Why can't I grow rhubarb?

[hamamelis]

I've tried multiple rhubarb plants at my allotment- 4 at least, but none of them are even nearly healthy. One was a lovely plant I'd been growing at home, then I moved house, moved it to the lottie, and it got weaker, caught some diease or other (the buds turned to slime) and I had to dig it up and throw it away. The rest were newly planted garden centre plants.

In spring, the surviving three all put out one or two leaves, about 6" tall, but nothing bigger than that. The leaves then seem to largely just gradually yellow and rot, while the plant may put out another one or two, until they all give up sometime around July. At this point, they lose all the leaves, and just go dormant until next spring. This has been the case for the last 4 years for one plant, and now 2 for the other two.

I've planted the most recent purchases in a new bed, just in case it was a lingering disease from the previous plot holder's plant (which turned out to be hidden in the grass just around the edge of that patch- it's also short enough to hide behind grass). Just the other side of the path, there's a glorious big plant growing on the dividing line between two plots, which gets zero maintenance (apparently both of them are conviced it's the others) and still looks great.

I dug in loads of home-made compost, and the original plant was right next to the compost bins (judging by the profusion of nettles right behind them, a very fertile spot). I watered in dry spells in the first year or so, I kept them weeded and mulched in spring, careful not to cover the crown. They're all planted in reasonably sunny spots- shaded for a little bit of the day by a tree, but mainly in sun.

So... what am I doing wrong? What can I do different? Should I just give up and try and make friends with the owner of The Plant That Could Feed A City, which is at the other end of the site?

Any advice appreciated!

[FB.]

Out of interest; what type of soil do you have?

Some varieties of rhubarb are very weak-growing while others are strong-growing. The fancy, colourful and hyped-up varieties seem to be quite weak.

I have had success with Timperley Early and Victoria but have failed with other varieties due to them either being too weak to establish or very prone to disease such as crown rot.
Crown rot is a problem with rhubarb, especially if planted too deep or if covered with compost, but some plants bring it from the nursery while others get it if planted in contaminated soil, and the disease can also be harboured in the 'stagnant' water in water butts.
If you're using butt water, limit its use to not more than one watering per week and preferably wait at least a couple of weeks between waterings.

The plants prefer a sheltered spot with partial sun and adequate moisture - not too much and not too little.
Once you start harvesting stems you must not take more than half of them to avoid weakening the plant - and the plant will need a couple of mulches of compost near but not on the plant each year to allow it to replace what you're taking away. Keeping compost off the plant's crown reduces the risk of crown rot.

Interestingly, I've found that crown-rot-susceptible plants such as apple trees become fairly resistant when grown in grass compared to when in open ground, although their growth is reduced.

[hamamelis]

It's clay soil -apparently the site was a clay pit before becoming an allotment, but has apparently been an allotment for over 100 years. It's on a bit of a slope, and the drainage is good. I don't know the pH.

I don't often use butt water- in fact I don't think I ever have on the rhubarb, I tend to keep that for the blueberries- there's a tap and mains water trough right by the plot. This year I've only really been using the tap, as there were tadpoles and baby newts in the trough.

Thanks for the picking advice, I hope I get the chance to use it! None of the plants (except the one at home before it was moved) have ever got big enough for me to pick a single stem...

[FB.]

Which varieties have you tried?

Try some different varieties from a different nursery and plant them in a different spot.
As mentioned earlier: Timperley Early and Victoria do well for me where others have failed.

[hamamelis]

One Victoria, two Timperly Early and a Champagne, if I remember correctly.

Edited to add: Two were bought together, the others were both from different garden centres. One was definitely healthy before being moved, the others were planted dormant.

[bussinspain]

Down here at "Inland Spain" they have not heard of Rhubarb! Our neighbours had to google it! I sowed some seeds of "Glaskins Perpetual about Feb/Mar time and now have 2 "baby" plants growing away nicely in the kitchen garden. Fingers crossed for a tiny, tiny rhubarb crumble next year.

[Guest]

I struggled to get rhubarb going some time ago and I tried a pack of unwins early red seeds - loads grew and the plants are now doing well (although a couple faked death after they were transplanted)

[Alicante]

I have problems with growing rhubarb as well. It is supposed to be such a tough plant, surviving neglect and seems to grow well on untended allotments. Mine just sits and sulks! I mulch it (avoiding the crown), I feed it and water it in dry spells. I have divided it up and planted pieces at home. It is not happy. So thank you for starting this thread, perhaps we will both get some ideas about what is going wrong.

Al

[skeggijon]

I have to say that since I moved outside of the rhubarb triangle, I've struggled to get decent growth on mine. When I lived in Bradford it grew like a weed!

[Glutton4...]

I have had good success with Timperley Early, and Glaskin's Perpetual, but these were in well-drained raised beds. The humongous unknown freebie that I divided into seven or eight, and planted out in clay all died.

Am I correct in thinking people used to grow Rooooobub inside tyres? Would make sense. (She says, making a mental note to hide a couple of Hubby's old tyres before he bins them....)

[hamamelis]

My housemate said his family grew it in a tyre, butI think I'd rather keep mine on the car for now!

Could there be some kind of soil contamination? I know the previous plot holder had some very odd ideas. Is it worth trying in a pot? I was reduced to buying it from the greengrocers this year. Such a thing goes against all my upbringing!

Edited to add: when I say it's clay, it is clay based, but it's been improved a lot over the years of being an allotment. I wouldn't be able to make bricks out of it or anything.

[Guest]

Anything is worth a try - its got to be better than shop bought

[BUFFS]

after 4 moves I just dig a hole, bung in a crown , backfill with soil, and water well, then neglect, its worked in surrey, two places in the midlands and now here on the west coast of Scotland, we now have 13 crowns (from 3 originals) and crop 3 times each summer and a layer of home made compost thrown on top of them each autumn, we fill 40+ ice cream tubs to see us through the winter til it starts cropping again in the next spring/summer..

[simon12]

I planted 2 crowns in December last year 1 timperley early and 1 champagne in heavy clay soil. The timperley has grown really well but the champagne grow 2 fairly big leaves then died (looked like it needed water or something though it was not short).

[FB.]

the champagne grow 2 fairly big leaves then died (looked like it needed water or something though it was not short).

Crown rot kills roots which severely affects the plant's ability to take up water and nutrients, with plants looking like they're drought-stressed. If you don't water them they die. If you water them* you make the crown rot worse and they die. Basically, crown rot is usually incurable although a few plants manage to recover.

*
Bear in mind that watering with a can or hose is very different to natural rainfall.
A hose or watering can is a short-duration near-drowning which is what crown rot loves - it's a fungus which swims through near-saturated soil and it most effectively attacks roots which are too wet and lacking enough oxygen - whereas rainfall is usually less intense.

Nursery soils are often contaminated with crown rot, and many plants carry it with them (either as infection or as dormant spores in the traces of soil clinging to the plant). If a nursery has grown the same plant in the same field for too long then a build-up of disease is almost certain to occur - same as replant disease and that's why crops are supposed to be rotated.
Not all nurseries rotate the plants, and those that do don't always leave a long enough time between rotations for the diseases to die or get washed out of the soil. Crown rot can remain in the soil several years, patiently awaiting the ideal conditions and ideal host plants to attack.