The Rhubarb of Doooom

[primsong]

Thinking of putting in a rhubarb plant now that my kids are older and I don't have to worry about them eating the leaves instead of the stems - thing is, rhubarb is kind of a permanent installation... I had a friend whose family decided to pave over an old garden area for additional parking in front of their house and after a couple years the asphalt kind of began to bulge and crack in one spot and then a rhubarb came up through the crack! Truly The Plant That Would Not Die.

Must be sure where it goes, because apparently it will Be There Forever.

Any of you have rhubarbs? Any opinions on red vs. pink vs. green stems? Or is it all cosmetic?

Comments

[estellye.livejournal.com]

My grandfather's rhubarb is one of the only things still the same at my grandparent's home since we sold the place. It is totally indestructible. They'd have to salt the earth to get rid of it, lol. Hopefully they are enjoying it, instead. It's so lush and green and made the best pies ever. Of course, Gramp planted it in a rather out of the way area so it wouldn't take over the world - the patch was getting just humongous last I saw it.

That was the red variety, but I am not aware of what qualities that indicates or how it differs from the pink and green.

[primsong.livejournal.com]

It seems to be an 'old fashioned' garden planting, like putting in rose-scented geraniums. I love that it's still there, a little snippet of your grandparent's time.

I'd only run into it as pie before, but now I'm finding recipes that use it stewed like you'd use applesauce, or chopped up and cooked with potatoes (Polish) or with spinach (Middle-eastern). More versatile as a 'veggie' than I'd thought!