Victoria

AKA "Garden Victoria". 360 days. Victoria is one of the easiest varieties of rhubarb to grow from seed. It produces abundant yields of large, thick stalks with a rosy-red sheen that gradually turn to pink and then to solid green toward its tender tip. These top quality, long stalks have smooth ribs and are juicy and sweet with a tart punch. Never stringy or tough, A low maintenance perennial with delicious tart stalks for pies and jams. (Try rhubarb-ginger jam, an old English combination.) A relatively low-acid variety. Start in pots or flats, then into a deep permanent bed. Get an early start and keep it growing with moisture and rich, well-drained soil. Deep-rooted, heavy feeder. Start light harvesting second year. Bigger, better-flavored stalks if grown in light shade--north side of the house or shed, under fruit trees, at the edge of woods. Treasured for the first “fruit” of early spring. Stop harvest in June to let the leaves feed the plant. Caution: poisonous leaves—use stems only.