Goliath Rhubarb Crowns & Plants

Goliath Rhubarb

Thick, tender, red, non-stringy stems on heavy cropping plants (up to 5kg when mature) that force well: is this the ideal variety?

Browse all of our rhubarb crowns.

Growing Rhubarb

The thing about rhubarb is that it completely disappears in winter but needs plenty of space in summer. Its large, architectural leaves are handsome and look magnificent in a potager. Once planted they can be left to themselves but are so much happier if you can mulch them in spring with lots of compost and, if it promises to be very cold, to cover them with straw in the winter to keep the frost off the crowns. They require lots of nitrogen when young so dig in masses of muck into the planting hole. Rhubarb likes damp summers; if it is too hot and dry in the summer rhubarb tends to bolt so make sure you give your plant plenty of water during dry spells. Conversely rhubarb can rot in winter if the soil is waterlogged so if your soil is very heavy and wet, plant the crown on top of a mound of soil so that it is slightly raised. After planting, do not pull the stems the first year to allow the crown to gather strength. In the second year and onwards make sure you pick every stem periodically by pulling and twisting the stem away to encourage more to be formed. It is a bit like pulling a globe artichoke leaf off the main choke. Do not cut the stem.

Features:

• Height: 1m
• Spread: 1m
• Thick, non-stringy stems
• Taste: full flavour, tart
• Use: cooking/forcing
• Picking: May-June
• Colour: Rich red
• Spacing: 75cm
• Up to 5kg per crown when established
• RHS Award of Garden Merit