Best time to plant rhubarb in Canberra
Rheum rhabarbarum
Also called culinary rhubarb
Sow rhubarb in Canberra in Aug to Dec.
Only the fleshy leaf stalks of rhubarb are used as food, and they are cooked first. The big triangular leaves are poisonous and should not be eaten. This herbaceous perennial springs from stout, short rhizomes and carries large sprays of small flowers coloured from rose-red to greenish-white.
When to sow in Canberra
Canberra, ACT is in the cool zone. Its months for rhubarb apply here without a frost adjustment.
Not yet checked against a local guide.
Your local conditions can shift any months shown here, so treat them as a guide.
Frost in Canberra
Frost usually arrives in Canberra around early April and finishes by early November. In about 1 year in 10 it comes as early as mid March or as late as late November, so frost-tender crops are planned around those dates.
From its Bureau of Meteorology station, 1991 to 2020, counting a night at 2°C or lower as a frost. Frost hollows and hillsides can shift these dates by weeks, so ask the growers at your garden too.
On a shared plot: stays for years
Holds its spot for years. Check your garden's rules and how long your plot licence runs.
Growing details
- How to start
- Sow directly or raise seedlings
- Sowing depth
- 12mm
- Plant spacing
- 75cm
- Row spacing
- 92cm
- Height
- 75cm
- Germination
- 7-14 days at 20-23°C
- Time to harvest
- 365 days
- Frost
- Hardy, takes a light frost
- Sun
- Full sun
- Life cycle
- perennial
These are typical figures, and varieties differ. Your seed packet takes priority.