🌿 When to Plant Rhubarb
Perennial; do not harvest first year; leaves are toxic — only eat stalks
📅 Planting Calendar by USDA Zone
Rhubarb is a cool-season crop — plant it around your last spring frost, and you can often start it earlier indoors or sow again for a fall harvest. Find the exact start-indoors, transplant, and direct-sow dates for your USDA zone in the table below.
Select your zone to highlight your dates. All dates are calculated from each zone's average frost dates — see how we calculate them.
| Zone | Last Frost | Start Indoors | Transplant | Direct Sow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zone 2A | May 30 | — | May 2 | — |
| Zone 3B | May 15 | — | Apr 17 | — |
| Zone 4A | May 8 | — | Apr 10 | — |
| Zone 4B | May 1 | — | Apr 3 | — |
| Zone 5A | Apr 25 | — | Mar 28 | — |
| Zone 5B | Apr 18 | — | Mar 21 | — |
| Zone 6A | Apr 21 | — | Mar 24 | — |
| Zone 6B | Apr 10 | — | Mar 13 | — |
| Zone 7A | Apr 5 | — | Mar 8 | — |
| Zone 7B | Mar 28 | — | Feb 28 | — |
| Zone 8A | Mar 20 | — | Feb 20 | — |
| Zone 8B | Mar 12 | — | Feb 12 | — |
| Zone 9A | Feb 28 | — | Jan 31 | — |
| Zone 9B | Feb 15 | — | Jan 18 | — |
| Zone 10A | Feb 1 | — | Jan 4 | — |
| Zone 10B | Jan 15 | — | Dec 18 | — |
| Zone 11A | Jan 1 | — | Dec 4 | — |
Rhubarb is one of the few true perennial vegetables, returning every spring for 10-15 years. Patience is required — don’t harvest in year one.
Top Growing Tips
- Never eat the leaves — they contain oxalic acid and are toxic
- Do not harvest any stalks the first year; take lightly the second year
- Red varieties tend to be sweeter and less tart than green ones
- Divide clumps every 4-5 years to keep production vigorous
- Mulch heavily in fall to protect the crown over winter
Companion Planting
Good companions: strawberries, garlic, onions
Avoid planting near: dock, knotweed (same family)
Harvest Timeline
Year 3+ — pull stalks when 12-18 inches long; stop harvesting after early summer
Growing rhubarb in your region?
These dates come from your zone's frost windows. For the full month-by-month plan — succession sowing, variety picks, and timing tuned to your climate, not just your zone — our regional vegetable-gardening guides cover your area start to finish.
Find your regional growing guide