Cut off the flower stalk—not the leaf stalks—at the base (don’t twist the flower stalk; instead, use a knife or pruning shears to make a clean cut on these tougher stalks). This way, the plant can focus its energy on forming leaf stalks (which might be useful to you now!). To help prevent bolting again this year, add mulch to keep roots cool during warm spells. Be sure that the plant is getting enough water, light, and nutrients, and isn’t overcrowded. Add lots of organic matter in fall. You should have many happy harvests in your future!

Because your rhubarb is in its third year, we’ll assume it’s not just a white variety. Perhaps your plant is getting too much sun. If the stalks are the right size for harvesting, try cutting off one to test, then take the rest if it seems ready. If not, let it mature a bit more.

Congratulations on keeping the rhubarb going in the garage. It must be in good soil in a good place. Thin stalks are typical of a first-year plant. As noted above, it is best not to harvest in the first year. You can repot it; this should not harm the plant. Set it in plenty of organic/composted matter and it should thrive. As for how much would you need for a pie, this one requires 2 ½ cups: https://www.almanac.com/recipe/strawberry-rhubarb-pie-coconut-crumb-topping

You can see more rhubarb recipes, using varying amounts, that might appeal to you, too: https://www.almanac.com/content/best-rhubarb-recipes

It’s natural for rhubarb to flower and go to seed. However, you can delay that stage a few ways: Grow Canada Red or Valentine varieties; they are less likely to bolt that “old-fashioned” varieties such as Victoria and MacDonald (these are heavy stalk producers). Older/more mature plants are more likely to bolt than younger ones, although dividing every 4 to 5 years, as it sounds like you did, can essentially rejuvenate mature plants. Applying fertilizer (a balanced type, e.g. 12-12-12) or well composted manure in spring can also delay/discourage bolting. If your plant volts/produces flowers, it is recommended that you remove them, so it will focus its energy on producing leaves.

We are not familiar with rhubarb compared with corn, but the stem and leaf tissue of rhubarb can be damaged by the European corn borer larvae, which as the name indicates is a pest of corn, both sweet and grain.

Hi, Candy. Some varieties of rhubarb are more prone to producing flowers than others. Do not worry about that. The holes, those you should worry about. If the holes are ragged and fairly big, check for a trail of slime–as slugs sometimes like to eat rhubarb leaves. Tiny to moderate holes in the leaves could be beetles, such as the Japanese beetle. Caterpillars, such as the European corn borer and imported cabbageworm, may sometimes attack leaves or stalks. Other pests, such as aphids or rhubarb curculio, make punctures rather than chewing holes. Look underneath the leaves, and at the base of plants in the soil, for any lurking pest. To learn about garden pests and diseases, check out this page.

You can definitely move the plants for a harvest next year, but rhubarb doesn’t grow well in the shade so you will not likely have a good crop this year.

Sounds like you hit the jackpot! If you have nice strong (celery-size) stalks, it’s ready to eat—but not the leaves; they are poisonous. Twist off the stalks at the root or use a knife to slice them off. Take as many as you like/need; it should continue to produce for a few weeks. Leave the smaller stalks…they’ll get bigger. Enjoy!

Is this an established plant, that had been producing fine but then started to be spindly? If so, it could be that the plant is now overcrowded–sometimes the crown needs dividing every 5 to 15 years, ideally in late winter/early spring or in fall when the plant is dormant. Or, if this is a new plant, does it have enough nutrients to establish itself? Avoid harvesting the first year, and only harvest lightly the second. After those years, only remove ⅓ to ½ of the plant, so that there are enough stalks remaining so that the leaves can make food for the plant to keep it healthy. Another problem that sometimes occurs is when the plant is set too deep (more than 1 or 2 inches), sometimes causing weak or delayed growth. You might also check for insects and disease, such as crown rot. Be sure that the plant has enough water (but soil is not waterlogged); if it is growing in part shade, the stems will be more spindly. Hope this helps!

Hi, Carol. In southern Tennessee, rhubarb won’t be as healthy or robust as it would be if grown in an area with cooler, moist summers and winters with temperatures that freeze the soil. You can try growing in containers, but your rhubarb will likely be short lived.

Hi Andy,

You did well not to harvest any earlier, but the frost will kill off everything that remains: Harvest as much as you want, discard the leaves, and spread a layer of mulch around the base of the plant to help to protect the roots during winter. Thanks for writing!

Cut the rhubarb into small pieces (about 1-inch long) and lay them in one layer on a baking sheet. Put the baking sheet in the freezer and wait until rhubarb is frozen–a few hours. Remove baking sheet and pack rhubarb into freezer safe zip-close bags. If you are storing rhubarb for more than a few months, you will need to blanch it before freezing.

You can follow the guidelines above as to how many weeks to harvest–through end of summer, before the first frost, is usually fine. Schedule just a few weeks of harvest, then give the plant time to recover, especially for winter. For each plant, harvest only about one third of the stalks. Plants should be mature (at least 3 years old) before starting to fully harvest. Stalks should be firm, not soft. Rhubarb usually can tolerate temperatures in the low 30s, even upper 20s (degrees F), but can suffer damage below that. One has to be careful about rhubarb, because if the leaves suffer cold damage, the oxalic acid from the leaves may filter into the stalks, making them toxic as well. Signs of cold damage are blackened, shriveled, limp leaves and limp, mushy stalks. If you see any damage to either leaf or stalk, discard both leaf and stalk.