Rhubarb - What's Going On?

[Farmer_Gyles]

I have one lot of normal (big) rhubarb, been growing beautifully for a few years - lovely big thick stalks - 3cm thick /35cm long is "normal"
I have a few small crowns of very small rhubarb - the thickest stalk is 1cm thick, 15-20cm long - one crown has a few small stalks standing upright (these are the biggest ones) - we picked a stalk today, but it's hard and woody, not good to bite into - another crown has LOADS of stalks and is all lying down, soft, limp, very white ....

I've attached 3 photos:
1 - 3 "normal" stalks plus one upright stalk from 2nd crown and one of the limp stalks all on the kitchen worktop with a 30cm ruler
2 - 2 of the small crowns, with a 3.5in pot in between ... the top crown is the one where stalks are limp and lying down, the bottom one is the one with upright but woody stalks
3 - 3 stalks on the ruler to show thickness

Why are the smaller ones so small? They may be a different variety (I have no idea what they might be), but is it normal for the rhubarb to be that small?
Why is one of them upright but woody?
Why is one all limp and spread all over the floor?
What can I do about them?
The woody one and the limp one are inedible, but could I still pick the stalks for wine? Or is it not worth bothering with?

The small ones are planted out behind my greenhouse - they've been there a couple of years, today is the first time I've picked any because it's so small it's barely worth bothering with .....

[rustylady]

To be honest, the ones by the greenhouse look as if they're starving. Do they get much light? What is the soil like, and have you ever fed them?

[SarzWix]

The thick, woody one - try sticking a dustbin (upside down) over the top. You'll get some 'blanched' stalks that should be a lot more tender. Both the woody, and the 'collapsed' one might be down to the hot weather in March suddenly going back to cold again in April. It's done some weird things to most of my fruit bushes, frosted leaf buds etc.

[taff]

I was going to say it looks hungry too. There isn't any concrete underneath where it's growing is there?

[Farmer_Gyles]

it's a small bit of ground behind the greenhouse (north side) with some shade from trees .... an "experienced gardener" told me a few years back that it would be ideal for rhubarb .... the ground was sheeted over for a couple of years, never grown anything on it .... the rhubarb was in pots for a couple of years too, but was drying out in the pots .... didn't look much different to how it does now .... dug the ground over quickly, adding a bit of multi-purpose compost and planted the rhubarb in ..... it's been in the ground for a couple of years now, never bothered looking at it ....

i'm not sure it's wise to try forcing it while it's not too healthy .... i'll dig it up in a couple of weeks and dig a lot more compost in, then replant it .....

is it likely to grow as big as the big ones i have?
or is it more likely to be a different variety and therefore smaller??

[rustylady]

If I were you I'd move it or bin it.

[Bigmallly]

Just wondering if well rotted manure would help.