Rhubarb (6220)

Rhubarb is a tough, relatively trouble-free, long-lived perennial plant, which grows well in the home garden. Also called pieplant, it is grown by most people next to their vegetable garden for its edible leaf stems. You can also grow it in perennial flower beds for its bold foliage and tall white flower stalks. Although it is a vegetable, you use the stems like fruit to make pies, tarts, sauces, or jelly.

Rhubarb plants grow best in sunny locations on well-drained soil. Because they can stay in the same spot for years, prepare the soil well before you plant rhubarb. Mix in lots of compost or rotted animal manure to a depth of at least one foot, preferably eighteen inches. Use about one bushel of compost or manure per plant, and mix it thoroughly with existing soil.

You can purchase rhubarb plants at garden stores, through mail-order garden catalogs in spring, or you can divide existing plants. Divide rhubarb plants in early spring, before or just as new growth emerges from the ground. You can also divide rhubarb in fall, before the middle of October. When dividing rhubarb plants, cut the roots apart so each section has at least one healthy cluster of leaves. If you don't see any shoots or leaves, make sure each division has at least one strong bud. This bud produces the new plant.

Plant rhubarb divisions so the top of the root piece is about two inches below the soil surface. If you're planting more than one plant, keep them at least three feet apart, and if you're planting more than one row of rhubarb, keep rows about four feet apart.

Add a two- or three-inch layer of compost, dried grass clippings, partially decayed wood chips, or some other organic mulch material to conserve soil moisture, discourage weed growth, maintain soil temperature, and provide a slow release source of plant nutrients.

If you grow rhubarb in a well-prepared soil and maintain an organic mulch cover over the root system, you don't need to apply much extra fertilizer. However, fertilizing once a year can improve vigor and yields. Have your soil tested to determine soil fertility needs, and add needed nutrients in spring.

For more information on this subject, Please visit the College of Agricultural Sciences Publications Web site.

Feel free to forward, post or reprint any of the "Solutions" in their entirely, but please credit http://www.solutions.psu.edu/ as the original source of information, and please do not change the content.