“One thing I miss in Florida is fresh rhubarb. Anyone know a way to grow it in Florida?”
I am a Michigan transplant and also miss rhubarb, fall color, large deer etc etc. However, I DO NOT miss the cold.
I am in north Florida and rhubard doesn’t do well here. I tried it and it just gradually died out without ever producing anything but a few pencil thin sprigs.
It doesn’t get cold enough for it to go dormant and then put up the new growth in the spring. I googled it and got this unfortunate confirming information -
“CULTURE
Rhubarb, the “pie plant,” is a very successfully grown and popular perennial vegetable in many parts of the country, but is not well adapted to Florida. It does not thrive and is rarely grown where the summer mean temperature is much above 75°F and the winter mean is much above 40°F. Thus, Florida gardeners should not expect much luck with this crop as a perennial, as both our summers and winters are warmer than this.
In Florida, we have no periods cool enough to send the crowns into rest period; therefore, the plant continues to grow through the winter to a certain extent. Upon the arrival of spring when we would expect an abundant flourish of leafstalks, we find only a continuance of the old growth.
Seeds are easier to obtain then crowns, but plants arising from seeds show a great deal of variation in color and form. However, it is possible to sow seeds in a seedbed or seed flat and select the most uniform and desirable plants to set in the garden. It is questionable whether or not sufficient growth can be obtained in 1 year following planting for this method to be practical.
Rhubarb should be grown in Florida as an annual, either from seed or from crowns. If from crowns, three methods are possible:
crowns may be purchased from northern seed companies as early in the spring as is possible to obtain crowns whose rest periods have been broken;
crowns may be obtained from the north in late summer, placed in cold storage (freeze them solid for 6 weeks) to fulfill rest requirements, and planted in the fall or early winter; and
winter forcing is another method using crowns. This method is a common commercial practice in the north, and may be of some value to home gardeners in Florida.
Thank you for finding the information on rhubarb, something like that might work here for horseradish.
Here is Arizona.