how to take rhubarb 'cuttings'

hannahsmamma

or should that be 'diggings'? Do you just dig a bit up and re-plant it ? Can you do it any time ?

splodger_seedswapper

if you want to split your existing crown - and make new plants - dig up when it is dormant - autumn / winter - make sure that each piece that you dig up has at least one eye on it (although not 100% ness' it will help with new plant regeneration)

if well established - rhubarb will put down very deep roots - don't worry if they break off when digging up - as long as there is a bit of root and an eye or two on the one to be transplanted / split - it will grow ok

DaftyDuck

A bit of rooting hormone helps stop them rotting. They don't normally need help rooting, but they are prone to just turning into a soggy nothingness if they get too wet. Best is to remove the smaller crowns, leaving the larger one undisturbed as much as possible. Don't harvest from your new plants in the first year; let them develop into healthy plants first.

Margaret52129

Just read this and wanted to say that I bought a crown for my friends birthday earlier this year. I'd given her a bit of mine last year but it did nothing. She says that this one's growing fantastically. She knows she cannot harvest it this year, but does she leave all the stalks on to die back down into the root? (Sorry if that question seems a bit dumb!)

DaftyDuck

Yes, just leave it this year. If it is a wet winter, tidy up the foliage that has died back, else it might (might, not will) rot the crown. Next year, harvest lightly, and don't harvest late into the summer.