PlantFiles: Rhubarb, Pieplant, Da Huang
Rheum rhabarbarum

The plant does set seed and the seed is viable

Cutting off the flower stalks may help store up the energy instead of wasting it all on the seeds.

Edit: Rhubarb also grows in zone 9 with some cultivars doing better than others.

Rhubarb is one of my favorite vegitables. As a child, I would sit on the edge of my mom's patch with a cup of sugar and pull a stem, dip it in the sugar, and eat it like it was candy. :D
One of my favorite ways to use rhubarb is to make it into a sauce along with fresh blueberries and sugar. This is wonderful on waffles, cakes, ice cream, or with just a spoonfull of whipped cream.
I have always been told that you should never pick it after the first (or 4th) of July, always pull it (never cut it), and to cover the plants with a thin layer manuer in the fall. Other than that, they require very little care.

Great addition to your garden. Rhubarb grows great in the Pacific Northwest. Easy to start from seed, but you have to wait two years before your first harvest.

I have 2 huge rhubarb plants, infact I will be transplanting them in the spring, out of my veg garden and into a perennial bed. I get the flowers off when they first pop up, this helps keep the stalks tender. I will be splitting the roots and giving half of each one to my daughter. I am planting strawberries at the same time so about the time the rhubarb is ready for harvesting again the strawberries will be also. Strawberry rhubarb jam and pie are wonderful, rhubarb crisp is also very good. There are number of excellent dishes that can be made with it, mixed with other fruits can off set some of the tartness. It freezes very well. If the stalks have gotten woody boil the rhubarb and strain it, you still get the wonderful flavor, and can it be used in jam in place of the water, in jello in place of the water, in kool-aid in place of the water, raspberry lemonaid in place of the water, mixed in smoothies and juices, make sherbet, etc. Other than watering occationally it requires no work and the plant itself is very pretty.

Rhubarb is very common here in eastern North Dakota. It grows very easily in our zones 3 and 4. It is a plant that can take a lot of abuse and it just keeps coming back year after year. The stalks do not have to be large to harvest, in fact the larger they are the tougher they are. Up here we are told not to harvest after July 4, but you can sneak a few stalks if you need to. Rhubarb can be used in many recipes. My husband's favorite is a Rhubarb Custard Meringue dessert. Just remember to always cut all of the leaf off, as it is poisonous.

My grandfather gave me my first rhubarb root when I was 9 in Wisconsin. I went back home a few weeks ago and it was still there, reproducing like crazy, even though my mother doesn't water it. That rhubarb was tart and very flavorful. I grew rhubarb in California, and it was much milder. The flavor wasn't strong enough when I made strawberry-rhubarb jam. I'm trying another variety to see if it will have good flavor. (Some rhubarb varieties require a high chill, so I'll just have to see if it does well!)

In Upper New York State; Rhubarb comes up at the same time as strawberries do; hence all of the stawberry-rhubarb pies; we also use maple syrup in it too.

And we always make sure we freeze some stawberries and rhubarb for later in the year, for pie-making/holiday season. Mmmmm... yummy!

I've never had them get over about 3-1/2 feet tall. Rhubarb is commonly made into a pie or cobbler with strawberries, which
is very tart. My Mother-in-law used bananas with rhubarb; it was less tart and very smooth. It's the only way I make it.

Rhubarb is a perennial vegetable which the large fleshy stalks are harvested for pies, jams, and preserves. It has a tart fruity taste that is prized by gourmet cooks. Rhubarb breaks doramncy in early spring and sends up dark green leaves that can be a foot accross or wider. The green leaves are poisonous but the purplish-red stalks can be harvested for many weeks.