Growing rhubarb: cold-climate perennial vegetable

Rhubarb (*Rheum rhabarbarum*) is one of the few perennial vegetables in common cultivation, producing harvests from the same planting for 10–20 years. It is unusual in being classified as a vegetable while being used almost exclusively as a fruit in cooking. The leaf stalks (petioles) are the.

Rhubarb (Rheum rhabarbarum) is one of the few perennial vegetables in common cultivation, producing harvests from the same planting for 10–20 years. It is unusual in being classified as a vegetable while being used almost exclusively as a fruit in cooking. The leaf stalks (petioles) are the edible part; the leaves themselves are toxic due to high concentrations of oxalic acid.

Rhubarb is a cold-climate plant. Unlike most vegetables, it performs better in zone 3–5 than in zones 7–8, and is not practical south of zone 7.

Zones and cold requirements

Per Cornell Cooperative Extension, rhubarb requires freezing temperatures in winter for dormancy and subsequent vigorous spring growth. USDA zones 3–6 are ideal. In zone 7, rhubarb performs adequately but productivity decreases. Per NC State Extension, zones 8 and warmer are generally too warm for reliable rhubarb culture — the plant grows but produces poorly because the dormancy requirement is not fully met.