Transplant Rhubarb: When Can You Transplant It?

Last updated on October 23rd, 2023 at 08:33 pm

Only 20 calories per 100 grams, plus a lot of vitamins and minerals and its unique taste, make the rhubarb so popular! Although rhubarb is considered a vegetable, it is mainly used for sweet dishes such as pies and desserts. It is grown by amateur gardeners all over the world. If the harvest success decreases, a change of location can help. When is the best time to transplant rhubarb?

Rhubarb location

Rhubarb plants do well in partial shade to sunny places. The place should be protected from rain and wind. In principle, the vegetable is considered very easy to care for.

Transplant Rhubarb: When Can You Transplant It?

In the second year of stand can be harvested first stalks of rhubarb. From April to mid-June rhubarb is ready for harvest. Never remove all the stalks of rhubarb! The plant still needs some shoots to continue photosynthesis. Do not cut the stalks, but simply twist them out.

In winter, the plant disappears, retreating completely into the tuber. Then, in the spring, the new sprouting occurs.

Transplant rhubarb


Vegetable Rheum rhabarbarum is considered a heavy grower. Continuously, nutrients are removed from the soil. After a few years, the soil is so depleted that the crop yield decreases. Then a change of location can help.

After seven years at the latest, rhubarb plants should be moved. If you want to be sure, you should check the nutrient content of the substrate beforehand.
At a new location, the plants will again find sufficient nutrients to spoil you with a good harvest in the years to come. Transplanting acts as a rest cure for the rhubarb. When transplanting, the plants can be divided and propagated.

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Timing and site conditions

The best time for transplanting is from September to October, just before winter dormancy. It is also possible to transplant rhubarb in the spring, before budbreak begins.

Site conditions:

  • sunny to semi-shady
  • protected from wind and rain
  • well-drained humus garden soil
  • pH-value between 5 and 6
  • sufficient space

Note: Pay attention to the requirements of the surrounding plants. Quickly, these are displaced by the highly consumptive rhubarb and eventually impaired in their development. Peas, spinach and beans are well suited for mixed cultivation with rhubarb.”

Transplanting procedure:

  • Dig large planting hole
  • observe spacing
  • dig plants deep with a spade
  • line planting hole with gravel or clay shards
  • add compost
  • insert rhubarb plant, buds must remain above the ground
  • fill up with loose soil, tamp down and water in
  • apply mulch layer


Note: When transplanting multiple rhubarb plants, be sure to space them about three feet apart

Divide rhubarb plants

Transplant Rhubarb: When Can You Transplant It?


When rhubarb has grown very large, you can divide the plants well in the process of relocation. The best time to divide is in the fall. The right time is when the rhubarb leaves are wilting.
Instructions:

Cut off wilted leaves just above the ground.

  1. divide roots with a clean, sharp spade.
  2. cuttings should weigh at least one kilogram and should contain at least one bud and two leaf buds.
  3. cut surfaces must be well dried.
  4. plant cuttings in the new location in a planting hole with loose, humus-rich soil.
  5. buds should be close under the soil.
  6. fill hole with planting soil, tamp down and water well.
    [infobox type=”info” content=”Note: Rhubarb is considered low maintenance and hardy. Nevertheless, transplanting or dividing means a challenge for the plant. Give it some rest and time to get used to the new location. In the first year after relocation, remove only a few stems. Experienced gardeners, meanwhile, do not harvest divided plants at all during the first year.”]
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Author

  • James Jones

    Meet James Jones, a passionate gardening writer whose words bloom with the wisdom of an experienced horticulturist. With a deep-rooted love for all things green, James has dedicated his life to sharing the art and science of gardening with the world. James's words have found their way into countless publications, and his gardening insights have inspired a new generation of green thumbs. His commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship shines through in every article he crafts.

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