by battlingblogger

Rhubarb is one of the most popular plants to grow in your garden and is widely used in a range of desserts and sweet dishes. The plant produces stalks that can be eaten year-round, so if you really like them you may be wondering if you can grow rhubarb. And can you actually grow rhubarb from its stalk?

It is possible to grow rhubarb from a stalk, however, to do so you need to ensure that the stalk is relatively fresh and remains moist for an extended period of time which will allow the plant to begin to produce roots at first and later on also established top growth.

To do this there are two methods that you can use. The first is to grow the rhubarb in soil and the second is to grow rhubarb in water. Generally, I have found that growing rhubarb stalks in water is more successful though you do need to have several stalks going at once as the strike rate for successful propagation is relatively low using this method.

Propagating Rhubarb In Water Using Stalks

To propagate rhubarb in water start by taking a section of the stalk that is approximately 4 to 6 inches long and place it into a jar containing fresh clean water and ensure that the stork is approximately half covered in water.

The jar needs to be placed in a warm location that gets at least some morning sun but this location should not get the afternoon sun as that will often be too hot for the rhubarb. To ensure the plant does not lose any moisture it is advisable to cover the top of the jar with cling wrap and poke one or two holes in it which will minimize the rate of moisture loss and ensure that the rhubarb remains in a moist humid environment.

After several weeks you begin to see the formation of small spindly roots. Once these roots begin to appear and develop to the point where there are a few inches long the rhubarb needs to be transferred into the soil to continue to grow.

To maximize the chances of survival it is best to transfer the rhubarb into a pot with good quality soil such as a specific seed-raising mix that holds moisture well and has some nutrition in it. To ensure that the rhubarb continues to be exposed to a moist environment is a good idea to put a polythene plastic bag over the top of the pot until you see established top growth which is an indicator that the root system is starting to become established and develop.

Typically this process will take approximately 6 months to complete before the plant is strong enough to be put out into the garden in its final location.

Planting Rhubarb In The Garden

Rhubarb is a plant that can be grown in part shade or full sun, however, if you grow it in full sun it will generally grow faster due to the increased light levels which help the plant photosynthesize. In terms of space, rhubarb should be planted approximately 2 to 3ft from the nearest plant as once established the rhubarb plant will get relatively large.

When selecting a location it is also important that the soil is of good quality. Ideally, rhubarb plants prefer rich, moist, and free-draining soil with plenty of nutrients in the soil to help the plant to grow rapidly. However, rhubarb is also relatively tolerant of a range of different soils.

When putting the plant into the ground it should ideally be placed in a hole that allows the level of the pot in which rhubarb was previously growing to be approximately level with the soil in the ground. The plant should then be back filled with soil and firmed in with your heel.

Once the plant is in position is also important to apply a thick layer of mulch around the plant to ensure that it does not lose moisture in hot weather. The plant should then be watered in well to ensure that it is relatively moist.

Once the plant has become established there is very little work required to look after it other than to periodically water it in hot weather. Once established it generally will tolerate warm conditions in summer.

Harvesting Rhubarb

When harvesting your first stalks from the plant is important to ensure that you do not remove all of the stalks at once as the plant needs to continue to photosynthesize to produce more harvests.

When removing the stalks from the plant they should be pulled and twisted rather than cut as the storks will come away nicely from the crown. The stalks should ideally be harvested when they are approximately half an inch thick or larger. Additionally, the stork should have developed its full color which for rhubarb is not always red, there are green varieties that are also available.

Once the stork has been removed from the plant the leaves should also be removed leaving just the stalk which is the edible part. As the leaves are toxic they should be put into a compost heap or green bin rather than being fed to chickens as these leaves will make them sick.

Over a period of 4 to 5 years, the plant will begin to become less productive and have dead spots in the centre of the plant as the crown matures. To reinvigorate the plant it is important to periodically divide the crown by lifting it from its position and cutting the crown into smaller pieces which then can be replanted into the garden. To ensure that these pieces survive the main thing is to ensure that they are at least the size of your fist and have some new buds appearing on at least some part of the Crown.

These can be transplanted into the garden and are generally a much quicker and easier way to propagate the plants than growing them from stalks, which as mentioned in the article above takes several months to get the plant going and you won’t get a harvest in the first year.

Whereas if the rhubarb plants are divided in this way at the end of the growing season you will end up picking rhubarb from the newly created plants in the following season.

How To Grow Rhubarb Plants From Storks In The Soil

Rhubarb plants, as mentioned earlier in the article, can also be grown in soil, though, I do find that the success rate using this method is lower than growing them in water. To start the stalks off start by filling a pot with seed-raising mixture and then take a 3 to 4-inch section of the stalk and slice it in half and place the exposed part and lay in on to the soil so it is laying flat.

To ensure that the pot remains moist place it in a tray with water and also cover the top of it with cling wrap to create a humid environment to reduce the chances of the plant dying out. The pot then needs to be placed in a warm location to grow on.

The cling wrap needs to remain on the pot until such time as you see clear and defined signs of growth which typically will take approximately 6 weeks to 3 months. Once you see clear signs of growth the cling wrap can be removed from the pot but the plant will still need to remain in that pot for a further 3 months or so until it is beginning to produce a couple of stalks and the roots system has become relatively established.

The main advantage of growing rhubarb plants in soil is that you do not have to transplant them later on but the plants do not strike as easily as those in water in my experience.

Conclusion

Rhubarb plants can be propagated from stalks though it is not the easiest way in which the plants are grown and you need fresh stalks rather than one’s purchase from the supermarket which will have already dried out. The simplest way to grow rhubarb is actually to divide an existing plant or grow it from seed.