mary flood asked 14 years ago
I read the piece on how to grow rhubarb – I would like to bring a stool of rhubarb from one house to another. Is now the time to do it. How do you know where to cut it and what does “crown” mean?. I have a small garden to put the new rhubarb in and am wondering if I should put it in a container rather than in the ground so that it does not take over. Why is it that people put ashes on rhubarb?.
Gerry Daly Staff answered 6 years ago
If you look at the base of the leaves you will see a rounded bud and that is the crown. A crown might have several buds and you can cut out a group of three or four with a spade, making sure to take out the thick roots that grow down from the crown as intact as possible.
Any piece that has both bud and root will be fine, big or small. But bigger bits will make useable leaves more quickly. The buds and the roots are easy to see when the leaves have rotted away in November.
Ashes might contain a small amount of potash and help to keep weeds down, but they are of marginal value. A good dressing of compost in winter or grass mowings in summer will do more to boost growth.
