Does anyone have rhubarb they will be dividing and could spare? Last year I ordered roots from 2 different mail order companies and even tried the boxed ones from Lowes and nothing arrived with even a shred of life. The mail order companies sent roots, then replacements that were covered in mold - I planted them in raised beds with enriched soil, but nothing ever came up. The boxed ones from Lowes were shriveled up when I took them out of the package in April and they didn't survive either.
The suppliers for Rhubarb roots in the Garden Watchdog are ones that show bad rating for live plants so I am really leery about ordering from them.
I only need 1 good root that will grow to establish my patch, I will buy it from you, pay for postage, trade something, just let me know?
Rhubarb roots
Hi, see that you need a good source and may be doing something wrong is why your rhubarb don't survive. I grow it commercially for pick your own and set out 100 plants last year. All got to about 3 feet tall and could have been harvested extensively the first year. I also sowed a pack of seed and it also reached about 3 feet tall first year from seed. Rhubarb must be started (set in the ground) very early, about 1 March in the Mid-Atlantic area because it is a cold weather plant. You might try setting it in the fall, depending on what USDA zone you live in. Set the crowns at ground level to one inch below the surface in very rich soil because they are very big feeders. Once it barely starts to grow, give it a shot of nitrogen of some form. Because I grow it commercially, I just broadcast Nitrate of Soda (60%) right down the row. If you will refund the shipping, I will send you a free start. Or if you prefer, I will order a pack of seed and send you some so you can start as much as you like. It should be planted immediately unless there is snow on the ground or the ground is frozen. If you don't have a source for the nitrogen, any good balanced ferterlizer side-dressed will do. Simply put a hand full of it in a circle about 3 inches from the plant. Note: the first digit in ferterlizer analysis is the nitrogen (5-10-10) is 5% nitrogen. Any manure will also work fine. Rhubarb will grow a seed stock when stressed. so keep it at optimum growing to prevent the bloom stalk which stops production of edible food stalks. Let me know and give me your mailing address, Old_Farmer
Old farmer,
thanks for the response and your advice. I think the main problems was the poor quality of the roots. I did put the first plant in early, sometime around March15th, the other nursery didn't send my January order until April!
But neither root showed even a touch of growth.
I didn't know if rhubarb took forever to grow from seed or not, so I didn't try.
I appreciate your offering to buy seed and send me some but I don't want to put you to trouble, it's just as easy for me to order. Can you just tell me what is a good type to grow from seed, Valentine, McDonald, etc?
As long as we are "talking" rhubarb . . . I put in roots last summer and the leaves grew huge but the stalks never turned red. Could I have "eaten" the stalks anyway? Did I do something wrong?
Dragonfly
I received some Rhubarb seeds in a swap that you can have for postage. Unfortunately It is only labeled Rhubard so I dont know what kind, but you are welcome to them.
Joyce
If you want to remind me in about May, that's when my rhubarb starts to wake up and I have lots of it. I've never had problems transplanting it, and it seems that every little piece grows into a new plant. I can send you some if you'd like.
There are different varieties of rhubarb, and some of them have greener stalks than others. You can eat the stalks when they are green, and maybe that's just the way that particular variety is.