When to plant Rhubarb
Calendar windows
Dates shift with your latitude — they are calculated from your local last-spring-frost date, not from a fixed calendar.
At a glance
Overwinters outdoors in a temperate garden.
Practical notes
Plant a crown with the bud just at soil level in deeply manured ground, and take nothing at all in year one. Force an early crop by covering a crown with a bucket in February.
Knowing when to pick
Pull stalks with a twist rather than cutting, and never take more than half the plant. Stop by midsummer so the crown rebuilds.
Storing the crop
A week in the fridge. Chop and open-freeze on a tray — it needs no blanching. The leaves are poisonous: compost them, never eat them.
Crop rotation
No strict rotation group — still avoid replanting into the same soil year after year.
Grows well with
Watch for
Full guide: rhubarb diseases and pests (3) → with spread routes, compost verdicts and the prevention this list justifies.