How to Grow Rhubarb in Containers

The first time I ever tried rhubarb, it was a squishy mess inside a pie at a chain restaurant somewhere. I never wanted to eat it again.

That all changed the summer I moved to Alaska, when my parents convinced me to try the pie at a quaint local establishment, with the best view ever of the surrounding mountains and the Matanuska Glacier.

Because of the breathtaking view plus gasp-worthy pie combo, we visit as often as we can.

We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission.

Now an enthusiastic rhubarb convert, the sweet, tart tang of the red-green stalks haunted my winter dreams and made me ache for summer. Even though all of my friends had pie-plant patches in their gardens, I still didn’t.

That’s when I realized that I needed to grow rhubarb in containers at home during the winter.

My state may freeze for over half the year, but that doesn’t mean I can’t get a head start on growing my favorite pie filling in the world.

And so can you! In this article, I’ll show you how.

Here’s what I’ll cover:

A member of the Polygonaceae family, Rheum rhabarbarum produces red or reddish-green stalks from springtime to early or midsummer, depending on the variety.

While the leaves are inedible, or even toxic if consumed in large amounts, the stalks are deliciously edible.

Cooked down with buckets of sugar, they shine in a pie. That’s reason enough for me to want to grow a whole field of pie plant!

Growing rhubarb in containers is an easy way to have your own fresh harvest of stalks, even if you haven’t got much space in your garden.

Containers also help keep this plant in check. Once it’s established in your yard,