Large Leaf plant - RHUBARB PLANT

[Sat]

Whilst on holiday in Wales saw a large leaf plant and when asked what it was it was a RHUBARB PLANT.

Do anyone grow these in their Jungle/ palm gardens?

[metalhammer]

There are various ornamental Rheum(rhubarb)available.They work well with exotics,but have one problem in my experience,they get covered in black fly.Certainly easier to grow in less favorable conditions than Gunnera.





metalhammer.

[bobbyd44]

i have rhubarb for the large leaves looks good in the right position, and the ornamentle one both come back strong after last winter, n problem with either so far..

[simon]

Rheum palmatum tanguticum is easy and reliably hardy for me and it just rockets in the spring.

[Sat]

Thanks and pic looks great.

Next buying, Do I buy as seed or plant and where from?

[TOP BANANA]

I love it Simon, i bought one from Crug about a month ago , supposed send a large flower up , does it look as nice in the height of summer ? or as MH says does it get full of black fly .

[metalhammer]

Best to buy as a plant.Try looking on http://www.rhs.org.uk/rhsplantfinder you'll find various suppliers of ornamental Rheum.Crug Farm list some,check there website.





metalhammer.

[bobbyd44]

most garden centres will doo them sat.. i have rheum palmate is very downy red underneath. theydont get too high hadge think the flower stalk stoots up though about three feet.

[weve]

I grow a common or garden Rhubarb (timperley early..... i think) in amongst my exotics, and the number of impressed comments I get when it is full leaf, "Gosh, whats that!!!?" , as if its some weird & rare, big leaved exotic

Gave up on gunnera as I had to keep a trickling hose on it in any hot weather to stop it wilting and as MH says Rheum gets blackfly badly.

So I "traded down" to plain ordinary rhubarb, it looks suprisingly good in the border AND you can eat it! (having rhubarb tart and a cuppa as I type )

[metalhammer]

Try growing one called 'early Champagne',I pulled some sticks on Sunday morning that were best part of 2' long.I do grow mine on the allotment though.





metalhammer.

[TOP BANANA]

Thanks Rob , got lots of new stuff to plant in my new garden, hopefully going to move next week .

[bobbyd44]

nice one hadge nice sunny garden then??

[TOP BANANA]

Yes Rob plenty of sunshine and shade areas as well , its much bigger than my garden .

[bobbyd44]

nice one has to be a bonus hadge.. some hard work to come then.. all goood

[simon]

I love it Simon, i bought one from Crug about a month ago , supposed send a large flower up , does it look as nice in the height of summer ? or as MH says does it get full of black fly .

I have had bad infestations on black fly on the flowers but not been a problem on the foliage before. The flower stalks on mine tend to be about 5' tall but the flowers are nothing to write home about and some people remove the stalks as they emerge so that they don't take energy form the plant.