Rhubarb

Kat1989 · April 2020

Hello, I have some wonderful rhubarb growing that I've had for many years, I split and divided it for the first time last November, its in a low border of shade gets a bit of sun as summer approaches. Is there anything I could plant to fill the gaps regarding flowers? It looks rather lonely until its in full growth. Any suggestions?

josusa47 · April 2020

I wouldn't. Anything else growing nearby will be competing with the rhubarb for water and nutrients.

GemmaJF · April 2020

Your best bet is just to mulch around it. I know what you mean as mine looks a little odd at this time of year, but it won't be all that long before it fills the space. As josusa47 says, rhubarb will not appreciate any competition, it's hungry stuff!

Kat1989 · April 2020

Thanks For the advise, do you ever feed your rhubarb I tend to get a Good crop and never have. Just curious ? @GemmaJF

the tidy gardener · April 2020

I have all sorts of herbs and roses growing around my rhubarb and it does fine!I dont feed it at all.just picked some forced rhubarb which is really worth trying next year!just dont do the same bit the next year

GemmaJF · April 2020

Sharronwildman said:

Thanks For the advise, do you ever feed your rhubarb I tend to get a Good crop and never have. Just curious ? @GemmaJF

I mulch around the crowns with well rotted horse muck most years. It helps keep the ground clear of weeds and I get great crops each year.

GemmaJF · April 2020

Just to mention as I see a pattern on this thread, if you do mulch (I usually do it in the Autumn) I don't think you will really need to contemplate growing anything in the gaps. It will grow pretty huge and fill the space each year. Not a lot survives under mine for long.

Chris289 · April 2020

Hi have a rhubarb patch which I grew from seed about 4 years ago but it throws up seed.what is the cause and how can I prevent this. I remove the seed heads and compost them.

Dovefromabove · April 2020

Rhubarb flowering is usually because the plant is stressed ... often because it’s not getting enough moisture ... sometimes because it’s hungry too. The theory is that stress impels it to reproduce before it dies.

My rhubarb is given lots of water during dry spells in the summer ... and it’s fed and mulched in the spring.

It’s 9 years old and has never flowered ... it takes up quite a bit of space? But the one plant keeps us and the neighbours well supplied 😋

Skandi · April 2020

Dove you must be lucky with a blind plant there.

You cannot stop rhubarb flowering that's what it does. And I do not believe that rhubarb flowers just because it is stressed you don't say argh my roses must be stressed they are flowering do you? Rhubarb is a perennial that propagates by seed so of course it flowers nothing wrong with it, it will do it every year unless it is really stressed then it will die down too early to flower.

Dovefromabove · April 2020

Not in my experience ... I’ve grown rhubarb in many gardens for about 60 years (well, I helped my mother) and if you grow it the way I do it rarely flowers.

Of course in its native conditions it will flower and seed ... that is because its native conditions are much harsher than the way I grow it.

I’ve known many people, traditional village gardeners and allotment holders, grow rhubarb, and I learnt from them. They would regard flowering on a young rhubarb plant to be a failure in the way they treated it.

However, I really must split this one this coming winter ... that will give me the chance to dig some manure into the patch where it grows. 😊

Some of the old gardeners I learnt from would have used the contents of the privy pail to fertilise the rhubarb patch.

I don’t do that 😉

Rhubarb

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