Rhubarb Collection

Planting Your Rhubarb
Choose a sunny or lightly shaded position with fertile, moisture-retentive but well-drained soil. Rhubarb can stay productive in the same spot for many years, so prepare the ground well before planting with plenty of well-rotted manure or garden compost.

Planting Crowns
Plant crowns with the growing point at soil level or just visible above the surface, spacing plants around 75–90cm apart. Water well after planting. If you can't plant straight away, keep the crowns somewhere cool and keep the roots moist, then plant as soon as possible.

Planting Potted Plants
Potted rhubarb can be planted straight into its final position. Plant at the same depth it was growing in the pot, gently firm the soil around the root ball and water thoroughly.

Growing in Containers
Rhubarb can also be grown in a large container filled with good-quality compost. Make sure the pot has good drainage and water regularly, particularly during warm, dry weather. Container-grown plants will need more frequent watering and feeding than those growing in the ground.

Watering & Feeding
Water during prolonged dry spells and feed in spring as growth gets underway. An annual mulch of well-rotted manure or garden compost will help retain moisture and improve the soil, but keep it clear of the crowns themselves.

Top Tip
Remove any flower stems as soon as they appear. This helps the plants put their energy into developing strong stems and building up the crowns rather than producing flowers and seed.

A Longer Rhubarb Harvest
Growing these three varieties together helps spread your harvest across the season. ‘Timperley Early’ gets things underway, followed by ‘Raspberry Red’, with ‘Victoria’ providing a reliable maincrop harvest.

Give New Plants Time
Avoid harvesting newly planted rhubarb during its first growing season so the crowns can establish strong root systems. In the second year, harvest only a few stems. Once the plants are well established, you can harvest more freely while always leaving plenty of healthy foliage.

How to Pick Rhubarb
Choose well-developed stems and grasp each one close to its base, then pull firmly with a gentle twist. The stalk should come cleanly away from the crown rather than needing to be cut.

Keep Your Plants Productive
Never strip a plant completely. Leave plenty of healthy stems and foliage so the leaves can continue feeding the crown and building up reserves for the following year.

Top Tip
With three plants to harvest from, you can spread your picking between them rather than taking too many stems from one crown at once. This leaves plenty of foliage on each plant to keep it growing strongly.

Enjoy an Extra-Early Crop
‘Timperley Early’ is particularly well suited to forcing and is the natural choice from this collection if you want to bring your first rhubarb harvest forward. ‘Raspberry Red’ and ‘Victoria’ can also be forced once the crowns are strong and well established.

How to Force Your Rhubarb
Cover a strong, established crown in winter with a rhubarb forcer or tall upturned container that completely excludes the light. Check the developing stems regularly and harvest once they're large enough to use.

Give the Crown Time to Recover
Forcing uses a considerable amount of the crown's stored energy, so don't force young plants or the same crown every year. Once harvesting has finished, uncover it and allow the foliage to grow normally.

Top Tip
Having three rhubarb plants makes it easy to rotate your forcing. Force one established crown for an extra-early crop, then give it time to recover while harvesting normally from the others.

Three Rhubarbs for the Kitchen
From the sweeter stems of ‘Raspberry Red’ to the traditional flavour of ‘Victoria’, this collection gives you plenty of rhubarb for crumbles, pies, compotes, jams and preserves.

Save Some for Later
When the harvest gets ahead of you, rhubarb freezes well. Wash and trim the stalks, cut them into pieces and freeze them ready for cooking later in the year.

Remove the Leaves
Only the stalks are edible. Remove and discard the leaves after harvesting, as rhubarb leaves should not be eaten.

Rhubarb Crowns
Choose crowns if you prefer to plant rhubarb while it is dormant. Your collection will contain three dormant crowns, carefully packaged and ready to plant. They may have little or no visible top growth when they arrive – this is completely normal. Crowns are despatched from November.

Potted Rhubarb Plants
Choose potted plants for established young rhubarb plants already growing in nursery pots. Your collection will contain three potted plants, ready to plant straight into their final positions on arrival. Depending on the time of year, they may already have leaves and stems. Potted plants are despatched from April.

What to Expect Through the Seasons
Rhubarb is a hardy herbaceous perennial, so its appearance naturally changes throughout the year. Plants grow strongly through spring and early summer before the foliage dies back later in the year. The crowns remain dormant through winter before producing fresh new growth the following spring.

Can't Plant Your Crowns Straight Away?
Keep them somewhere cool and keep the roots moist, but don't leave them stored for longer than necessary. Plant as soon as conditions allow, avoiding frozen or waterlogged ground.