Giant rhubarb stalk-ing Devonport

The fearsome Gigantic Rhubarb,

at the start of its campaign 

to dominate Devonport.

My friend Maud (proprietor of Jason Books and purveyor of excellent pre-loved gardening books) has been so busy with her moving sale recently that she has not had time to tend to her garden.

A big mistake. The rhubarb seedling she planted four weeks ago (I think she got it from Jack the Jolly Green Giant-killer's Plant Barn) turned out to be not ordinary rhubarb, but Rheum rhabarbarum x giganticum! 

This plant is native to the Caucasus mountains, but spread into north-east Asia some six to seven hundred years ago, carried overland in the great camel caravans of the spice and carpet traders. It is a key ingredient of the popular North Korean sweet-and-sour pickle, chi-kim, and almost the only dessert 'fruit' available in Mongolia. 

The harsh climate in these places keeps the plant in check, so until recently the rest of the world had no idea what a menace it could be in more temperate climes, although it began to create problems in the northern and central provinces of China around the middle of last century. These have got a lot worse recently as peasant farmers have been pushed off the land and into urban areas, with the result that the land is not as well looked after as it used to be.

Of course it is on the banned list for New Zealand, but since we started importing most of the manufactured goods consumed here from Asia we have seen an explosion of biosecurity nightmares, both animal and vegetable. R. rhabarbarum x giganticum is but the latest of these. It is arguably not as harmful as varroa bee mite or other recent insect invaders, but it could become the nemesis of home gardeners who go away for a holiday and return to find that the little rhubarb plant they put in before they went away has smothered every other plant in the garden - and moved in on the neighbours' gardens. 

I am hunting out every rhubarb recipe I have to help Maud keep this vicious vegetable in check, but I just can not see her having time to make Caramelised Rhubarb Chutney every week, delicious though it is. Nor is her family large enough to eat all this plant is capable of producing, so realistically the plant will have to go, before it creates trouble with the neighbours. Also before it requires hiring a chainsaw to cut it down and a digger to remove the roots. 

When young, R. rhabarbarum x giganticum is easily mistaken for regular rhubarb, which means it may innocently be on sale at a garden centre near you. If you inadvertently buy such a plant, please advise the vendor at once, and help root out this rhubarbarian! 

 The Gigantic Rhubarb has almost smothered leeks planted
at the same time, and has annihilated the parsnips.
Who's next?!