen duty than anything else you ’ll find on the market and the reusable maturate tray is made up of 15 extra abstruse cadre .
This frame-up let in a hairlike mat and piddle reservoir that facilitate you make certain that your seedlings remain moist , but not waterlogged .
To sow in , make a one - inch - cryptical hole about the size of it of your fingertip , and drop one seed into each cell .
Lightly cover each seed with ground , and give them a gentle but thorough lacrimation .
sprouting can take anywhere from seven days to two weeks .
After three week , I graft my infant seedling into my eight - column inch - wide , seven - inch - deep jackpot , set as described above with pot land and a little farinaceous plant food .
Place them in an area that receives at least six time of day of sunshine per day ( or use a grow light ) , and sustain even moisture , but do n’t let them become waterlogged .
As the pieplant grows , you ’ll notice more leafage developing on the stems .
In spring , when all risk of exposure of frost has blow over and the seedling are four to six inches marvelous , your plants will be quick for hardening off and moving outdoors in a declamatory container .
To indurate them off , place the tummy in a partly sunny expanse protected from air current , rain , and excessive fair weather , depart with two hours of outdoor photograph a day .
Over the space of a workweek , step by step increase their outdoor playtime to eight minute , and then they will be ready to grow outside full - time .
And voila ! Your pie plant is on its way to becoming a one - year - old crown . Next summer , you ’ll get to enjoy stalks from your very own seed - grown pieplant .
Container Care
Once institute , rhubarb is easy to care for . Always keep in creative thinker that it grows best in a cheery spot with evenly moist grime .
When growing it in containers , remember that the soil can dry out out more quickly than it would in the garden . Keep an centre out for dehydration , particularly during periods of hot weather .
If you have n’t had sufficient rainwater , you may need toprovide extra irrigation .
Mulchingwith sliced bark , wood poker chip , or compost can help the soil to retain wet , just be sure not to permit the mulch touch the crown – keep it about an inch aside from the stems of your plants .
In the late fall , after harvest , the plant will die back and go torpid for the winter . As remark above , it needs a wintertime chilling time period of about six weeks with temperature between 28 and 49 ° F .
do fountain , when you see the first signs of Modern development , fertilize with a balanced 10 - 10 - 10 ( NPK ) granular plant food . mark that this may not be necessary if you are mulchingwith compost , as it will gradually break down and offer additional nutrients to the soil .
Dividing Larger Plants
You wo n’t need to vex about this for about three or four years , but once your plants jump to calculate too big for their container , it ’s sentence for some part .
await until late fall or early springiness to do this – when the plant life is either about to go dormant for the winter , or when it ’s just stir up up in springtime .
With a trowel or deal rake , scrape at the exterior of the rootage until you may reach down and rive it out with two hand . Take a flat spade in two hands and hit the root with it , slicing the tuberous yellow lump straight down the middle , oruse a garden knife .
reckon on how great the tooth root is , and how many buds it has , you may want to slice it again crosswise so that you have four chunks rather of two . Each division should have 1 - 3 buds .
( Yes , your works will survive this . It ’s very hardy ! )
Replant the chunk with the shuck ( bud ) sides up , douse them with water , and determine them pop up and sprout new stalks in the spring .
Growing Tips
Cultivars to Select
you’re able to grow just about any cultivar in a container , but some varieties are smaller than others , making them good suited to acquire in a littler space .
Here are a twosome of the more democratic cultivar suitable for your container garden . See ourguide to the best rhubarb cultivarsfor a full selection of what ’s available .
Glaskin’s Perpetual
This change is perfect for container grow because it ’s a flake belittled than other cultivars , growing just two feet wide and tall .
Plus , you could harvest it from spring all the way until previous summer . And you’re able to being to reap ‘ Glaskin ’s Perpetual ’ just one yr after institute from seed !
fresh , whore , and a routine less bitter than some other varieties , the blood-red - green stalks will be harvest - quick when they ’re 12 to 14 inches long .
Victoria
Sweet and just tart enough to please most rhubarb - lovers , ‘ Victoria ’ is a cultivar that gardeners have favored since it became the first wide popular pie plant cultivar in the mid-1800s .
This one is well suited to container get because it reaches just three metrical foot wide by three feet marvelous at due date . While this may sound immense , it ’s smaller than other cultivars !
‘ Victoria ’
‘ Victoria ’ is the type that I ’ve been farm in my container , and it ’s an excellent cultivar to start from seed .
Find seeds in a sort of packet sizesavailable at Eden Brothers .
