Transplanting &/or Splitting Rhubarb Plants

A bucket of Rhubarb plants that I am transplanting & splitting.

Transplanting &/or Splitting Rhubarb Plants

For many years I thought that Rhubarb was a fruit, since it is used primarily in sweet recipes........actually - Rhubarb is a vegetable.

Every online garden site that I've researched recommends growing Rhubarb in full sun - ---personally I have never had success growing Rhubarb in a sunny area.  My Rhubarb thrives in a shady area (this area gets more shade than sun).  I grow "Strawberry Rhubarb"  so I'm not sure if that might make a difference.

To Transplant &/or Split

For this post I am actually transplanting my rhubarb because we are expanding some areas of our garden.  However, while I was transplanting I also split the rhubarb.  These steps also apply when you need to split your rhubarb plants (You need to split when you notice that your rhubarb plants seem to be bunched together with many new younger plants in this bunch - this "splitting" should be done every 3 to 5 years).

1.  Dig up the entire "bunch" of rhubarb (it would have originally been 1 plant that spread into a bunch).

2.  You will notice a few carrot shaped roots (as seen in the picture above - there is only 1 root in this picture because I already split the plant - it is dirt color).  Follow the root to the top and you should have 1 rhubarb plant per root (sometimes 1 root will have 2 smaller rhubarb plants at the top - in this case leave it as 1 plant rather than splitting).  Simply take both roots in hand (1 root in each hand) and gently break them apart (it should be quite easy to separate). 

3.  Dig 2 (or more) holes (depending on how many plants you have split from that 1 bunch of rhubarb)  Make sure these holes are deep enough for the long carrot shaped root.

4.  Place the rhubarb plant in the hole (carrot shaped root first of course) and fill in the dirt up to the beginning of the rhubarb stalk (see picture below)....pat the dirt in place.

That's it!  You might get a few tender Rhubarb stalks the first year (after splitting) but the real harvest starts in the second or third year.

I originally had 2 Rhubarb plants and I was able to split them into 5 Rhubarb plants.

ENJOY!!