When can I take rhubarb cuttings

[Nicky]

I bought some rhubarb last year but it never grew after I planted it
My mum has a really big rhubarb plant that I could take a bit of.....
What's the best time to take a section off and what's the best thing to do with it?

[pigletwillie]

Now is the time and if its a big root you can cut it up with a spade into several sections. The younger, outer part of the crown are best and I personnaly would discard the old middle bit. Make sure each section has a good bit of root and an "eye" or two.

Plant in a well prepared planting hole with lots and lots of well rotted manure, compost and a handfull of blood fish and bone or the like as rhubarb is a greedy feeder.

[rustylady]

You'll need a sharp spade. Dig up the old root, cut into good sized sections (each with a bud or "eye"). Tidy up and plant in good soil, enriched with manure if possible.

[Snadger]

The rhubarb you plant in the ground outdoors shouldn't really be cropped in the first season. What you can do though is put a couple of roots in the greenhouse, under the staging will do, and use the resultant blanched stems as your crop for this coming year. These plants will have to be thrown out after cropping though as they will have no goodness left in them!