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How to grow rhubarb in pots

Updated: October 2026

You can grow rhubarb in pots when a patio is your only outdoor space or the garden soil remains wet, but the container needs to be much larger than the crown’s delivery packet suggests. For one plant, the RHS specifies a pot at least 50 cm wide and 50 cm deep, with free drainage. Before choosing a crown, compare the captured offers on the [rhubarb plant comparison](/hub/seeds-and-plants/rhubarb-plant). None of those amazon.co.uk listings supplies a reliable pot dimension or identifies its cultivar as compact, so choose the container from independent growing guidance rather than a seller’s small-space wording.

You can grow rhubarb in pots when a patio is your only outdoor space or the garden soil remains wet, but the container needs to be much larger than the crown’s delivery packet suggests.

Our top picks

Carbeth Plants Timperley Early and Victoria bundle

Best overall

Carbeth Plants Timperley Early and Victoria bundle
5.7/10about £19.99
View offer
Carbeth Plants The Sutton, one crown (second listing)

Rank 2

Carbeth Plants The Sutton, one crown (second listing)
6.8/10about £9.99
View offer
Carbeth Plants Timperley Early, two crowns

Alternative

Carbeth Plants Timperley Early, two crowns
7.6/10about £13.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.When a pot is the right site
  2. 2.Use a pot at least 50 cm wide and deep
  3. 3.One crown per pot
  4. 4.What the listings do not tell you

When a pot is the right site

A container suits a patio, no open bed, or ground that stays wet. You control compost and drainage. A mature clump still needs room, and a pot dries faster than soil. Choose outdoor daylight that does not bake the container. One Sutton reviewer said a potted crown disliked all-day sun. That is one buyer’s experience, not a cultivar trial. Afternoon shade can be easier than a south-facing wall. A pot only solves wet ground if water can leave it. A watertight container on a wet patio is a smaller reservoir. Open ground with proper spacing usually buffers moisture more steadily. For bud position in a bed, use how to plant rhubarb crowns.

Use a pot at least 50 cm wide and deep

The RHS figure is a container at least 50 cm wide and 50 cm deep. Seller height fields of 65 cm or 1.5 m describe the plant, not the pot. Do not convert 50 cm into a litre guess, because pot shapes taper. The pot needs generous drainage holes. Raise it on feet if the holes would sit on paving, and do not leave a saucer full of water. Rhubarb wants moisture in spring and summer, but a new crown can rot in stagnant compost. A heavy pot is also less likely to blow over. Fill it with peat-free, soil-based compost, as the RHS recommends. That mix gives a perennial more weight than a light multipurpose compost. Plant the bud just above the surface and water to settle the roots. Fifty centimetres is a minimum. Check each year for tired compost and blocked holes, and choose the spot before you fill the pot.
Carbeth Plants Timperley Early and Victoria bundle

Testsieger

Carbeth Plants Timperley Early and Victoria bundle
5.7/10about £19.99
View offer

One crown per pot

Put one crown in each 50 cm container. A two-pack is not an instruction to plant both roots together. Each crown can form a broad clump, and one minimum pot cannot share water and root space between them. Order two crowns only if you have two large pots, or a bed space for the second. A four-crown bundle stops being a saving if you need four pots and four positions you do not have. A single £9.99 Sutton crown can be the more economical patio buy than a £19.99 collection. The best rhubarb plant page compares those cases. Water a pot more carefully than open ground. Test below the surface and water thoroughly when it starts to dry, then let the surplus escape. A light daily splash can leave the lower root ball dry. Large leaves do not justify a first-year harvest, and a new container plant should not be forced.

What the listings do not tell you

None of the captured ASINs states the RHS minimum pot size. A seller’s yes to containers omits the 50 cm width, depth and drainage. The delivered root is small. The mature clump is not. The listings do not identify a compact cultivar. RHS advice to choose a compact variety if possible does not make Timperley Early, Victoria, Sutton or Raspberry Red compact. Pick a documented role, then still meet the minimum pot size. One Sutton buyer says a pot worked, and one Prince Albert buyer says a planting did not take. That is not a success rate. Add the pot, peat-free soil-based compost and feet to the price. If the only pot has no holes, or is well under 50 cm, wait.

Common questions

Can rhubarb grow in a pot in the UK?
Yes. The RHS supports container growing, particularly where garden soil is unsuitable, provided the pot is at least 50 cm wide and deep and drains freely. Keep it outdoors, use peat-free soil-based compost and expect to monitor watering more often than for a plant in open ground.
How big must the pot be?
Use a container at least 50 cm in diameter and 50 cm deep for one crown. That sourced dimension is more reliable than trying to infer pot size from seller height fields. A larger stable container can offer more moisture buffering, but it still needs unobstructed drainage holes.
Can I put two crowns in one pot?
Not in one minimum-size 50 cm pot. Each crown should have its own large container because mature clumps compete for water, nutrients and root room. A two-pack therefore requires two pots unless the second crown goes into open ground at normal spacing.
What compost should I use?
The RHS recommends peat-free, soil-based compost for rhubarb in containers. It provides useful weight and moisture retention for a large perennial. Ensure water can pass through the compost and out of the container rather than collecting around the crown.
Will potted rhubarb need more water?
Usually, yes. Containers have a limited compost volume and can dry quickly in sun or wind. Check below the surface, water thoroughly when needed and let excess drain. Do not leave the pot in a water-filled saucer, as rhubarb crowns dislike waterlogged conditions.
Can I force a crown in its first year in a pot?
No. A newly planted crown needs its first growing year to establish, whether it is in a pot or a bed. Forcing uses stored reserves, so reserve that technique for an established plant and allow recovery afterwards. Container growing does not shorten the establishment requirement.

Related pages

Rhubarb crowns buying guide

Timperley Early vs Victoria

Rhubarb plant

Best rhubarb plant UK for early, late or one crown

How to plant rhubarb crowns: bud, depth and soaking

Sources

Public UK sources for this comparison. amazon.co.uk listings were read for the twelve crowns on this page.

  1. RHS, How to grow rhubarb (retrieved October 2026)
  2. RHS, Rhubarb fruit guide (retrieved October 2026)
  3. RHS, Timperley Early (retrieved October 2026)
  4. RHS, Forcing rhubarb (retrieved October 2026)
  5. BBC Gardeners' World, How to grow rhubarb (retrieved October 2026)
  6. NHS, Poisoning (retrieved October 2026)
  7. Consumer Rights Act 2015 (retrieved October 2026)
  8. Blackmoor, rhubarb crown note (retrieved October 2026)