Rhubarb Rhubarb!

valk_scot

Yes, the whole plant will go limp, flop over, die back and rot. Once this has happened I clear off the worst of the slimy vegetation, tip a bag of mushroom compost over it in a heap, erect a tripod of canes over it (this is to stop me treading on it!) and ignore it till the spring. I've got three very well established plants btw (in total they cover the same area as a double bed) so each year I force one by placing a large plastic dustbin with the base cut out over it. In the spring the stalks grow long and pale in the sheltered darkness and are ready at least a month before the exposed plants. You can only do this to well established plants though as it does weaken them and you should only do it once every three years at most.

If you don't have mushroom compost or manure you can use the spent potting compost from your pots to cover the crowns, or shredded newspaper covered with a thin layer of earth. It's just to protect the crowns from any really hard frosts.

I don't feed my rhubarb btw. Why? Because it's planted along the back of my big pallet compost bins. The roots of the rhubarb go under the bins and sook up all the nutrients that drain into the soil under the bins. Great place to grow rhubarb. I've always got x6 as much as I need and supply most of the neighbourhood.

madforsavings

Hi, just one last and possibly the daftest question...............I have my rhubarb in a big tub could I put it into my garage over winter or wouldn't this be a good idea, my reasoning being that because its in a big tube it may get colder than if it was in the ground obviously I'll do as you suggested and cover the top.

valk_scot

madforsavings wrote: »

Hi, just one last and possibly the daftest question...............I have my rhubarb in a big tub could I put it into my garage over winter or wouldn't this be a good idea, my reasoning being that because its in a big tube it may get colder than if it was in the ground obviously I'll do as you suggested and cover the top.

TBH I wouldn't grow rhubarb in a tub anyway...if you've ever had to dig out a rhubarb plant you'd know why! There's almost as much root to a mature rhubarb plant as stem and leaves and when I dug out a fairly modest rhubarb plant from my garden I went down three feet before I gave up digging. They also need a great deal of feeding and water...the big roots take care of all this in soil, but I'd think you would have to almost constantly feed and water it in a tub.

But if it has to stay in the tub then possibly the garage would be a good place for it. Otherwise the soil/crown might get waerlogged, freeze, rot etc. Don't overwater it though while it's just a crown.

morg_monster

Sorry i have a question about rhubarb too!
I was bought one for my birthday in May by friends, but they forgot to bring it to my birthday bbq so it has been living at their house since then (presume in the pot), and according to them has been thriving. Yesterday I finally got my hands on it. It is already at the brown tuft stage (haha actually when they presented it to me I thought it was a joke as it looked just like a pot of soil!). The pot is only about 8" across. Should I put it in the garden now? or wait until spring? And any tips on where they like to be? From reading previous posts I will make sure it has enough room to grow!

sarymclary

Morg, I'd plant it now, in a place that has plenty of moisture. I planted 2 salvaged plants on a shady side of a metal garage, where the soil doesn't dry out fully in summer, and when it rains, the apex roof of the garage means the rain falls onto the soil around the rhubarb plants, giving them a good soaking (equivalent to getting several times more rain in one shower). The leaves also act as a good screen to the slightly ugly garage at the end of the garden too! Remember to cover the top, and put something in the ground to mark where it is like a cane, in case you forget (speaking from experience here, having dug up a load of daff bulbs by accident).