Well this looks like your learning experience. The only time I tried the fire ants loved the leaves then the roots so it died a quick death. I am again trying but this time Green Rhubarb as we do love this vegetable as I grew up on rhubarb in Michigan. They say it can not take the hot weather here that cooks the plant. It could be your climate may turn out to be okay so knows unless you try. I do not know about alkaline etc. Grows fine in Colorado and Michigan where I have lived before. Neither place did we feed the plant but then that was me. I would find a nice spot and see what life and climate does for your plant.

Here's an article I bookmarked a while back. It looks like good info to start with.

We love rhubarb too so let us know how it works for you.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rhubarb in Texas

Thanks so much for the input! Based on that article, it is the WRONG time of year for me to be planting this. I think it was supposed to be planted this past fall. So I guess I can try it and see what happens, but looks like I shouldn't expect much out of this plant. I'll keep you posted on the progress.

Would you try planting it in morning sun/afternoon shade to try and help with the heat cooking problem, or will it only do well in full sun?

Since you already have the plant, try keeping it shaded in the afternoon. If you have a large pot, that might work better to move it around when the sun changes. I've planted shade loving plants in the shade only to have them burned a few weeks later as the sun shifts. If it bolts and goes to seed, just keep the seeds for the fall planting.

I'm curious to hear how your plant did, I can only assume it fried if you planted it last year? I planted 25 seeds last September in my window sill and babied them all winter. Of the 25 only 5 survived and only 3 are doing well. I think I have been over watering them (I'm not an experienced gardener by any means). When I originally planted them it was with the thought of setting them out for the winter in a cold frame and seeing them take off in the spring but they have grown SO slowly, the leaves are just now the size of quarters, stems maybe 2 inches long. Now I'm thinking I should hold them to plant out in maybe October with hopes of some fall sucess? I think I should repot and fertilize the survivors, as they are all in a window box now. Thoughts, suggestions?

Yes, unfortunatley it croaked--even before the water got hot haha! I planted it in a large pot that got morning sun/afternoon shade. It grew a little and had about 10 leaves before it bit the dust (I think it had about 5 leaves when I first planted it). If I rememeber correctly, it died in May before it even got unbearbly hot. I think I didn't water it enough. I hope you have better luck with yours than I did. I would like to give it another try sometime. So let us know if you discover the magic trick of how to get them to survive our summer infernos!