Victoria Rhubarb

Description

Victoria is a popular late variety of Rhubarb with reddish to greenish stems nearer the leaf with an ideal mix of tartness and sweetness. Victoria rhubarb holds together well when cooked. This variety of rhubarb is reliable and easy to grow, with good to excellent yields.

‘Victoria’ can, if you so wish, be forced or the stems can be cut as young as baby Rhubarb.

The Rhubarb supplied as live plants or dormant crowns, depending on your preference or time of year.

Also perfect for making Rhubarb crumble, fool, pies, pancakes, stewed Rhubarb or filled cakes, served with custard, ice cream or cream, perhaps a luxury chocolate sauce drizzled over. We love to eat washed Rhubarb raw and dipped in sugar.

Luxurious eating at a fantastic price.

Depending on the time of year, Rhubarb is available as live plants, crowns, or seeds.

**Growing your own fruit and vegetables saves a great deal of money**
People who garden and grow plants are often healthier, according to the RHS.

Caring for your new plants

• All plants have been hardened and ready to plant in your garden or allotment.
• Plant with about 90 cm (3 feet) space between each plant
• Keep watered while allowing any excess water to drain away, you do not want waterlogged roots, nor do you want the ground to dry out. ‘Victoria’ Rhubarb prefers rich, well-drained soil.
• Keep free of weeds.
• Avoid harvesting the stems during the first year, and do not ‘rip’ all the stems the following year.
• To harvest Rhubarb, grasp the stem and tear or ‘rip’ it from the plant.
• When growth dies back during autumn, generously mulch the crown with well-rotted manure or similar.
• Try to avoid planting in a frost pocket, because hard frost can damage new growth.
• Do not let the plant flower and or go to seed because this drains the energy from the plant. (The second image shows the flowers)

Ready to harvest spring to summer.

Its botanical name is Rheum rhabarbarum

Caring for your seeds (if you buy seeds)

**Seeds are sold by the gram**

Sow in a seed tray or in an outdoor seed-bed. Germinates between 10 and 30° C. Sow from February-April.

If sowing in a seed tray please remember to prick the plants out and move to a bigger pot, this allows the plant to develop growth and increase its strength before planting in the garden, veg plot or allotment.

Also, the kids love watching seeds germinate and grow.

If you don’t fancy growing the rhubarb from seed, you can always opt to buy the plants or the crowns we supply.

Pests and Diseases

Rhubarb is a hardy, sturdy plant and does not suffer from many pests or diseases.

The obvious one is slugs, and these are visible by the damage they cause to the leaves. This will not affect the plant, it is also not advisable to use slug killer because birds or hedgehogs eat the dead slugs, which ingest the slug poison resulting in the animal’s demise. If the slugs worry you, the best cause of action is to pick them off the plants and move to another location in the garden. Remember, slugs hide in debris around the plant, therefore it is best to keep the area around the plant clear of leaves and other debris.

The major issue to watch out for is root rot, which eventually kills the plant. It is advisable to not over-water the plants and ensure the drainage is good around the plant. If root rot sets in, trim the rotted part of the root and replant in a free draining soil, being careful not to over-water the plant.

A pest one should be aware of is the Vine Weevil, you will notice if you have them, because you will see the plant start to wilt. It is advisable to use nematodes which kill the Vine Weevil grubs. The Rhubarb plant will recover.

Sometimes Rhubarb has reddish leaves or the leaves have red edges and blotches from around late June onwards, this is perfectly normal and shows the plant is near the end of its season before the leaves and stems die back.

Images are for purely illustration only, colours may differ slightly, plant size may differ, image may show fully grown plant.
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