West Coast Seeds ships anywhere in North America. However, we are not able to ship garlic, potatoes, asparagus crowns, bulbs, onion sets, Mason bee cocoons, or nematodes outside of Canada.
Exposure Full-sun
Matures in 12-18 months
Season Cool season
Seed type OP ?
Average Seeds Per Gram 70 ?
West Coast Seeds ships anywhere in North America. However, we are not able to ship garlic, potatoes, asparagus crowns, bulbs, onion sets, Mason bee cocoons, or nematodes outside of Canada.
For every order online, we donate a pack of seeds to gardens and communities worldwide through our Seeds of Growth program, supporting sustainable growth and local food systems.
The greenish-red stalks of this heirloom perennial have a slight flavour of red wine, and are never tough or stringy. Victoria is delicious in pies and cobblers. The stalks are 25-30cm (10-12") long, under dark green, ruffled leaves. Sow seeds in spring but wait 12-18 months before harvesting. Choose a sunny site and divide every four years. Rhubarb is perfect for the permaculture vegetable garden that focuses on perennial plants that can be harvested over many years.
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Latin
Latin
Rheum rhabarbarum
Family: Polygonaceae
Difficulty
Difficulty
Easy
Season & Zone
Season & Zone
Season: Cool season
Exposure: Full sun
Zone: Hardy to Zone 2
Timing
Timing
Sow indoors in early spring and transplant or direct sow about 8 weeks after the last frost date where plants are to grow permanently. Optimal soil temperature: 16-25°C (60-75°F). Seeds should sprout in 5-10 days.
Starting
Starting
Sow 2cm (1″) deep, but plan for large plants. One plant will typically satisfy the needs of one household. Farm rows 100-120cm (36-48″) apart, plants 120 (48″) apart in the row.
Growing
Growing
Ideal pH: 6.0-6.8. Any well-drained, moderately fertile garden soil will do. Mulch around plants in fall with finished compost or well rotted steer manure. Choose a sunny spot. Rhubarb is cold hardy and drought tolerant. After growth stops in the fall, the plants go dormant, and require a period below 4°C (40°F) to stimulate good spring bud growth. In the second year, remove flower stalks as they appear. Divide plants every 4-5 years. A well maintained plant should produce for over a decade.
Harvest
Harvest
Do not harvest during the first year of growth. Cut the tart red stalks in spring after the first year of undisturbed growth. Do not eat the leaves. Stalks can be harvested all at once or selectively as required.
Seed Info
Seed Info
In optimal conditions, at least 50% of seeds will germinate. Usual seed life: 3 years.
Diseases & Pests
Diseases & Pests
Pests: Watch for slugs around new seedlings. Otherwise, rhubarb is a tough, hardy plant with few pests.
West Coast Seeds is a family-owned company that embraces an organic lifestyle. A group of imagination catalysts and passionate educators, dedicated to producing products and services that better the environment. As part of our mission to repair the earth, we aim to inspire and empower people to take responsibility for the state of the planet. For us, organic is about much more than saying no to chemicals, it is about saying yes to building a healthy soil for the future.
For over 35 years, we have upheld our strong reputation as a leading seed supplier, seeking out the highest quality untreated seeds for organic growing and putting them through rigorous independent testing. We built our company on the exchange of generational wisdom in a masterclass community of newbies and masters alike. Our world may have changed, but our commitment to our people, our customers, and our planet has not.
We’re a values-based business that has blossomed into a lifestyle ethos, with products that support seeders, feeders, keepers, and the tiniest of creepers. Our mission? To mobilize the next generation of gardeners with products that nourish soil and grow vigorous, sustainable gardens. We believe all plants should be grown without the use of chemicals, and that the seeds we supply are an important component of regenerative gardening.
We don’t just offer seeds, we offer experience, insight, and understanding. From timeless garden wisdom to new tech know-how, this is learning on the job: knowledge gleaned not from the pages of a book but from burying our fingers in the soil. We test, experiment, observe and adapt, never happier than when we get to share what we’ve learned with others.
Gardens don’t just grow seeds. They grow minds and imaginations, people and communities. Our vision encompasses both the micro and the macro. We eat locally, protect pollinators, teach people to grow from seed, and support regional biodiversity. We think big but act small and deliver unexpected impact — always with community and purpose.
At West Coast Seeds we believe in the power of small and that little can be large. Like the tiniest seed germinates to evoke incremental change with massive potential, so to can our community of gardeners and growers together. Gardeners are the earth’s stewards, planting seeds of creative declaration. The soil provides the canvas, we provide the seeds.
Sow indoors in early spring and transplant or direct sow about 8 weeks after the last frost date where plants are to grow permanently. Optimal soil temperature: 16-25°C (60-75°F). Seeds should sprout in 5-10 days.
Sow 2cm (1″) deep, but plan for large plants. One plant will typically satisfy the needs of one household. Farm rows 100-120cm (36-48″) apart, plants 120 (48″) apart in the row.
Ideal pH: 6.0-6.8.
Any well-drained, moderately fertile garden soil will do. Mulch around plants in fall with finished compost or well rotted steer manure. Choose a sunny spot. Rhubarb is cold hardy and drought tolerant. After growth stops in the fall, the plants go dormant, and require a period below 4°C (40°F) to stimulate good spring bud growth. In the second year, remove flower stalks as they appear. Divide plants every 4-5 years. A well maintained plant should produce for over a decade.
In optimal conditions, at least 50% of seeds will germinate. Usual seed life: 3 years.
Do not harvest during the first year of growth. Cut the tart red stalks in spring after the first year of undisturbed growth. Do not eat the leaves. Stalks can be harvested all at once or selectively as required.