Planting guide

When to plant rhubarb

Tangy red stalks for pies and crumbles, from a tough perennial crown. In Melbourne it goes in Sep–Oct.

Start as: Crown
Ready in: 1+ years to the first crop
Spacing: 90 cm
Depth: 5 cm
Sun: Half a day (3–6 hours)
Water: Regular
Effort: Easy
Frost-tender: No

When it goes in

● means rhubarb can go in that month, ○ means wait. Worked out from each town's climate zone and season, the way planting guides do it. Pick your town for the full list for that month.

Australian towns and cities
Town	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Sydney	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○	○
Melbourne	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○	○
Brisbane	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○	○	○
Perth	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○	○
Adelaide	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○	○
Gold Coast	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○	○
Newcastle	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○	○
Sunshine Coast	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○	○	○
Canberra	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○
Central Coast	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○	○
Geelong	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○	○
Wollongong	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○	○
Hobart	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○
Townsville	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○	○	○
Cairns	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Toowoomba	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○	○
Darwin	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Ballarat	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○
Mandurah	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○	○
Bendigo	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○	○
Launceston	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○
Mackay	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○	○	○
Rockhampton	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○	○	○
Coffs Harbour	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○	○
Blue Mountains	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○
Bunbury	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○	○
Bundaberg	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○	○	○
Alice Springs	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○	○
Mildura	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○	○
Port Macquarie	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○	○

Around the world
Town	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Auckland	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○	○
Wellington	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○	○
Christchurch	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○
London	○	○	○	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Manchester	○	○	○	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Edinburgh	○	○	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Dublin	○	○	○	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
New York City	○	○	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Los Angeles	○	○	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Chicago	○	○	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Seattle	○	○	○	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Austin	○	○	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Toronto	○	○	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Vancouver	○	○	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Cape Town	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○	○
Johannesburg	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○	○
Singapore	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Mumbai	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Paris	○	○	○	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Berlin	○	○	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○

How to plant rhubarb

Plant crowns with buds at soil level in rich soil.
Mulch thickly and water in dry spells.
Do not pick in the first year.
Pull stalks, never cut; discard the leaves, which are poisonous.

Rhubarb varieties

Classic varieties are the reliable, widely grown ones. Adventurous ones are heirlooms, odd colours and rarities.

Victoria Classicheirloom · heavy-cropper · 52–104 wksOld favourite with long green-red stalks
Glaskins Perpetual Classicheirloom · heavy-cropper · 52–104 wksQuick-growing and easy from seed
Winter Wonder Adventurouscolourful · 52–104 wksEarly crimson stems with a sweet taste
Big Boy Adventurousgiant · 52–104 wksLarge red stalks, reliably productive

Where to buy seedlings

Search on QP Seedlings Search on Amazon

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Shops shown are for Australia. The chooser picks shops for your country.

Good companions

Garlic, Onion, Brassicas

Rhubarb by month

Jan · Feb · Mar · Apr · May · Jun · Jul · Aug · Sep · Oct · Nov · Dec

More to plant

Asparagus · Globe artichoke

Not sure rhubarb is right for your space? Answer a few taps and see everything that can go in this week.

Find what else you can plant now