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Furry Rhubarb Leaves
Rob Chapman3
Posts: 8
in Fruit & veg
I wonder if anyone can offer me any advice on my Rhubarb. For the last two seasons a couple of my Rhubarb plants seem to have a furriness to their leaves, although the rhubarb sticks seem unaffected apart from being a bit thinner than my other Victoria crowns. I was just wondering if these plants had a disease and should be removed or is it possible that they are just a different variety that got mixed in the packet? I have done a bit research but none of the common varieties seem to have this furry leaf trait.
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There is a plant called Greater Burdock which can look quite like a furry rhubarb - I wonder if somehow you have some of them in your rhubarb patch.
http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/species/greater-burdock
http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/burdock-root.html
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I just had a little look. Greater Burdock has furry stems, my Rhubarb has normal green smooth sticks but the top of the leaves has fine hairs and underneath just like any other Rhubarb.
No all the leaves are a healthy green colour. The hairs are very fine but don't look as though they're mould or mildew. The only difference is that the sticks are a little thinner/flatter.
All my other Victoria Rhubarb plant leaves are completely hairless.
Only on top of the leaves no hairs at all underneath.
Does it look like this?
http://www.rhubarb-central.com/wild-rhubarb.html
It looks like the bottom picture of the two, it looks like regular rhubarb but the leaves are a darker green and have a fine hairy coating.
Could it be hipster rhubarb?
Burdock,is quite different, I've never once thought it was rhubarb. Gunnera does look like giant rhubarb. I suppose it could just be a genetic variation.
I did think it could've been a genetic variant on the normal rhubarb, as last year I had pole star runner beans that changed from purple/black to solid black in colour.
http://bakingribbons.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/rhubarb-crunch-time.html
my rhubarb has the same leaf design as the plant in the picture dark green and quite crinkled with fine hairs.