rhubarb 'Red Champagne'
rhubarb Red Champagne crown
Long, scarlet stems that have a deliciously sweet taste. Though an old variety, it is easy to grow, reliable and early. Perfect for fertile, well-drained areas of the vegetable garden or allotment, once planted rhubarb 'Red Champagne' should not be moved and appreciates a generous annual mulch of well-rotted compost or manure.
How to care for rhubarb Red Champagne:
Rhubarb crowns should be unpacked and planted within a few days of arrival. Choose a sunny spot with fertile, moist but well-drained soil, avoiding heavy, waterlogged areas. Prepare the bed by removing weeds and digging in composted manure.
Plant crowns 75cm-1m (2½-3ft) apart, with dormant buds just below the soil surface, and keep well watered. Remove old yellow leaves and any flowering stalks, but do not harvest stems in the first year. From the second year, harvest only a third to half of the stems, leaving the rest to mature, and continue harvesting through late spring to mid-late summer.
Apply composted manure in spring and sulphate of ammonia in summer, taking care not to cover the crown.
If you want an early (usually more tender) crop of rhubarb, you can 'force' some early cultivated varieties such as 'Timperley Early'. Cover a healthy crown in mid-winter with a rhubarb forcer or tall bucket. This can be insulated (which will speed up the process even more), by packing some straw or compost around the outside of the lower part of the forcer. The shoots will soon appear and these should be harvested within 2-4 weeks. A crown that has been forced, should be allowed to produce its crop naturally in the following year.
Plant crowns 75cm-1m (2½-3ft) apart, with dormant buds just below the soil surface, and keep well watered. Remove old yellow leaves and any flowering stalks, but do not harvest stems in the first year. From the second year, harvest only a third to half of the stems, leaving the rest to mature, and continue harvesting through late spring to mid-late summer.
Apply composted manure in spring and sulphate of ammonia in summer, taking care not to cover the crown.
If you want an early (usually more tender) crop of rhubarb, you can 'force' some early cultivated varieties such as 'Timperley Early'. Cover a healthy crown in mid-winter with a rhubarb forcer or tall bucket. This can be insulated (which will speed up the process even more), by packing some straw or compost around the outside of the lower part of the forcer. The shoots will soon appear and these should be harvested within 2-4 weeks. A crown that has been forced, should be allowed to produce its crop naturally in the following year.
Eventual height:
0.45m
Eventual spread:
1m
Position:
Full sun
Rate of growth:
Fast-growing
Soil:
Moderately fertile, moist, well-drained soil
Hardiness:
Fully hardy
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Humans/Pets: Harmful if eaten, except cooked leaf stalks
1 × crown
£4.99
shipped within 2 weeks
3 × crowns
£14.00
£4.67 each
shipped within 2 weeks
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