floopy rhubarb!

[retropants]

every year, our rhubarb goes all floopy , generally about now. it is not short of water, is mulched in winter, and very well looked after. it then goes on to recover a bit in June/July. Has any one got any ideas why this happens? no one else's, that I can see, seems to do this??

eta: the stems are fat, robust, long and plentiful up until the floopiness begins.

[oldherbaceous]

Dear Retropants, it seems as if the Rhubarb is unable to take up enough water for some reason, is it a very old clump by any chance?
Even if it isn't, i still think it is a root issue.

And don't you think i have been well behaved.

[retropants]

thankyou! you have indeed very restrained!

it was several old clumps, but I split and moved them about 5 or 6 years ago.

[Primrose]

Retropants, it's strange you should raise this question because I was looking at mine at the weekend and thinking the same after I had given it another good dose of water. It's as if it produces so much heavy growth very quickly earlier in the spring that it just runs out of energy and flops for a while. I don,t know whether pulling a fair number of the stems off helps in any way. At the moment our two bushes have more than we can eat, but mine are also two clumps which were split several years ago. Maybe every few years you need to need to dig them up and start start again with fresh plants in a new location. .

[retropants]

yes Primrose, maybe they over-produce early, then collapse for a rest?

[Monika]

Retropants and Primrose, ours is just the same every year. It's a very early variety, probably Timperley Early (we have picked a few short stems at the end of December before!), but I know that, if I want to freeze some, I have to do it in April/May, because after that the stems go all limp.

So, yes, I think it's entirely normal for early varieties and, probably, large and very old plants which ours are.

[retropants]

Thank you Monika! That's good To know. I shall try not to worry too much about it.

[PLUMPUDDING]

Mine does exactly the same - Timperley Early - starts early, grows fast sending up huge leaves, then collapses. Has a breather then sends up lots of new leaves in a month or two then collapses again.

[retropants]

great, thankyou

[Ricard with an H]

Mine is all-floopy but it's only two years old from seed-plants. It was better earlier in the year but now it's floopy.

Floopy ?

Ok, I have rhubarb But I really don't know what to do with it. It's in a very rich bed but this bed is very light. It's so light I can pull creeping-buttercup out, roots-an-all, just by tugging at the greenery.

Maybe rhubarb likes clay ?

Floopy ?

I like floopy.

[retropants]

Richard, I'm glad you like my word, it seemed most appropriate.

[Ricard with an H]

It-is most appropriate.

Floopy will now be my new word for feeling like I could do with a new set of plugs.

Rain forecast for tomorrow so I did what I could during this lovely sunny day to catch-up on the sunny-day jobs.

I'm going to try a pile of well-rotted cow-poo around my rhubarb, it looks as if it needs something. I planted the rhubarb into the corners of the my comfrey patch which is very-very nutrient rich but does drain quickly. I have it right for a regular turn-a-round of comfrey but not quite right for the rhubarb.

Who said this was easy.