Rhubarb & growing from seed

nathan henderson · April 2014

hi there.

i have 2 rhubarb plants. One is a couple of years old and is already quite large. the other is new last year therefore is still small but strangely it looks like its starting to flower.

I was wondering how i can get seed off my plants so i can start growing more rather than buying seed? Every where i look people advise to cut out the seed head as it uses up all the plants energy but i would like the seed.

thanks

danmvalverde · April 2014

Wait until the seed branches have dried right out and then shake into a container. You should get quite a few from each branch.

nutcutlet · April 2014

If you've got a good rhubarb I'd go for division. seedlings will be different, might be inferior.

What you say about the plant's energy is true and what danmvalverde says is also true.

You just have to decide

Buckfast.Beeman · April 2014

It doesn't really matter if the resulting plant is inferior if you don't like it you can just pull it. You may end up with a better plant. Experimentation is what gardening all about try it and see and at the same time divide your plants if you want to. Thats what Im going to do this year anyway

Dovefromabove · April 2014

If the result is unimportant to Nathan and he does not really want more rhubarb then I'll agree with Christopher Hodgkiss - grow the seeds and see what he gets - however he'll have to wait 3 or 4 years before he gets a plant big enough to make a judgement about the quality of the plants he's grown.

However, what Nathan said he has is an immature crown which is already running to seed - not a trait that I would want to reproduce.

Good practice is only to propagate from strong and productive plants.

And if he allows an immature crown to run to seed it will weaken it so much it is unlikely to ever grow into a substantial and productive crown, even if it has the energy to survive the following winter.

If he wants more rhubarb plants my advice is

remove the flower stalk from the small crown at it's base. Do not pick any stalks from that crown this year. Mulch the plant with well-rotted farmyard manure and keep the soil around it moist in any dry spells.
Next year take a light crop from this crown. Do not pick after June.
Divide the larger crown into two or three plants in November - do not take a crop from the new plants in the following year but mulch and keep moist as before.

In two years' time the smaller crown will be a larger and productive plant and the divided crown will also be cropping. A much quicker and more reliable way to increase your rhubarb plantation.

Rhubarb & growing from seed

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