Couldn’t find a grow report so here’s one from scratch 
Tons of success from the 2026 GTS rhubarb seeds. High germination rates so far and they take abuse in stride as rhubarb does.
Nice! Do Rhubarb seeds need cold stratification to germinate?
Is it just me or do these grow very similarly to Sorrel & Curly Dock?
Not in my experience, most come up in about a week with a few taking 2-3.
I sometimes mistake young curly dock for rhubarb at a distance, especially when the dock has more red in its stem. I thought I read somewhere they’re related to some extent but haven’t looked into it.
from a 1-3 weeks? I assume germinate speeds up if you soak them in water before sowing?
The idea being it shaves off a few more days from germination time when in ground.
Ah I see, Rumex spp. & Rheum spp. are both part of the same Rumiceae tribe, along with Oxyria spp. (Alpine Sorrel). No wonder they are all so similar.
This begs the question, is a Dock x Rhubarb hybrid possible? I know some hybrids exsist between Dock species & Sorrel Species so maybe it’s not too far-fetched for an intergeneric hybrid?
Altho this begs the question, why aren’t Rhubarb leaves, flowering shoots edible like Dock Leaves & Sorrel leaves? Too many oxalates in Rhubarb or something else? Is it possible to eat Rhubarb leaves safely if they are tender enough & if you boil them?
I believe it is the oxalates, and cooking I assume would make them safer.
I’ll definitely have rhubarb seed to contribute this year, a plant in its second year so is sending up it’s stalk
Hmm… According to the Ferns, “The plant, but especially the leaf blades, contains several toxic compounds, particularly anthraquinone glycosides, but also soluble oxalates and calcium oxylate crystal”. So its not just oxalates to worry about but these anthraquinone glycosides and I don’t know if cooking solves their toxicity problem, but this is probably why leaves & shoots were avoided with only the stem being eaten (Since I presume it has less anthraquinone glycosides?).
