# Rhubarb in North Carolina?



## tallpines (Apr 9, 2003)

My DD is missing the taste of rhubarb so I intend to take a good sized plant to her when I visit in a couple of weeks.

But now I'm wondering~~~~
Will a rhubarb plant survive the climate of N.C.?
(Jacksonville, N.C.)


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## CSA again (May 2, 2007)

Yes it does good here in western nc


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

NC has a lot of climates. What part of NC?
I know it grows like crazy in the dark, rich soil of the mountains and is a staple food there. It also likes the cooler temps and the cool, dewy nights. I haven't tried it since I moved to the foothills, but I am sure that someone else will pipe up here.


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## tallpines (Apr 9, 2003)

She is living in Jacksonville.


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## Randy Rooster (Dec 14, 2004)

I doubt it will make it in jacksonville- she may get a crop off of it this year but the heat and humidity will kill the plant by fall- and it wont get the freezing ground it neeeds either in the winter. The only way I am able to get crops is by treating it like an annual- plant from seed in the late fall and baby it till I set it out in the late winter. Even then I dont get a really great crop of it- hers may do better if she has more clay in her soils, but most coastal plain soils in NC are mostly sand with some sandy loams.


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## Randy Rooster (Dec 14, 2004)

You may do better by just mailing her some fresh rhubarb this spring- Ive often thought of trying to get my sister in WV to grow my rhubarb for me and mailing it to me!


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

i wilts really fast. i left some in a jar on the counter overnight and forgot to water it. it was wilted the next morning. i don't know what would be left if it spent two days in the post. maybe your sister can make you some sauce and mail that.


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## Sandhills (Jun 15, 2004)

It must be the humidity that kills it because my mother has successfully grown it in California in zone9.


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## Randy Rooster (Dec 14, 2004)

Ive successfully grown it here in zone 8 south of Jacksonville- from seed - but it takes a lot of work and doesnt overwinter and the harvests are small compared to what you get off old established rhubarb plants.


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## Raftercat5 (Apr 14, 2005)

I am semi-successful at growing rhubarb here in Cheraw, SC (not too far from the NC border). I have sandy soil (this area is called the Sandhills). I thought it died, as there was no evidence of it this spring. Hubby tilled the garden, and ...lo and behold... it popped up about 20 feet down the row from where it was last year! It has 5 leaves on it so far (May 10th). I'm hoping to lightly harvest a few stalks later this spring. Oh yeah, it's in full sun, too. It was planted from roots a few years ago.
- Kathy


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