Rhubarb question

[tortzblue]

I have had no luck with rhubarb previously from chunks given to me. I found some crowns in plastic bags at the garden centre 1/2 price, so I got a couple. The thing is, should I plant them out now with all this soggy wet soil and cold weather coming, or can I put them in a pot in the sun lounge, or just leave them dry in the bag till the frosty weather has passed? I really haven't got a clue!

[lancashire lass]

Rhubarb is supposed to be easy to grow - sometimes, you just can't kill them with neglect, but put a bit of effort in, and they keel over

If it was me, I'd probably put them in big pots of lightly damp compost. As for going outside - in theory they should survive, but if the crowns have been marked down in price, they have been around a bit so might need a little TLC. Maybe put some outside and have some in the sun lounge (if it's cool) to edge your bets, and in spring don't forget to harden off the indoor ones before planting in their final place

[tortzblue]

LL to the rescue again! Thanks for your advice. I'll try not to kill them this time I think I may have overwatered them before cos they just seem to disintegrate and disappear!

[bmpsands]

Our rhubarb started in Derbyshire. We lifted two crowns from my great aunt's garden and forgot that they were in the boot of the car. 10 days later we planted them and over time we must have had a ton of rhubarb from them. As we had split and thinned over 25 years we left half of the patch when we moved last year and brought half up here. Even last summer, having only just been moved, it did really well and the very cold spring didn't kill it. We've been covered in mud for the past ***** weeks and I notice that there are some pink shoots coming through already.

The only time we ever tried to help it along, with extra mulch and some fertiliser, we seemed to check it and some of the crop came so late that it never quite ripened

Bea

[HappyBob]

If you hold back planting out while the soil is in a drier state I,m sure your rhubarb will thrive. When I took my allotment on I had some rhubarb that wasnt doing so well as it was old and not very vigarous. On the advise off one of the old boys I dug the crowns up and just left them on top of the soil and was told that the cold winter would send them back to infancy. This I did and in the spring planted it out in another part of the garden with a good helping of manure, I didnt pick any of the stalks the first year and only took a few the second year now its once again thriving and the last few years has seen more stalks then we will ever need.

[p.penn]

Just be careful about overwatering or the crowns will rot.

Sounds like you got a bargain!

[silky]

If you’re growing rhubarb, then you have got a good source of insect repellant. I boil up the leaves and then strained the liquid into a bottle and dilute it 50/50 and sprayed my brassicas with the solution and it helped to keep the white fly and other pests at bay.

John