On 9/1/08 17:15, in article ,
"David in Normandy" wrote:

In article C3AA62C9.6214D%
, Sacha says...
On 9/1/08 10:26, in article ,
"Eddy" wrote:

Thanks, Fuschia & Shazzbat. Rhubarb! Hee, hee, hee. I would never
have imagined it. A surfeit of rhubarb to give me endless bellyache! I
had ulcers some years ago and rhubarb, which is very acidic, is one of
the things I have to avoid! Mind you, if rhubarb was resilient and
evergreen, i.e. it looked good all through the year, it would fit the
bill!

Eddy.


Try the giant rhubarb, the inedible one! Gunnera manicata
http://tinyurl.com/2rd8mr

I've got one of those! Magnificent plants. Mine dies down
after the first heavy frost and is now covered in fleece
until Spring. I bought it in a 4" pot. The first year it
didn't grow much, so last Spring I moved it to a place that
is permanently wet and it is thriving. Just a bit
disconcerting when the frosts knock it back to the ground -
there is always the fear that it may not recover.

There is a garden centre near us that has a monster sized
specimen. I think they said it was 20 something years old.
Do they still need Winter protection when they have fully
matured?

Ours is a good two to three feet over Ray's head and he's about 6'1". He
just puts the old leaves over the crown each year but it's probably
important to say that ours has some shelter from a wall and from tree
canopy. It dies back naturally, with or without frost. And of course, it's
in the south west. But while its spread has been a bit restricted by the
things around it, its height appears to know few bounds!

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'