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Chinese Rhubarb

Asked by:

John Birtwell

Posted at:

January 27, 2025

Could you please tell me if the Chinese rhubarb you sell will reseed itself after 2 years? Could you also tell me how to prepare it?
Chinese rhubarb takes at least two years to become mature enough to produce seeds, but probably it will take longer. One of our plants produced sterile seeds for awhile, so it might take even longer to get seedlings coming up.
The root is the part of the plant used medicinally. The various uses are described in detail in the book "The Herb Book" by John Lust on page 334. The book says that for instance that as a laxative you take one teaspoon powdered or chopped root in half a cup of water and take that per day. You have to be careful not to use the leaf blades as they contain toxic amounts of oxalic acid.