You should be able to grow rhubarb in your area. talk to your county agent for help. It is a perennial in the north. It won't survive here in zone eight, but I have grown some here as an annual. I got enough for a few pies and some nice leaves for hypertufa. I started plants from seed in the winter in my shop. They were planted in the garden in a cold frame in late February. It took more effort than most are willing to give, but it was an interesting experiment. When it started getting hot in June, I shaded plants during the heat of the day with shade cloth and kept them always moist. By the middle of July they were history. You might try this, but perhaps you can grow them as a perennial.

Ooops! I fogot one thing....Thank you, Louisiana Greetings, for the link to your tufa leaf photo. It's gorgeous! I'd love to know what you chose to color the leaf, as it seems to have stayed very vivid and rich. If that's off-topic to this thread, feel free to email me directly! Perhaps if I had access to something that large, the overall scale of the intentional 'defects'created by tufa recipes wouldn't seem so overwhelming to me? The hosta leaf I cast was only about 10" long, and maybe 5" or so wide, so every pit seemed ENORMOUS! LOL! Happy Tufa-ing! - Lisa

It would help if you actually posted a picture of the cracks being referred to. This would show the size of the leaves and the cracks. Assuming these are not huge leaves and that they do not have large curves (such as a deep bowl which puts more weight on the sides)... and assuming the cracks were in the center (since that is where the largest veins would be and likely the thinnest leaf part... I would suggest the following. Assuming the leaves did not crack entirely through the middles: 1) get some "bonder" you'll find in the concrete section looks like watered down glue. Brush/drip this into the cracked areas and mix up some cement (without sand if the crack is fine) that you can brush/push into and through the crack). Wipe up as needed (moist cloth) to prevent puddling and smooth surfaces flush. Let that set. THEN, to give it structural strength (if needed) consider flipping the leaf over, mix regular cement (as before). Brush bonder on the backside put some cement on and use some wire (for strength, hardware cloth stips or such), then more cement. If needed you can build a "base" onto it for a birdbath. If you aren't testing these pieces in any way (such as they are not heavy and the split likely to increase or they are not holding water for a bath or acting as a planter) then leave them with the patch only and an added layer on back - ALL ACROSS THE BACK. It is possible that the rain added water to your piece making the cement less strong. The added water could've also messed with the curing. Where the cracks occur (inside or outside) might show this. If water got underneath the leaf or cement by seeping it could happen. It is also possible that the cement was simply not thick enough over a large vein... I have yet to do this with a 4 foot gunnera I originally cast not realizing that the thickness under the largest vein was actually between 1/4 to 1/2 thick and at 150 pounds the weight and stress (load it for a show, unload it, over and over again) had "Jorge" (Gunnera, what else would I name it) split right down that vein but not until he had been ALL OVER the place... BTW, I was experimenting with him so never used wire... that'll teach me. In any case, hope that helps. It would still help to see photos of the cracks and where as well as how big they are for more precise instructions. Hope this is clear enough for now.

instead of chicken wire try fiber from your local cement co. it comes in small bags, cheap, easy to use and very strong. they use it in concrete floors instead of rebar. i have elephant ear leaves that have stayed together for 10 years. you might be able to get it lowes or building supply store.