Varieties

Rhubarb MacDonald

Synonyms : MacDonald’s Canadian Red, MacDonald Crimson, Macdonalds’ Seedless

MacDonald rhubarb is a vigorous variety with an erect growth of large, tender red stems and sometimes a little green towards the top of the stem.

Stems of good size, juicy; skin dark red, thin; pink flesh. The flavor and fiber from the stems are excellent and when cooked the product is a lovely pink color. Its cooking requires less sugar than all old varieties. Sends up seed stalks but seems to produce only few seeds. The stems have a slightly V-shaped face and the back is rounded and clearly channeled. The leaves are large, cordate and wider than long, slightly rounded and pointless. The leaves are savoyed and wavy at the edges.

Resistant to wilt and root rot. Very productive, extremely vigorous and resistant to wilting, Very good red color, excellent for pies, canning and freezing.

Developed in Quebec in the 1920s by Professor Harold Murray of the MacDonald Agriculture College: “MacDonald”. This cultivar with long red stems (up to 2 meters) can be used for other unsuspected uses.
In fact, a Lac-Brome company, La Rhubarbelle, uses old rhubarb cultivars, notably “MacDonald”, to make high-end juices.

Mcdonald: Moderately red stems, very good vigor; excellent for pie filling products.

Stalk color : Bright pink to bright red sometimes a little green
Stalk height : 90 cm (36”)
Brix : 5
Number of ribs : 3

Origin : Canada
Year : 1920
Developed by : Harold Murray, Macdonald Agriculture College
Availability : Available in Canada

Quotes about MacDonald

Saviez-vous qu’il existait des dizaines de variétés de rhubarbe? Certaines à tiges vertes, rouges, courtes ou longues? Une grande majorité de celles qu’on cultive encore aujourd’hui proviennent de Chine, Russie et Mongolie. Elles auraient été introduite en Amérique du Nord au début du 19e siècle et servaient, en grande majorité, à la confection de tartes; une tradition des anglo-saxons appelée « pieplant ». C’est justement à cause de son utilisation « sucrée » qu’elle a été classée comme un fruit par la Direction des Douanes de New York en 1947. Mais en réalité, les livres de botanique la classe comme un légume. Par ailleurs, l’une d’entre elles a été créée au Québec dans les années 1920 par le professeur Harold Murray du MacDonald Agriculture College: la « MacDonald ». Ce cultivar aux longues tiges rouges (jusqu’à 2 mètres) peut servir à d’autres usages insoupçonnés. Justement, une entreprise du Lac-Brome, La Rhubarbelle, utilise d’anciens cultivars de rhubarbe notamment la « MacDonald » pour confectionner des jus haut de gamme. Comme ce jus est disponible dans quelques établissements seulement dont le IGA Pépin de Saint-Hilaire, j’avais bien envie d’y goûter cette fin de semaine. Malheureusement, j’ai eu beau faire les allées, demander aux commis, impossible d’en trouver. Si vous avez davantage de chance que moi, j’aimerai bien avoir vos commentaires. Bonne dégustation!
Source : Potager d'antan - Rhubarbe Macdonald, Michel Richard, 2010

Sélectionnés pour sa riche couleur rouge, tant à l'extérieur de la tige qu'à l'intérieur, ainsi que pour sa précocité et sa productivité. Les tiges sont larges et épaisses, mesurant en moyenne 1" de diamètre sur 3/4 d'épaisseur. Les tiges ont une face légèrement en forme de V et le dos est arrondi et nettement canalisé. Les feuilles sont grandes, cordées et plus larges que longues, légèrement arrondies et sans pointe. Les feuilles sont savoyées et ondulées sur les bords. Les mesures moyennes de la feuille et de la tige des jeunes plantes vigoureuses sont les suivantes : diamètre de la feuille 21" ; couleur (Ridgways Color Standards), base de la tige, rose rouge, tige, carmin à brun grenat allant du rouge pompeien vers la feuille et ombrage de 1/3 à 2/5 vers le haut des grosses nervures du limbe de la feuille. La couleur interne de la base de la tige (tige tranchée) est d'un rouge rose pâle avec des nervures blanches, au centre de la tige sont rouge rose. taches sur un fond rose géranium. Le jus exprimé tache le papier blanc d'un rose rose foncé lorsqu'il est mouillé, et en séchant, il se transforme en rose rose ou rose amarante. Le feuillage est doucement ou minutieusement couvert de poils très fins et sa couleur se compare à celle de Varleys Vert. "Seedling of Victoria rhubarb, selected for its rich red color. both on the exterior of the stalk and in the interior, and for its earliness and productiveness. The stalks are broad and thick averaging 1" across by 3/4 thick. The stalks have a slightly V Shaped face and the back is rounded and decidedly channelled. The leaves are large, cordate and broader than long, slightly roundish and without a point. The leaves are savoyed and are wavy at the edges. The average measurements of the leaf and stalk from young strong plants are as follows: diameter of leaf 21"; color (Ridgways Color Standards), base of stalk, rose red, stalk, carmine to garnet brown ranging to pompeian red towards the leaf and shading of 1/3 to 2/5 up the large veins of the leaf blade. The internal color of the base of the stalk (sliced stalk), is a pale rose red with white veins, in the centre of the stalk are rose red patches on a geranium Pink ground. The expressed juice stains white paper a deep rose Pink when wet, and in drying changes to a rose Pink or amaranth Pink. The foliage is softly or minutely covered with very fine hairs, and in color compares with Varleys Green".
Source : The Gardener's monthly and horticultural advertiser, Vol3 No1, 1861, 1861

