How does rhubarb sprout from a root section without a crown?

I'm wondering if anyone ever saw it.
If going from a decent root section, should I bury the whole section, or leave a tiny piece above the ground?

Don't worry about the fact it doesn't have a crown, they're not needed, and the sections are big enough.

I tried to kill rhubarb this winter. Mived the crown to the new location and chopped the root into two inch sections.  I didn't get them all out of the soil and now i have about 40 new rhubarb plants coming up in a big area.  I don't know if any of the ones on the surface grew, these are all coming up from the soil.

They seem to survive less well if done in the growing season.  It's something about winter that makes them multiply.

If it's the first plant, I like to plant it as per normal.  In a couple of years, we can dig it up and split the root.  Before too long, there will be more rhubarb than sticks to shake at it.  But the ones from shops or nurseries seem to take a while to grow strong.

r ransom wrote:I tried to kill rhubarb this winter. Mived the crown to the new location and chopped the root into two inch sections.  I didn't get them all out of the soil and now i have about 40 new rhubarb plants coming up in a big area.  I don't know if any of the ones on the surface grew, these are all coming up from the soil.

Wow, I didn't know Rhubarb would spread like this! I knew comfrey would come back from quite small root sections, but I always thought Rhubarb needed a growing point or crown. This might be my new thing for the day

I also did not expect to be digging out so many rhubarb babies.  It should havs killed them off.  Not multiply like horseradish.

I suppose I need to spend time reading horticulture books to my plants now as they don't seem to know how they are supposed to behave.

It seems to do well from underground root segments

Early this spring I decided to dig up a two small rhubarb plants from my mom's, as a gift to a friend with a new house.

They were small plants (3 or 4 year old plants I had divided and removed half of last year, for my own garden),  so I made sure to get "all" the roots.

Anyways, he now has nice rhubarb plants.... And I can't even figure out which one of my mom's rhubarb I "entirely removed'. All 4 in the row  look the same.

r ransom wrote:I tried to kill rhubarb this winter. Mived the crown to the new location and chopped the root into two inch sections.  I didn't get them all out of the soil and now i have about 40 new rhubarb plants coming up in a big area.  I don't know if any of the ones on the surface grew, these are all coming up from the soil.

My question is more about the taper direction. I know if you plant a large root horizontally it will be spreading along the root to give a wider plant.

I rip apart every main root from the root ball, and they come back, but parts of the old root look almost like root rot

I haven't had new rhubarb spring from roots that are connected to the crown.  But it could be possible as we don't treat our rhubarb with kindness.

I don't know if it would work or not. Worth a try.  

ha, rhubarb really does not want to die. I dug up what I thought was all of a clump once and it just came back from every scrap I missed. Useful to know it'll regenerate from root sections without a crown though, might try that deliberately next time instead of waiting for offsets.

r ransom wrote:I haven't had new rhubarb spring from roots that are connected to the crown.  But it could be possible as we don't treat our rhubarb with kindness.

I don't know if it would work or not. Worth a try.  

It works, and even can even grow from a split root.

I've been here 11 years now and the horseradish patch is no bigger than before. It gets lots of water and seems very happy under the apple trees, but it's also surrounded by (and by late summer, overtopped by) long grass.

However, the rhubarb... I started with one plant. Canadian Red. It did not like where I first put it ... died back in June and I thought it had croaked. Next year there it was again, so I dug it up and moved it, but in the process broke the root into 3 pieces. Decided the next spot was in the way so I dug up them up to move again... one root was the size of your leg... and they broke again, and now I have 12. They haven't spread by root beyond where they are, but I sometimes let one bloom, and I get seedlings anywhere it's a bit shady and damp. The ground around its fence-shaded spot gets quite hot and dry, which probably discourages it from spreading further. (Definitely benefits from afternoon shade.)

I didn't pay any attention to root taper, I just made a ditch and dropped them in and covered them up. They seem to have paid no attention to where they started, and came up randomly kinda all over the designated area. And I moved them during June, and it was already hot. Apparently the sole required criterion is "piece of root, buried any which way".

If the roots have grown apace with after the first move, moving 'em again might need a backhoe. I'm afraid to dig down and look.

Side note: rhubarb sauce is wonderful on pork, chicken, and even beef!! (I add lemon pepper, too.) And you can mix it with chili sauce for a unique sweet-and-sour BBQ sauce.

Rez Zircon wrote:Side note: rhubarb sauce is wonderful on pork, chicken, and even beef!! (I add lemon pepper, too.) And you can mix it with chili sauce for a unique sweet-and-sour BBQ sauce.

I'll keep this in mind when I get a ton (literally) of rhubarb every year. Pork with Rhubarb sauce (instead of gravy).

This is really interesting to know - I have great difficulty getting the offsets to grow new roots and establish.  Maybe something to do with a very dry climate and insufficient hand watering.  I can give this method a try next time.
My favourite thing for rhubarb is chutney.  

Jill Dyer wrote:My favourite thing for rhubarb is chutney.  

Mine is Rhubarb on the stick.

I had no idea that rhubarb could grow from a segment of root, just like comfrey. That opens up all sorts of experiments on plants I want more of!
When I discover a plant that is not where I'd like it to be, I will now remove it, harvest the roots and attempt at multiplying them.
I have some comfrey but would love to have a lot more, only closer to the chickens, so here is a new project for my helpers and me.
We were talking about getting a second crop from store produce, and this falls pretty much in the same bag: Multiplying plants without spending a fortune.
Have you noticed the price of trees, bushes, seeds? It's getting nuts!
Time to get creative!

I ended up treating stray rhubarb roots like volunteer tomatoes and just potted them up to see which ones had some oomph. If a chunk has a bit of firmness and a visible bud, I tuck it in shallow and keep the soil slightly damp. The ones that take off usually show growth pretty quick, and the weak ones fade out, so it saves space and guessing.