Rhubarb

Planting window

When to sow, by microclimate — foggier blocks run a different calendar than sunnier ones.

Sunlight

How well it does at each level of direct sun per day.

Soil depth

Root room it needs — useful for sizing raised beds and containers.

Spacing

Room each plant needs — along the row and between rows — for sizing beds.

Growth habit

The shape it makes in the bed and how tall it gets — what tells you whether to give it a trellis, a stake, or just room.

Habit

Upright

Mature height

2–4 ft

Stands on its own; the tallest types appreciate a stake in wind.

How to start it

Sow it where it grows, or raise it under cover and set it out — and how far ahead to start the seedlings if it's the latter.

Usually

Direct-sow

Sown straight into the bed it will grow in.

Getting started

How it goes in the ground — how deep to sow or set it, and the soil temperature it needs to wake up. The cold-soil floor is the real limiter for direct-sowing in a foggy SF spring.

Started from

From crowns

Ideal soil temp

40–75°F

Set depth

1 in

Pests & diseases

What tends to trouble this crop — what it is, what you'll see, and what to do about it, least-toxic first.

Rarely troubled by pests or diseases when kept healthy. The rhubarb curculio may pierce stalks; overly wet soil invites root rots. (Utah State Extension)

Sources

Every figure above is backed by these.