Mcdonald - moderately red stalks; very good vigour; excellent for pie-filling products.
Source : Rhubarb Production in Alberta - Agri-Facts, Alberta Agriculture, Food And Rural Development - Agdex, 2002

Pinkish-red to red petioles have tender skin and excellent freezing and culinary properties; very vigorous, very popular.
Source : Horticultural Reviews, Volume 40 - Wiley-Blackwell - 2012, Thomas M. Gradziel, Kim E. Hummer, Paolo Inglese, 2012

MacDonald is another pink type that produces well.
Source : Rhubarb Production in California, Wayne L. Scharader - University of California, 2000

Bright pink to bright red. Common, high yielding variety. Useful for pies, freezing and canning.
Source : Rhubarb - Underutilized Vegetable Crops - Importance and Cullivalion, Aman Deep Ranga, Jagmeet Singh, 2023

Bright pink to bright red, Common, high yielding variety. Useful for pies, freezing and canning.
Source : How to Grow Rhubarb in Your Garden, Taun Beddes, Utah State University, 2024

Variétés recommandées — On recommande la MacDonald développée au collège d'agriculture MacDonald, cette rhubarbe est grosse, rustique et de belle coloration rouge ; et la Victoria qui est robuste et charnue, mais plutôt verte.
Source : Manuel d'agriculture - tome I les champs, Action sociale, Université Laval. École supérieure d'agriculture, 1947

MacDonald. Fair pink-red color; very upright; many thinner, tender, moderate seed stalks; some resistance to crown rot problems, best for heavier soils.
Source : Specialty Crop Profile on Rhubarb, Tony Bratsch, Virginia Tech Extension Service, 2024

This is a variety of Rhubarb that is from Canada! It was bred at the Macdonald College of McGill University in Quebec in the 1920’s. We grew it from seed that was obtained through Seeds of Diversity. Although the name is Macdonalds’ Seedless, it still produces seed stalks and it too had a noticeable upright form of growth. We have 2 or 3 starter clumps of Macdonalds’ Seedless at the museum and are hoping that it will establish itself over the next couple of years.
Source : Garden Projects at the Museum - Our choice of vegetable to discuss is rhubarb, POMO Museum, Port Moody Heritage Society, 2024

Giant Red McDonald Rhubarb Most popular, high yielding. A fine, high-yielding rhubarb. Giant stalks are two or three times larger than common rhubarb, extra red. and very tender. It never seeds and stays tender and juicy for months. A tremendous yielder, vigorous, and hardy. Spring Hill guarantees true imported strain.
Source : Spring Hill Nurseries 100th anniversary, 1949

MacDonald is a snappy "new model" Rhubarb. The attractive features are the new bright red color combination and a “pick up” that will surprise you. It “gets into high” so quickly that you can cut stalks from it a year sooner than you can from the old style green-stalked varieties. Another great improvement in the new MacDonald is its excellent quality, sweeter than common Rhubarb and requiring less sugar. Plant some of this splendid red Rhubarb this year. It yields heavily and lasts a lifetime. When once you have tried MacDonald you will grow no other. ENDORSED BY MacDONALD COLLEGE — Prof. L. G. Bunting, MacDonald College, Quebec, where this variety was originated, writes: “MacDonald is very highly colored, attractive, red stalk, of large size, productive, very tender and succulent, and of excellent quality, and particularly valuable for pie and desserts. Its color, when cooked without peeling, is as attractive as that of raspberries.” REQUIRES LESS SUGAR — “Hardy Fruits” Magazine, Winnipeg, Canada, describes MacDonald as follows: “MacDonald requires less sugar for cooking than any of the old standard varieties.
Source : The 1944 book of selected planting stock - Fruit trees, berry bushes, ornamentals, Andrews Nursery Company, Faribault, Minnesota, 1944

MacDonald is a snappy "new model" Rhubarb. The attractive features are the new bright red color combination and a “pick up” that will surprise you. It “gets into high” so quickly that you can cut stalks from it a year sooner than you can from the old style green-stalked varieties. Another great improvement in the new MacDonald is its excellent quality, sweeter than common Rhubarb and requiring less sugar. Plant some of this splendid red Rhubarb this year. It yields heavily and lasts a lifetime. When once you have tried MacDonald you will grow no other. ENDORSED BY MacDONALD COLLEGE — Prof. L. G. Bunting, MacDonald College, Quebec, where this variety was originated, writes: “MacDonald is very highly colored, attractive, red stalk, of large size, productive, very tender and succulent, and of excellent quality, and particularly valuable for pie and desserts. Its color, when cooked without peeling, is as attractive as that of raspberries.” REQUIRES LESS SUGAR — “Hardy Fruits” Magazine, Winnipeg, Canada, describes MacDonald as follows: “MacDonald requires less sugar for cooking than any of the old standard varieties.
Source : The 1946 book of selected planting stock - Fruit trees, berry bushes, ornamentals, Andrews Nursery Company, Faribault, Minnesota, 1946

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