‘ Victoria ’ plant or Bare root
If you want to get a head jump on the growing season , you could also purchase live plant or stark roots to start your crop , available at Burpee .
Managing Pests and Disease
Rhubarb is imposingly pest immune , and if you ’re growing it container , you wo n’t have as many ( if any ) weeds or pests to vex about .
But keep an heart out for fungous leaf putrefaction , which can happen if the leave of absence stay damp or moistly squeeze other environ leaves for too long . An easy style to ward off this is to water at the base of the plant life , avoiding the leafage entirely . Remove any dead or dying leafy growth throughout the season , to promote unspoiled airflow .
If you do bump fungus , remove the infected leafage and stalk . you could still use the stalk in your cooking if you cut the moved parts off , and take the leafage will help to keep the infection from spreading to the repose of the flora .
So , what ’s the number one gadfly to ascertain out for ?
The rhubarb plant weevil , a yellowish , long - snouted , half - in - longsighted beetle that carves notches out of your beautiful bow and parting .
Scrape the weevils off the plant if you spot them , and kill them so that they do n’t come back .
It ’s crucial to catch them early , before they start laying egg and multiply at rates that are voiceless to keep up with .
Harvesting
To reap your stalk , wait until the 2nd season of maturation . This is go to be the hard part of produce your own , especially when your taste buds hunger pie !
Most varieties will be ready for harvesting from late April through June .
When the stalks are 12 to 18 inch in distance , harvest the outer stalks by finding the radical with your fingers and pulling firmly to break them off one at a time . Each stalk should come away middling easily from the base , with a tapered ending .
Cut the leaves off and whisk them off to your compost container .
Remember , they ’re inedible and even potentially harmful due to the high-pitched levels of oxalic acid they turn back , so you do n’t require kid or pet munching on them .
During your plant ’s first harvest , take only about a quarter of the total stalks . The following year , you’re able to take all but one - third .
By leaving a few stalks behind , you provide the plant to store energy for the winter dormancy period , and the reawakening to follow in the spring .
If you survive in Zones 7 or above , move your container to a cool , shelter space – a basement , garage , or even an outdoor freezer – once it stimulate too hot , with temperatures consistently above 80 ° atomic number 9 .
It ’s idealistic if this space gets down to 40 ° F during the winter so your flora could also stay there through the necessary scarey period . instead , you may move it back outside after the passion of summertime has go .
If you are turn your plant as an one-year , harvest every exclusive angry walk off your Proto-Indo European plant when they ’re ready , ascertain the stay above ground portions of the plant shrivel in the heat – or only dig it up and dispose of it – and replant a new division or crown in fall or the next spring .
Those in zone 3 to 6 can leave behind the containers outside to merrily overwinter in the cold .
require more harvesting tips and tricks?We have a guide for that !
Recipes and Cooking Ideas
For use throughout the winter , cut neat stem into one - inch piece , lay them on parchment paper , and freeze until they are truehearted . Then transport them to gallon - size deep-freeze bag , making sure to mark them with the date you put them in the freezer . They ’ll keep for up to a yr .
Alternatively , you may make a delicious pie , like this onefrom our sister site , Foodal .
Try your hired hand at make a rhubarb jam or sauce , gross for drizzling over or stirring into your ice cream . Maybe broil a crumble or Triticum aestivum spelta cake such asthis one , also from Foodal .
marvel what else Proto-Indo European plant copulate well with ? There are pot of thing that are n’t Proto-Indo European . For a full leaning of pairable foods , check out this article on usingrhubarb in the kitchen , from Foodal .
The available options are endlessly tart and tasty .
Tart, Juicy Goodness Awaits You
By growing rhubarb plant in a container , you have more control over its growing conditions . And it makes aproject for the kidsto get involved in too .
I ’ll be sit here bulk large over my six little plants for the next two years , just waiting until the gorgeous day when I can reap them for the first time .
Until then , I ’ll be making plenty of pie stops at Long Rifle Lodge , just off Mile 102 on the Glenn Highway in Chickaloon , Alaska ( in case you ever visit ! ) .
And do n’t leave to check out our other guides to growing veggies in containers next :
Photos by Laura Melchor and Meghan Yager © require the Experts , LLC . ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.See our TOSfor more details . Product exposure via Garden Supply Company , Burpee , and Eden Brothers . in the beginning published February 27th , 2020 . Last updated May 11th , 2023 . Uncredited pic : Shutterstock . With extra writing and redaction by Clare Groom and Allison Sidhu .
About
Laura Ojeda Melchor
