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The world seems divided into two camps so I thought I'd ask you lot.

My rhubarb (which I only got as a crown from my dad's plant last year) has flowered. So the debate is this. Cut it off or leave it.

Discuss

Lynne

ps. I cut it off, but only because my daddy made me do it

Depends whether you want it as an ornamental, or to produce food for you... I cut it off.

Definitely cut it off. Mine did the same earlier in the year, and now I am picking again. pbf.

yep cut it off. mine flowered last year and there was a distinct reduction in stems. once i cut it off they got going again.

Oh my giddy aunt! If that's a reduction in stems, I'm going to be farming the stuff! Maybe I should have left it after all. I took about 10lbs off it before it flowered and the same again after, but before I cut the flower spike off. Still, with that amount I guess the last thing I need is rhubarb seeding all over the orchard. Mind you, the toads live in it and hibernate under it, so that probably accounts for the lack of slugs in that part of the garden

Madness!

Can you send me some of those toads, please? My cat likes to sit under the rhubarb - but she's useless against the slugs...

My slugs live under the Rhubarb

Blackie the hen and Dilly the duck are DEAD under the rhubarb! Mind you it hasn't made any difference to the rhubarb, it was forced then moved 2-3 years ago and still hasn't recovered enough to pick any stems. Maybe they don't like chook and hen fertiliser?

we break the flower stems off as they appear, and we've got about 7 rhubarb plants.. they keep multiplying =]

just a bit of topic, but my rhubarb gets little bored holes in it that bruise it, giving off a waxy substance... i think it may be bugs or ants... not quite sure.
its annoying cos i only got one crop of it, it's flowered and the spikes are too much effort to process, there ain't much left!

Millymollymandy wrote:it was forced then moved 2-3 years ago and still hasn't recovered enough to pick any stems. Maybe they don't like chook and hen fertiliser?

They like neither forcing nor moving - need a lot of time to recover.

I had no idea you were 'supposed' to cut off the flower stems. I've always let mine flower and they still produce leaves/stalks like mad. Mine grow all year round, too ... they're like triffids ...

Cornelian wrote: Mine grow all year round, too ... they're like triffids ...

Well - I do think your climate is slightly different to ours...

ina wrote:

Cornelian wrote: Mine grow all year round, too ... they're like triffids ...

Well - I do think your climate is slightly different to ours...

True - I am blessed by my climate for growing things here, but then I moved to Tasmania specifically for that reason. Most mainlanders think we are encased in snow the year round, but in reality we have a lovely mild climate, esp in winter. Here we are in mid-winter and my peach trees are still happily leaved. Things stop growing for a bit in the very coldest part of winter (perhaps July and August) but so long as they are protected form the occasional black frost vegies stay happily in the ground until needed.

I keep trying rhubarb and keep murdering it, bringing it up here into the desert , it's very sad Still, I just got another six crowns in the post on Friday and I'll give it another bash.