Rhubarb Flower

Growing rhubarb is very easy and simple it does not take much looking after apart from watering it and feeding it once a year. They also need the crowns splitting every 6-8 years which is also an easy job. You can be picking great rhubarb from the plant over the months and then you may see a rhubarb flower growing. The question is why is the rhubarb flowering? What has caused the rhubarb to flower? Here we will explain why rhubarb flowers and what to do if you notice your rhubarb flowering.

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Why is my rhubarb flowering?

Rhubarb is like many other vegetables that flower they can bolt which means it will start to produce a flower on the rhubarb crown. It can also mean the rhubarb is going to seed. You have not done anything wrong when you notice the rhubarb flowering – this is completely normal – most vegetables flower so that they can reproduce and you can grow new plants from it. Sometimes rhubarb varieties can flower more times than others this can be down to the variety or few factors which lead to this.

Heat and stress are a common form causing the rhubarb to flower. If the weather is very warm in Spring time it can confuse the crown and it starts producing the flower. Stress on the plant is when the crown feels threatened so it tries producing more flowers to basically stop its extinction This can be down to if you are not watering the plant enough especially in hot weather. This should be done on a daily basis as rhubarb is made up mainly of water.

What should I do if my rhubarb flowers?

This question is totally up to you. You could save the flower on the plant and save the seeds to grow new plants which is very easy to do. The other option is to do what most gardeners do and is to to chop the flower off at the base. This is the most common method. If you leave the flower on the crown will focus on growing the rhubarb flower rather than growing the stems – it will put all its effort into reproduction.

If you do not want the seeds chop it off at the base as soon as you see it growing. You will still be able to eat the rhubarb stems but remember the rhubarb leaves are poisonous so make sure you dispose of them.

Now you know what to do if a rhubarb flowers and why it flowers. There is no need to worry you know how to fix the rhubarb issue. If you would like to know about forcing rhubarb click here.