Rheum palmatum Seeds | Ornamental Rhubarb
LATIN NAME: Rheum palmatum
COMMON NAME: Ornamental Rhubarb
Plant Profile
Ornamental Rhubarb (Rheum palmatum) is a palm in the knotweed family. Ornamental rhubarb raises its large, palm-shaped, deeply lobed leaves and tall, dense spikes of small, reddish flowers, and the whole plant stands in the bold, architectural clumps. It is a plant of open, sunny, deep, moist, well-drained ground. Bees and other pollinators visit the flowers freely through the season. Gardeners value it precisely for this blend of qualities.
Science & Biotechnology
Seed science, comparative botany and horticultural selection all touch on Rheum palmatum, a representative of the knotweed family with clear practical value. Its behaviour in gardens is well recorded, thanks to a long history in cultivation.
Uses & Benefits
In the garden, Ornamental Rhubarb earns its place in borders, containers and mixed plantings, and it also rewards growers who raise plants for cutting, drying or kitchen use. Ornamental rhubarb is a fine, bold plant of border and study collection. It is a fine, bold plant of open, sunny, deep, moist, well-drained garden. Give young plants deep, moist bed, and bold panicles will rise in summers to come. After the first season it asks for very little beyond a place that suits it.
Rhubarb’s medicinal root, Da Huang, is one of the great herbs of Chinese medicine, a potent moving and clearing herb whose anthraquinones, emodin and rhein, are widely studied; the vegetable stalks make pies, but the leaves are toxic and the medicinal root is professional-strength.
Growing from Seed
Starting Ornamental Rhubarb from seed is simple and satisfying. Sow on the surface of a gritty, well-drained mix, cover lightly with fine compost, and maintain gentle, even moisture in a sunny position. Grow the youngsters on steadily in pots until well rooted, then move them to their final positions.
Our Take
Ornamental Rhubarb repays a little patience at sowing time with plenty of garden presence later.
Related Reading
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