Can Rhubarb Tolerate A Shady Location?

on September 19, 2022

Rhubarb is one of the most popular plants to grow in the productive garden because it produces a reliable harvest year-on-year without having to do very much work at all. The rhubarb can be harvested typically once the plant is 2 years old and it will produce a significant amount of rhubarb stalks. However, if you are lacking a sunny position to put rhubarb in you may be wondering if is it possible to plant it in a shady location.

It is possible to plant a rhubarb plant in a relatively shady location, however, the rate of growth is likely to be significantly lower simply because the amount of photosynthesis that occurs with a plant will be significantly reduced. Typically rhubarb plants can tolerate as little as 3 or 4 hours of sun per day but any less than that is likely to have a huge effect on the output of the plant.

In a full sun location, you can typically expect to get approximately 5 to 8lbs of storks throughout the year provided that the location is relatively sunny according to a study by Slovak University of Agriculture. If the plant is growing in a shady location you can expect the yield to probably fall by around 50%.

So if you really like rhubarb and you only have shady locations in which to plant it is recommended that you have a couple of plants as this will ensure that you still get a reasonable harvest.

Can Rhubarb Grow In The Dark?

The other method that is commonly used for rhubarb is to grow it in a forcing pot or forcing shed which is when the light is excluded from the plant for a period of time. This method is commonly used to grow commercial rhubarb as it produces pale pink tender stalks better much nicer to eat than ones that are grown conventionally in the sun.

This is a method that was discovered by accident in the 1800s when workers left soil on top of a rhubarb plant for several weeks and discovered that it produce these tender stalks.

However, if you are growing a plant using this method you need to have a reasonably well-developed crown that is at least a couple of years old as the plants will only produce one harvest via this method before they need to be moved back into the light as the plants will still need to photosynthesize to replenish their energy stores within the crown.

How To Propagate Rhubarb Plants

If you need additional rhubarb plants they can be propagated easily by division and they also can be propagated using seeds or cuttings of the plant latter these methods are significantly slower in terms of creating a viable plant that will produce a harvest.

To propagate the plants by division the easiest way is to dig up the Rhubarb ensuring that you do not damage the crown by using a shovel to gently lever underneath the plant to lift the crown without damaging it. This is relatively easy to do because the plant has shallow roots which typically only go down 6 inches or so.

Once the plant has been taken out of its current position the crown can then be chopped up with a spade and then returned them to the ground. When dividing the crown it is important to ensure that the pieces of crown that are created are no smaller than the size of your fist and ideally they should be a little bit larger than that. Additionally, it is a good idea to ensure that there are some new stalks forming on the section of the crown to ensure that it will produce a viable plant.

Does Rhubarb Spread On Its Own?

Another question that is commonly asked is does rhubarb spread by itself and is it invasive. Rhubarb is a plant that generally stays the one spot and will generally not spread significantly though the plant will get progressively larger over time as the crown increases in size.

However, as this increases in size, it is common to find that the plant will have dead spots in the center of the crown. These dead spots make the crown become less productive which is why it needs to be divided every couple of years to ensure it remains vigorous.

What Time Of Year Does Rhubarb Produce Stalks?

Rhubarb plants typically produce stalks throughout the year, however, they are generally at the most productive in autumn when they have the largest number of stalks in the plants, and in winter they tend to grow quite slowly when the weather is cool.

When harvesting stalks it is best to pull them rather than cut them from the plant as they will come away easily taking the entire stalk. This will ensure that no damaged stalks remain on the crown which can be a source of disease.

When harvesting the plant it is also important to ensure that you discard the leaves and only use the stalk in your food as the leaves are poisonous and need to be composted rather than fed to chickens.

How To Grow Rhubarb At Home

Rhubarb is a relatively easy plant to grow add will grow really in a range of soil conditions, however, it does not like wet boggy soils as there is a risk that the crown will rot. As mentioned earlier in the article rhubarb plants can be grown from seed or divided from an existing plant.

If you are growing plants from seed the best time to plant seeds is in early spring as that will give the plant time to get established throughout the growing season. To start the plant off fill a seed tray with seed raising mix and firm the soil into the individual cells before planting one seed per cell at a depth of approximately half an inch.

The seed tray should then be kept moist in a warm location that has plenty of sun. Once planted the seeds will typically take around 7 to 14 days to germinate and the plants will need to spend a further 6 weeks in the seed tray before they need to be put into a larger pot.

Typically, the rhubarb will need to spend 6 months in the pot to ensure that the crown begins to establish before it can be planted out into the garden during this period the pot needs to be kept constantly moist and ideally in a moderately sunny location to ensure that the plant develops relatively quickly.

When the plant is beginning to produce a stalk or two and leaves that is the time at which you should be planting it out into the garden. As mentioned earlier in the article the plant should ideally be put in a sunny location, however, it will tolerate a fair degree of shade and still grow successfully.

Once the location has been selected the next step is to put the plant into the ground and then backfill it with soil ensuring that it is firm the soil around the plant’s roots. To ensure that the plant retains moisture it is recommended that you apply a layer of mulch around the base of the plant that is 2 to 3 inches thick.

Once the plant has been established it requires very little maintenance other than harvesting the stalks when they appear and dividing the crown of the plant every couple of years to ensure that it continues to produce consistently.

Periodically the plant will also flower which is an opportunity to collect seeds if desired, however, if you are not interested in doing that it is best to remove the flower stalk as it appears because the plant will divert its energies to the creation of seeds rather than the production stalks for the period in which the flower is on the plant.