Gunnera manicata is one of the biggest and most spectacular architectural, herbaceous plants, commonly known as 'giant rhubarb'. It needs a lot of space and looks best grown as a specimen plant in a bog garden or at the pond edge, where the reflections from the water reveal the prickly undersides of its leaves. The Royal Horticultural Society has given it its prestigious Award of Garden Merit.
Grow Gunnera manicata in moist, humus-rich soil in a sheltered spot in full sun to partial shade. Its fat growth buds clustered in the crown are prone to frost damage, so pile the dead leaves and stems into a mound over the plants in autumn for winter protection – they make quite a feature of their own.
