Rhubarb (Victoria)

📖 About This Plant

Rhubarb (Victoria) is the most popular named rhubarb variety in British, Canadian, and American gardens — a vigorous, long-lived perennial that produces thick, wine-red to pink stalks (technically leaf petioles) from early spring through early summer each year for decades without replanting. Victoria rhubarb was named in honor of Queen Victoria and has been cultivated since the 1830s, testament to its reliability and quality. The stalks have an intensely tart, fruity flavor — bright and acidic in a way that is immediately distinct from anything else in the garden — that transforms magnificently when cooked with sugar into pies, crumbles, fools, jams, and compotes. An established Victoria crown is essentially a permanent garden feature: a single plant can produce a full pie's worth of stalks 2–3 times per season for 20 or more years with minimal care.

📊 Quick Facts

📅 When to Plant in Your Area

🌱 Care Tips

Plant rhubarb crowns (not seeds) in autumn or early spring in a permanent bed enriched with a full bucket of well-rotted manure or compost per plant. Space crowns 3 feet apart; rhubarb does not appreciate being moved once established. The critical first-year rule: remove every flower stalk and every leaf stalk the moment they appear, no matter how tempting the harvest. This redirects all energy into root establishment, which directly determines the productivity of every subsequent year. In the second year, harvest sparingly — take only 2–3 stalks per plant in the first spring, stopping by June. By year 3, full harvesting can begin. Harvest by grasping the stalk near the base and pulling with a slight twisting motion rather than cutting — this prevents the stub from rotting. Never harvest more than half the stalks at once; the leaves are the plant's solar panels. Stop all harvesting by early July to allow the plant to rebuild its energy reserves for next year. Apply a thick mulch of well-rotted manure or compost around (not over) the crown each autumn. Remove flower stalks as soon as they appear — energy spent on flowering reduces leaf stalk production. Divide clumps every 5–7 years in late autumn or early spring to maintain vigour, discarding the old central portion and replanting only the healthy outer sections.

🤝 Companion Plants

These plants grow well alongside Rhubarb:

🌿 Related Vegetable

More vegetable that grow in similar conditions:

❓ Frequently Asked Questions