rhubarb problem.

good morning. has any rhubarb growers got any advice about red leaf.is it a diseased crown. is it a problem for eating. if it is diseased do i dig it up or can it be cured any advice would be much appreciated. thanks for your time regards peter

 

My rhubarb has all its leaves after dying back for winter now and they did change colour before collapsing. Its standard practice with growing it outdoors here that harvesting the stalks stops in September to allow the crown and roots build up enough energy for a good start sprouting up again in spring. It never keeps its leaves over winter here. Will be covering mine with a good mulch of manure fairly soon. It usually stays dormant until early March. Are you growing yours indoors? Not too familiar with the method of forcing rhubarb to produce over winter indoors so you might need some advice from someone else if that is what you are asking about.

Happy gardening!

 

hello macraignil. this has never happened before until this year.i inherited the plant with the house about five years now. the red leaf seemed to start about august and i know summer was not a good one.so i did not know if it was a diseased crown it just seems strange.i always take away old stalks in september and refresh with new compost.thanks for reply peter.stay safe.PS growing outdoors.

 

August would be early for the leaves to be dying back for winter but if not picked I find the older leaves can change colour and die back anyway. I guess the plant can take the nutrients from the older leaves and use them for new growth. If it is continuing to produce healthy green new leaves then the odd leaf loosing its normal colour is unlikely to be a problem in my opinion. You can take sections off the crown in January and February if you think it might be worth starting some growing in a new spot in case you think there is something wrong with the way yours is currently growing. Posted a video of how I did that with mine here.
It generally does not like drying out so maybe some extra organic material in the soil might help and make sure the nearby vegetation is not too close and competing with it too much for water. I have never worried about removing older growth and let it die back to improve the soil without it being a problem in my own garden.