Rhubarb getting it going in new home.

[scbk]

Had our first bit of rhubarb of the year tonight! yum!

These aren't forced, and they're grown outside in the north of Scotland, so probably later than most on here?

 

[ericmark]

Well it's growing OK I think top of garden this has really got a hold Bottom just a little bit showing from above and from the balcony (270 mm lens) it has at last shown signs even if not much.

So planted 21st March, saw new growth 7th April 17 days, not bad.

 

[ericmark]

Well the very small plant at bottom of garden still only the one leaf, and now not much left of it where insects have eaten it, but still turgid and looks as if it may be developing roots first, at the top however now down to one limp leaf, looks if anything worse than the plant at bottom.

On days when it has not rained I have watered them, it has been my daily exercise, the parent plant in old house still doing rather well, and since planted in compost the same as used around the parent plant, it has very similar conditions, however clearly some thing wrong.

 

[Mottie]

Our rhubarb plants over the allotment didn’t do much at first but with the heavy rain we’ve had, they’ve shot up recently.

 

[ericmark]

This is what I had expected, we did not expect to pull any this year, but thought it would lie dormant for some time while roots got established then with all the fresh compost it was planted in, it would suddenly take off, this is what happened the last time we chopped a lump off main plant and replanted, using the same compost around 2 to 3 years ago, so was expecting same result, last time it was put in a planter a raised bed, which was a magnet for weeds, the idea was once the rhubarb started the grow it would stop weeds and make the planter look better for selling house without the need for loads of work weeding, and it worked, not really what planter designed for, but it stopped the weeds.

So I had expected the same with this house, it was intended to be one plant, I carried it from main house in a dust bin, and when I took it out found one large lump and one very small lump, so thought may as well plant them apart from each other, and did really expect the small lump to fail, it was very small size of a new potato with one stalk, the other lump was 10 times the size, with maybe 8 stalks, and in both cases the existing stalks died off, and a new stalk on small, and stalks about 4 on large grew and I just watered with watering can every day unless it rained.

The small one has been eaten by some thing so not a full leaf, but it still has a single stalk and leaf, but the larger one does not look very well at all, the one stalk left is very limp and it seems to be dyeing off, I did not think you could kill rhubarb, it has always seemed such a strong plant, so wonder what I am doing wrong.

 

[ericmark]

Well it all died off, and daughter gave me some more in pots, moving things around so left in pots for a year, this year finally got some layers in the garden, did not intend to plant the rhubarb yet, but the gardeners we had employed decided to plant out the largest, a week ago, it looked poor, which was a surprise as I would have expected them to have planted all in the pot, since still had a nettle as company, so each day a watering can of water until yesterday when it started to rain.

It seems to have picked up a little in the rain, so crossing fingers. Still more rain today, so it may survive, but mother's house and last house rhubarb thrived, but this house only black berries and hazel, and oak seem to do well, maybe as on the side of a hill.