I gather rhubarb is rather invasive? Should I relegate it to containers?

Jack

Rhubarb can be hard to get rid of if you don't want it where you planted it anymore, and it can also spread quite readily. Someone was just talking about it on another post - that it was coming back this spring even though they dug it out last fall. Worth the risk, in my mind. Rhubarb is my favorite pie filling, jam flavor, and most people will take it off your hands if you have too much.

I agree it's hard to get rid of once you've got it. I've never found it invasive though (at least not the way mint and oregano are invasive... yikes!). I had some for years at my last place and it didn't spread at all. My mom has had some at her place since I was little and it's never spread, just kept coming back year after year. It's also great as a juice with a bit of sugar... an excellent spring tonic (sorta like lemonade in flavour). Don't drink too much though or you'll end up in the bathroom.

We've had 4 rhubarb plants in the same place for a bit more than 10 years. And, while the plants have gotten bigger, they haven't really "spread" so, I wouldn't say they are invasive. One of the plants was given to me by my mother in law when we bought the house, it is a division of a rhubarb plant that originally belonged to my husband's grandmother.

I have planted rhubarb for three years and It never comes back. I think it must be to warm in northern AL. I would love to have some. I have been thinking of planting some at my sons house in the knoxville area. Has anyone had sucess with it in that area or is it still to warm?
owl

This article has alot of good info...

http://www.organicgardening.com/feature/0,7518,s1-5-16-172,00.html

I've had my Rhubarb for years in the same spot. It comes back and gets a bit bigger each year like most perrenials.


purplebean

How much difference id there between rhubarb and swiss chard? I don't recall chard leaves as poisonous. They look similar, but are different aren't they.

Swiss Chard (Beta vulgaris). A member of the same group as the common beet. Chenopodiaceae;The goosefoot family.

Rhubarb (Rheum Rhabarbarum). Polygonaceae; A member of the buckwheat family.

I concur with what everyone else has said so far. My mom has had some for years, and it gets larger every year but has never spread. She's never tried to get rid of it so I don't know about that. Strawberry and Rhubarb pie is my favorite!!

Please don't mix up ruhbarb leaves with swiss chard,the ruhbarb leaves are toxic.Just use the stalks,you can use the ruhbarb leaves to make great stepping stones though.
Of course you need concrete :^O
Mavis

Rhubarb leaves usually get HUGE and are mostly round, like dinner plate size or even bigger (in the varieties I've seen). I think they're also a bit fuzzy or rougher feeling than chard, if I remember right.

The Swiss chard I've grown has more oblong/pointy kind of leaves and are glossy and squeaky. I've never had them get big like rhubarb, but that might be a result of my climate more than the plant itself. ???

A sure bet... up here Swiss chard needs to be seeded every year, rhubarb comes up on its own. So if I planted it - it's a chard leaf and so it's safe to eat.