I put in 2 rhubarb plants for the first time this year and managed to get some fruit a few months back. What's left of the plants has wilted so much, you can barely see it - is this usual...or did I kill it, as usual?
Thanks for all the comments
I don't know if you have managed to kill or not..but good news is that rhubarb does 'die back' in autumn so that there is virtually nothing to be seen of it during winter 'hibernation'. So it is quite likely they are just having good sleep and will wake up again in spring :icon_cheers:
Yes, it dies down now, and more or less disappears until the early spring. I always put a good layer of leaves/straw/compost/manure on top for the winter.
A bit late to say, but it is best not to harvest rhubarb the first year! It needs leaving so that the roots can get going strongly.
Mine look very dreary at the moment. The centre is all dry, surrounding by the slimey rotting stems. Looks very dead but most of it will pop up ok in the spring.
Rhubarb is a member of the Rhum family that is a herbaceause perenial that means it has a perenial root stock but produces a anual stem. I would not worry if it is newly planted please leave it for at least 2 years to establish then start picking :)
As others have said it is just getting ready for the dormant stage of the year,
Clear any old leaves to the compost heap.
As to harvesting you can do some light picking as it establishes but aim to leave at least 5 good stems on the plant in the early years.
Thanks to everyone for all the positive news
Rhubarb is rather hard to kill, though I have known it succumb to waterlogging. It should be up in the spring. Meanwhile, it's a heavy feeder, so this would be a good time to put on an organic mulch. I'll be doing mine with rotted down grass cuttings.
We've just dug both of ours up, split them into 4 pieces each and left them for the frost. The pieces we want will be re-planted next week and mulched up. The others will be given away :happy7:
What is the frosting for? I think it is a good idea to dig up and split one plant per year as they take a year to recover.
They might not like waterlogging but they take equal exception to six - eight feet of gravel below them. I cannot tell you how many I have killed. The only surviving one in my garden has not been moved for 15 years. It was the sole survivor from a packet of seeds. But rhubarb grows like a weed at my lottieI cannot believe how easy it is to grow. But many thanks for reminding me, I must try and establish a piece of it at the lottie.
What is the frosting for?
It's something we've been told about by older plot holders here ?
All the other bits will be planted up next year and sold at the plant sale, very sought after as they are champagne and ruby red :happy7:
I don't know; I was told about frosting way back, but I never believed it. The roots on mine are so huge I'd do my back in getting them up anyway. Last time I tried I could just get the rootballs onto a wheelbarrow, but I very much doubt whether I could even do that now.