Variety
Rhubarb Prince Albert - Anglaise
Synonyms : Royal Albert, Early Albert
Launched by the patriotic Joseph Myatt in the year of Albert's marriage to Queen Victoria, this is a large, prolific cultivar with long; thick, scarlet stems and robust flavour. One of the hardiest and earliest of all varieties, it is good for forcing and can successfully be grown from seed, although it does have a tendency to bolt.
Myatt produced three of the nineteenth century's most popular cultivars in quick succession: Victoria (1837), Prince Albert (1840) and the deep-green, tender Linnaeus (1842). Why Linnaeus? The Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus (1707—78) is best known today as the father of botanical taxonomy, but it seems more likely that Myatt was celebrating what Linnaeus himself counted as his greatest achievement: the introduction of rhubarb to Sweden.
Once the most important forcing variety, Linnaeus — often is still well known in the United States; in misspelled Linneus Britain, by contrast, it's now rather rare, having been largely supplanted as a forcing plant by Timperley Early (itself a Linnaeus offspring). Linnaeus can be seen in the National Collection of rhubarb at Wisley and at Kellie Castle in Fife, although it is no longer commercially available.
Myatt produced three of the nineteenth century's most popular cultivars in quick succession: Victoria (1837), Prince Albert (1840) and the deep-green, tender Linnaeus (1842). Why Linnaeus? The Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus (1707—78) is best known today as the father of botanical taxonomy, but it seems more likely that Myatt was celebrating what Linnaeus himself counted as his greatest achievement: the introduction of rhubarb to Sweden.
Once the most important forcing variety, Linnaeus — often is still well known in the United States; in misspelled Linneus Britain, by contrast, it's now rather rare, having been largely supplanted as a forcing plant by Timperley Early (itself a Linnaeus offspring). Linnaeus can be seen in the National Collection of rhubarb at Wisley and at Kellie Castle in Fife, although it is no longer commercially available.
Petiole color : Red
Number of ribs : 5
Origin : Angleterre
Year : 1840
Developed by : Joseph Myatt
Last update : 2025-07-02
Number of ribs : 5
Origin : Angleterre
Year : 1840
Developed by : Joseph Myatt
Last update : 2025-07-02
Quotes about Prince Albert - Anglaise
1861 — Mitchel's Prince Albert - Has now been some years before the public; in England it is extensively grown, but in this country not so much, size being against it. Market-gardeners, on trial, will here find it quite as profitable as the larger kinds, being one of the very earliest, very productive ; cannot only be gathered earlier, but wih continue longer than the larger sorts, and the yield per acre will be heavier ; stalks deep scarlet, free from filament, round, firm, giving an exceedingly rich syrup. Type of Bucks.
Source : The Gardener's monthly and horticultural advertiser, Vol3 No1, 1861, John Saul, Washington City, D. C., 1861
1881 — The favourite old sorts of rhubarb were the Tobolsk and the Elford or Buck’s; the latter comes from R. undulatum, and is one of the best in flavour, as well as of a flue red colour. Other good sorts of more modern date are Mitchell’s Royal Albert, Dancer’s Early Scarlet, Myatt’s Linnaeus, and Myatt’s Victoria, the last a large-growing thick-stalked kind, the others being all earlier sorts. Johnson’s St Martin’s and Salt’s Crimson Perfection are also favourite kinds; and Stott’s Monarch grows to a very large size.
Source : Encyclopaedia Britannica, Ninth Edition, Vol XII, 1881
1898 — Earty Albert, or Scotch Mammoth, fine dark red, forces well, early and fine.
Source : Catalogue of fruit trees cultivated by George Bunyard & Co., Royal Nurseries, Maidstone, 1898-1899, 1898
1906 — For forcing purposes we usually use the Early Scarlet, or Royal Albert. Myatt's Linnaeus is an excellent variety, as also is the Paragon ; the latter is large and very prolific, and for general purposes the well-known Victoria is an excellent variety.
Source : The book of rarer vegetables - Handbooks of practical gardening, George Wythes, Harry Roberts, 1906
1918 — Variétés : Victoria, Mitchell's Royal Albert, Hybride Florentin, Monarque et rouge, Hâtive de Tobolsk
Source : De la culture potagère, Francisque Pétraz, 1918
2010 — After the success of Rhubarb Victoria, Myatt then went on to introduce two other popular rhubarb cultivars, Prince Albert in 1840 and Linnaeus in 1842, the latter named after Carl Linnaeus, the father of plant taxonomy and the man who first introduced rhubarb to Sweden.
Source : Rhubarb, rhubarb: why Victoria still reigns supreme, Irish Time Website, 2010
2012 — Early maturing, introduced in about 1840. Very popular in the UK. Produces long, pale red stalks. Good for forcing.
Source : Horticultural Reviews, Volume 40 - Wiley-Blackwell - 2012, Thomas M. Gradziel, Kim E. Hummer, Paolo Inglese, 2012
2024 — Also known as 'Prince Albert', this is very hardy, early to crop, and produces bright red stems.
Source : A Guide to Growing Rhubarb, RV Roger Nursery, 2024
2024 — Early, good for forcing
Source : Rhubarb - American Heritage Vegetable, David S. Shields, McClintock Professor of Southern Letters, at the University of South Carolina, and Stephen Spratt, graduate student in English at the University of South Carolina., 2024
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