Anyone know about Rhubarb ?
So
Answers:
Your rhubarb plant has gone to seed, also referred to as 'bolting'. Garden plants in which you eat the foliage [do NOT eat the rhubarb leaf as it is toxic -eat ONLY the stalk] will flower eventually under the correct conditions. Your rhubarb thought it was time to call it a season and flower. Some ways to prolong a plant before it bolts are to restrict the amount of sunlight and heat. Living in Utah, your rhubarb was probably in heaven and decided to show its appreciation by growing a flower; not knowing that it's people would rather have the stalk!
Living in Wisconsin, I have rhubarb for a few months and have prolonged my plant productivity by planting it in a spot where it gets only the morning sun and is in cooling shade in the afternoon. The same is true of my salad plants -morning sun and afternoon shade- and they do not bolt until the end of summer.
Hope this helps.
Other answers:
I've heard that you need to leave it alone for two years before harvesting new plants.
I've heard that you need to leave it alone for two years before harvesting new plants.
The centre stalk is the bit you eat.
What I recall from the weedy garden of my childhood home is that rhubarb is an entirely maintenance-free plant. You don't need to chop down anything. Just remember to not eat the leaves. Enjoy!
Remove the flower stalks as they are seen. During the first year of planting, the stalks should not be picked, since food from the leaves is needed to nourish the roots for the next year's growth.
One light picking may be taken during the year following planting if the plants are vigorous, and beginning the second year following planting, the entire plant may be harvested. When harvesting rhubarb, the first step is to cut the stalks at the soil line or simply pull them out individually. All of the stalks of a plant may be harvested at one time, or pulled out selectively over a 4-6 week period.
Home gardeners should give each plant 1 cup of 10-10-10 fertilizer each spring, applied in a circle around the plant when growth starts. Fertilize each year and cultivate shallowly as often as necessary to remove weeds.