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Fruit & Orchards

Will by rhubarb turn red?

12 years ago

I know that there are green varieties of rhubarb, but I planted Canada Red, which is supposed to have very red stalks.

I planted the root/rhizome last summer. I had some stalks/leaves last year, but it was pretty scrawny so I left it alone. This year the plant is quite large and vigorous, but the stalks are mostly green--just a little red at the base.

My questions are:

1) Is it possible that the stems are green because it is a young plant and will the stems be more red in following years?

2) Will the stems get redder over the growing season?

3) Do you think I got a mislabeled variety and that will always have mostly green stalks?

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Comments (4)

feijoas
12 years ago
I don't know your varieties, but there's a plant in my community garden that had basically green stalks.
I thought I'd give it a last chance before I killed it: khaki stewed rhubarb is not a good look!
I pulled off nearly all the stalks, leaving basically just the crown and shoots.
The new growth is really red, so I'm assuming it was a cultural, rather than varietal issue. YMMV...
northwoodswis4
12 years ago
I don't think red versus green tastes any different. If you like red color, mix in a few strawberries.
Northwoodswis
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I have grown rhubard (a few varieities) for ~10 years up here. FWIW, rhubarb is very hard to kill. What I have seen this spring is that there is a wide variation between when individual plants are coming up. Most of this variation is explained by the location; plants which were under deep snow last winter have been slower to sprout than others. But even in the same bed, some plants have taken a few weeks longer to come up than others. If you are really curious and can't wait, you could carefully brush away the soil/mulch over one or two of the plants in question and see if there are any buds making their way up. (Carefully is key here, rhubarb buds are fairly easily knocked off)
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mark_roeder 4B NE Iowa
12 years ago
I have no idea what variety we have; young shoots are generally brilliant red, and as they get large and age they turn more green.

I don't think you would find the taste much different unless you allow the shoot to get too old. All shoots are tart.
Scott F Smith
12 years ago
I expect #3, you have some other variety. I also don't notice any taste difference so I wouldn't worry about it. I have found the green varieties more reliable to grow so that is another reason to just enjoy your green rhubarb.

Scott

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