'Giant Rhubarb' (guh-NER-uh: mah-nuh-KAH-tuh) Gunneraceae:
Plants have huge leaves and form large rounded clumps from 6 to 8 feet tall and over 8 feet wide. The leaves have a rough, sand paper like covering that most likely protects the hug leaves from predation. Plants are evergreen, but in areas with cold winter the plants lose their leaves and grow new ones when it warms up again. The larger veins of the leaves and the leaf stems have prickles. Plants can grown more than 10 feet tall and 12 feet wide, with leaves up to 6 feet wide, so this is not a plant for a small garden. The small flowers are ether male or female and are produced on 3 to 4 foot long stems in cone shaped inflorescences that are 4-10 inches long. After flowering and fertilization, small reddish-orange fruits are produced on short stalks. For the best looking plants, they need a consistently moist soil but will not take water saturated soils for long, and humid air. Plants form a rare intracellular symbioses with nitrogen-
fixing cyanobacteria. Grow in a partly shady location and provide some light shade around mid day when the sun is the most intense, in damp humus rich soils. Seed is medium sized and seedlings are small and slow growing, spending most of their time developing a below ground crown. Once established plants are fast growing
Zones 7-10
Germination is erratic, from 1 to 9 months, soak seeds in warm water for 24 hours then sow and keep the medium moist but not waterlogged. Use 75-85 F. Take care and do not allow sown seeds and seedlings to dry out.
100 seeds
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