When it comes to holes in your rhubarb leaves, the most likely reason is due to slugs and snails. What is this? Slugs and snails can cause great damage to your rhubarb plant as they feed on the leaves and cause massive gaping holes.
Can you eat rhubarb with holes in it?
Similarly, if the rhubarb stalks have a few “scars”, holes, or other imperfections, these can simply be cut off and discarded when processing your rhubarb harvest!
Why do my rhubarb leaves have spots?
Cause Ascochyta rhei and Ramularia rhei, fungi that overwinter on old rhubarb leaves and stalks. These fungi also can spread through infected rootstock. Leaf spots are common on field-grown rhubarb west of the Cascade Range due to frequent rains in March and April when leaves and stalks are actively growing.
What has eaten my rhubarb leaves?
Slugs eat rhubarb leaves but the mesh would obviously not stop them, so it is something bigger. Possums will also eat the leaves and seem to survive the Oxalic Acid they contain. Birds such as Pukekos will also eat the leaves. You could try setting a possum trap and see if that is the culprit.
What’s wrong with my rhubarb plant?
Root and Crown Rots (fungi and bacteria)
Rhubarb plants affected by fungi and bacteria causing root and crown rots show a lack of ability to thrive. Leaves may turn yellow to red and collapse. The crowns, when examined, exhibit a brown-black decay. Large roots lack the characteristic small feeder roots.
Do you cut back rhubarb for winter?
Answer: Don’t cut back the rhubarb until the foliage and stalks have been destroyed by a hard freeze. To produce a good crop next spring, rhubarb plants must manufacture and store adequate levels of food in their roots. The foliage continues to manufacture food as long as it’s healthy.
Should I stop rhubarb flowering?
So, if your rhubarb should happen to bolt, remove the flowering stalks just as soon as they are visible, to which the plant will likely respond by sending up another. If you keep at it, soon the plant will return to the desired priority for foliage production.
What is the best fertilizer for rhubarb?
For the highest yields of rhubarb stems, fertilize your plants three times per year. Apply 2 to 3 inches of composted manure, compost or ½ cup of an all-purpose garden fertilizer, such as 10-10-10, around each plant in early spring (now).
How do you keep rhubarb healthy?
It is important to keep rhubarb plants well-watered for the first year or two. Mulch will help to minimize water loss and maintain a more consistent moisture level. To maintain good production, add a few shovelfuls of compost around the crowns each spring.
What does root rot look like on rhubarb?
Phytophthora crown or “root rot” is a serious disease of rhubarb. Slight, sunken lesions at the base of the stalks enlarge rapidly, resulting in wilted leaves and collapse of the entire stalk. The crown and roots turn brown or black and begin to disintegrate.
How do I stop slugs eating my rhubarb leaves?
Natural Slug Control and Prevention
- Preventative Measures. Obviously, the best method of slug and snail control is prevention.
- Thin Plants.
- Avoid Night-time Watering.
- Hand Pick the Slugs.
- Flower Pot Traps.
- Beer Slug Traps.
- Sharp Barriers.
- Encourage Natural Predators.
Can I use copper fungicide on rhubarb?
Examine stalks for watery spots which enlarge as the rhubarb disease progresses, Leaves will wilt and die. As soon as you spot this rhubarb disease, apply a fixed copper or sulfur-based fungicide every seven to 10 days.
Should I remove yellow leaves from rhubarb?
In the first year it is best to leave a few leaves on the rhubarb rather than harvest them all as that is what is supplying the food to the crown and helping it regenerate next season. Make sure it is in free draining soil rich in compost as they don’t like drying out.
Can you overwater rhubarb?
Rhubarb should not be overwatered because it is susceptible to crown rot. If you water your rhubarb, do so early in the day to allow the surface of the soil around the plants to dry out during the rest of the day.
What insect attacks rhubarb?
Fortunately, the eggs of this insect do not hatch when deposited in rhubarb. The rhubarb curculio (or rhubarb weevil) is a large snout beetle, about 1/2 inch long. It is dark colored, with a yellow powdery material dusted on its back. The yellowish covering easily rubs off when the insect is handled.
What should not be planted near rhubarb?
Sunflowers- Avoid planting Rhubarb alongside sunflowers and thistles which are all susceptible to curculios, a boring weevil. Rhubarb in particular falls prey to Rhubarb Curculios which can do a lot of damage leaving notches in the stalks and leaves.
How many years does a rhubarb plant live?
Rhubarb plants are generally hardy and long-lived, with some varieties growing for 20 years or longer.
Is it better to cut or pull rhubarb?
Depending on the variety, they may be only 12 inches long, or as long as two feet. To pick rhubarb, hold the stalk firmly, pull and twist. Do not use a knife to cut the stalks from the plant. The knife can carry diseases from plant to plant, and the remaining stalk can be a point of entry for other pests.
How do you grow thick rhubarb stalks?
Rhubarb is a heavy feeder and needs to be planted in soil high in organic matter if you want to have large, thick rhubarb stalks. It helps the plant to cultivate around it, and to keep it mulched, weed-free, and well watered. The plant also likes a neutral pH soil.
Is it bad to let rhubarb go to seed?
No, they won’t actually harm the plant. Nor will they affect the flavor of the rhubarb. But they will greatly limit your harvest. The simple reason is that it takes a plant a lot of energy to produce flowers and seeds and that is energy is being diverted from producing the actual edible stalks.
How do you pick rhubarb so it keeps growing?
When stalks are sliced with a knife, the part left behind withers away… and that’s it. In contrast, twisting and pulling off the stalk allows it to separate from the bottom of the plant near the roots. This tells the plant to regrow a new stalk, giving you a more fruitful harvest and a healthier rhubarb plant.