Should I Harvest Rhubarb in Its First Year?

The standard advice for rhubarb is to harvest nothing in the first year after planting — and this guidance exists for a very good reason. A newly planted crown is spending all of its energy building the root system that will support decades of productive harvesting. Remove the stems in year one and you deprive the plant of its primary photosynthetic capacity during the exact period it most needs it. The short-term gain of a handful of stems is not worth the long-term cost of a weaker, slower-establishing plant.

What to do in year one

Let all stems grow freely and develop their full leaf canopy. Remove any flower stalks that appear — these can be removed without penalty. Water regularly, top-dress with compost in late summer, and let the leaves die back naturally in autumn. The crown is quietly expanding its root system throughout this period. By the end of the first growing season a well-established plant should have a significantly larger crown than when it was planted.

Year two — light harvesting only

In the second year, a small harvest is acceptable — pull no more than two or three of the strongest stems per plant, and stop harvesting by early June. This is still an establishment year. Pulling too many stems in year two will slow the crown's development and delay full production. Allow the plant to grow freely for the rest of the season after the brief early harvest.

Full harvesting from year three

By the third season, an established plant should be able to sustain normal harvesting — pulling stems from April through to the end of June, leaving at least three to four healthy stems on the plant at all times. A well-managed three-year-old rhubarb crown is a productive, reliable asset that will continue yielding for fifteen to twenty years or more with appropriate annual care.