'Livingstone' Rhubarb Plant
Enhance your crumble game
Grown by John
South Downs National Park
Perfectly happy plants, or your money back
Specialist overnight plant delivery
The highlights
- Fantastic tartness that mellows when cooked
- No summer dormant period
- Use in crumbles, pies and fools
- Harvest in both spring and autumn
Description
- Growing your own rhubarb is a thing of unparalleled beauty; not only do the bright stems and lush foliage look fantastic when in the ground, but you get such brilliant produce come harvest time - seriously, does anything come even remotely close to a freshly baked rhubarb crumble liberally doused with custard?
- 'Livingstone' is incredibly easy to grow and, because it doesn't have a dormancy period in the summer months, provides not one but two harvests per year (one in spring and then another in autumn)
- Its vivid red stalks are thick and have that iconic tartness typically associated with rhubarb, whilst at the same time managing to avoid the stringiness that certain other varieties possess
- Hardy and compact in nature, this UK-bred variety is ideal for smaller gardens, patio growing and raised veg beds
- If you give your rhubarb plant the care and attention it deserves, it'll reward you with many years of service - sometimes up to 20!
- The bright stalk colours and interesting visual form of the leaves makes rhubarb a great choice for getting children involved with growing in the garden, as well as being a brilliant option for those dipping their welly-clad toes into gardening for the first time
What To Expect
Supplied as:
Height on arrival:
Eventual height:
Eventual spread:
Tasting notes:
Time to first crop:
Habit:
Hardiness:
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Rootstock:
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How To Grow
Good pest and disease resistance
Can be impacted by eelworms, caterpillars and slugs, as well as mildews and crown rot. To avoid crown rot, water at the plant's base and only when necessary, so as to avoid waterlogging your plant's soil. To mitigate against slugs and snails, use eggshells as a preventative barrier surrounding your rhubarb plant(s).
Water well when establishing
Whilst your rhubarb is establishing it will benefit from regular watering. Once established, your rhubarb will typically only require watering in hot, dry spells.
Full sun
Plant somewhere where your rhubarb will receive at least 6 hours of sunlight per day.
Any fertile, moist, well-drained soil
Plant your rhubarb in fertile soil that drains well but that also retains moisture - not so much, though, that it becomes soggy or waterlogged.
Apply mulch in spring or autumn
Rhubarb plants require little in the way of fertilising, but will appreciate a generous layer of compost mulch every autumn or spring.
Planting Calendar
- Best time to plant
- Harvest
- Flower
South Downs National Park
Meet John
110 years' expertise free with every tree
John’s family have been growing trees in the South Downs National Park for over a century, and it shows. Dug up and sent straight to your garden at between 18-36 months old, their quality rootstocks, expert pruning and natural pest control mean that these traditionally field-grown trees are the hardiest you can get.
What customers say about us
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Growing with Roots
Good to know
Our plants are grown in the UK
Specialist UK growers we know and trust grow your plants the traditional way, with organic fertiliser and biological pest control. They pick only the healthiest plants for you, professionally pruning them so that they’ll grow strong and well shaped.
Our plants are delivered overnight
Your plants are sent to you fresh from the field in our plastic free box that’s specially designed to hold them tight, then securely delivered by specialist plant couriers - straight from the grower to your garden within 24 hours.
We're here to help at every step
We want your plants to have a long and healthy life. Expect easy-to-follow grow guides and videos devised by our team of experts.
Perfect plants, guaranteed
We’re confident that you’ll be delighted with your new plants. Need help? Alice and her team are here to guarantee you’re perfectly happy.
Learn from our experts
Forced Rhubarb: A Step-by-Step Guide
Digging deep to answer your questions
How do I know I'm getting quality plants?
All of our plants are grown in specialist nurseries with the highest standards of plant care and sustainability. We guarantee you'll love them as much as we do! Don't just take our word for it - we've got thousands of great reviews on Trustpilot.
When will I get my plants?
The delivery timescale for each plant is on the web page (near the 'add to basket's button). You'll receive a dispatch email with an exact delivery date once your plants are on their way, so you can get the garden ready.
How will my plants be packed and delivered?
We send all of our orders through a courier network designed to handle plants. Specialist equipment ensures that no plants will be damaged during the packing process and every order is carefully finished and checked by plant-loving humans. Your plants will arrive in the most sustainable packaging possible with minimal to no plastic used.
Where do you deliver?
We deliver to anywhere in Mainland UK for our standard delivery cost. We are able to deliver most plants to Highlands and non UK mainland however this will be at an additional cost. This will be calculated at the checkout. Please note, deliveries to these locations will take longer. Unfortunately, we are not able to deliver to Northern Ireland at present.
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What customers say about us
We do our best to provide you the best experience ever
Best plants you will ever get online
I have ordered plants from them twice this year. They arrived well packaged, on time and looked strong and healthy. I feel the staff from Roots plants deal with their plants and customers with passion and care. I can’t wait to order again, price is good as well.
Peter Mawer
Highly recommended all round
Delivered quickly, perfectly packaged and the tree was in excellent condition. Really healthy and taken to the garden with no problems. Can't recommend highly enough. 5 stars isn't enough!
John Harris
Satisfied customer
Unlike other online sellers, this company are well ahead in the quality stakes. My plant arrived promptly as per their promise and the plant was much more established and healthy than I had expected. It’s the second time I have ordered from them and I have faith in their promise. Excellent service.
Karen McEwan
A really good quality tree
A really good quality tree, delivered on time and very well packaged. But the emailed planting advice and supporting information was what really impressed me. Thoroughly recommended.
Martin C Simmons
Exceptional quality
The quality of the plants was exceptional, unlike ones I have had before from local garden centres. Thank you so much. I will definitely be using you again.
Sara Bradley
Marvelous!
Marvelous service, great plants and fast delivery. Very useful information on how to care for the plants I bought. Easy to use website that makes it far too easy to overindulge in fabulous plants😂🌱
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