[Thrutchington]

Hi all, i re-sited my rhubarb in December, it's grown well with plenty of stems and looks healthy but a few shoots have grown up with what look like tiny flowers, as if the plant had bolted. I've never noticed thus happen in previous years, should i just remove the bolted stems and harvest the rest as usual?

[Aunt Sally]

Did you divide the roots up and just plant the pieces that have a few buds.  They often flower more if they are under stress.

Have a read of this:

https://www.allotment-garden.org/fruit/rhubarb-growing/

[DHM]

Is it the weather? Quite a few on our row have gone to flower, no obvious stress.

[mumofstig]

Last year was very dry, this spring has been dry as well, that may have caused the flowering - but it is very common. Just cut the flowering stems off and carry on as normal 

[snowdrops]

You shouldn’t harvest any this year to give it time to recover. Think what the roots were like, it’s going to take time for it to put new roots down. Keep it well watered & give it some manure or mulch now & in the autumn. Pick lightly next year, then you should be fine.

[Thrutchington]

Thanks all for the advice

[Thrutchington]

I've cut the bolted stems off, will leave the harvest for this year and mulch well with my own compost later in the year.

[AlaninCarlisle]

i have several clumps of rhubarb around the garden. My experience has always been that the clumps in the poorer soil, eg close to a hedge, have been the ones to throw up seed-heads. I therefore enrich the soil each autumn around them with copious amounts of well-rotted manure