[WeavingGryphon]

Can anyone advise me how to treat these rhubarb plants. It's several plants in the same bed and it's not mine, I'm just looking after it while the coronavirus is on the go.

• It's very stunted, and they could do with being divided. It's too late now since they are active so I'll do it this autumn. One plant has 13  buds, 5 sitting side by side pressing against each other so they don't have space to throw out stalks. Although some of the buts are some further out.
• Some of the stalks on the plants are almost normal thickness, others are 1/2 to 1/3 smaller size, all are less than a foot tall. They weren't much bigger last year. Some are short and wide, others short and tall, others tall and thin. They just don't look right in comparison to our rhubarb and other's I've stared at
• In comparison some rhubarb on our allotment site is almost 2 feet tall and the stalks aren't that varied in size. Stalks of the same height have similar widths
• The leaves are yellow (lack of water),
• the stalks are splitting on the plant.
• They were very dry, I watered them and will water them more in future.
• I don't think they've been fed. Which is why I mentioned they've been stunted a lot in recent years.

I am tempted to divide the worst plant in situ, not dig it it out since it is right on the surface and plant the part I take off where another plant has died off. A bad sign that they've killed rhubarb.

[Nobbie]

I think I would prepare a new bed for it over summer. Dig it deeply and add plenty of organic matter like compost or well rotted manure. Then split and replant in the autumn.

[WeavingGryphon]

I think I would prepare a new bed for it over summer. Dig it deeply and add plenty of organic matter like compost or well rotted manure. Then split and replant in the autumn.

It's a community plant, I'm looking after it (mumble mumble bit neglected to get into this state). It's heavily harvested, I'm concerned that being heavily harvested for the summer long will drain it's reserves. But now maybe the time to go for it with the older section of the community, who are the ones who mostly harvest it stuck in their houses. It maybe harvested less this year and get more peace than next year. Touch wood things return to normal by them.

Does this change things? It's only just started growing a couple of weeks ago, is it too late to take the middle out of it?

I can't do a proper job of it at the minute, or next year can I?