Hargreaves Plants have been tweeting about #SidsJourney from the selection stages, through the successful process in the lab onto it growing up on the nursery until becoming a big strong mature plant. "It's been like our baby", Charlie Mackelden says.
"We are so proud of the progress of the rhubarb selection which gained its nickname Sid when someone misread label Selection 51D creating its fun nickname and giving this plant a boost of personality."
After many meetings trying to give Sid the right new name, the new and improved rhubarb selection has been named “Pink Blossom” and is officially being released for Summer 2018.
The name was influenced by the pink blossom it blooms in the early spring.
"Let’s not forget the most important factor for rhubarb, the taste, which will not disappoint", Charlie goes on to say. "Pink Blossom has delicious sweet tasting stalks that could even be eaten raw. Not much extra sugar if any needs to be added to your bowl of rhubarb crumble, making that dessert you’ve been craving for healthier, no need to think twice about a little rhubarb treat."
This variety has been selected not only because it is suitable for the home garden market but also because it is equally suited for the commercial grower’s industry too. "Hand selected due to its compact strong sturdy stems making it the easiest variety available to propagate, grow and store in containers before planting on in the ground. Pink Blossom establishes quicker then other varieties meaning this variety can be grown with confidence and a lower risk to losses."