why is my rhubarb so easy to kill?

I planted it in a moist spot, with lots of rich soil, downhill from manure runoff.

It should be happy.

But over half of them have died in the last three years.

I'm going to dig them up this winter and make more plants, let them freeze and all that.  But what else do they need to be happy?  

Oddly enough, rhubarb seems to thrive on neglect. I once brought some home, in mid-autumn - a gift from a friend. I was in a hurry, when I got home, and just dropped them next to the driveway, to get them out of the car. Well, I never did get them planted. I thought they'd withered and died, as the weeds grew up around them, then the Chicago winter hit. The next spring, I couldn't tell they'd been there, other than a dark spot, where they'd decayed. Later, that summer, some weird weeds came up in that spot, but as a single mom, working 2 jobs, I didn't care. I didn't have time or energy to deal with them. The next spring - 15 or so months after I'd dropped them on the ground, those weird weeds started to look familiar. That summer, I had a bumper crop of rhubarb! And the next summer - and the next!

I've been wondering if it's because it seldom gets cold enough for the soil to freeze here?  Or a missing/excess of a mineral in the soil?

I do try to ignore them except for picking and MAYBE trimming up some of the grass/weeds that get too high.

I am not sure if this is of any help

When i was growing up we had a rhubarb plant in our back yard. It was growing under some pine/spruce trees. It was shaded most of the year and aside from me peeing on it, and it getting dumped the grass clippings, it seemed to do ok. If i remember correctly it would get the dog pop as well.

This was back before i knew anything about gardening.....

The spot by the driveway, where I dumped them was full sun, and was half rocks, that had been run into the dirt, by countless drivers, cutting the turn short, over the span of about 75yrs. The house was old, and huge, and most of the 6.5 acres of soil was beautiful, dark loamy, and amazing for gardening - but not there. In that spot, it was heavily compacted, rocky, and in very bad shape. The winters were harsh (bitter cold, windy, stark), and so were the summers (hot, humid, and cars kicking in more gravel, and occasionally running over it, and lots of foot traffic over it, that first spring and summer). It got no water, that wasn't rain, or the kids, playing under the sprinkler I got for them. I had to pay the water bill, so that didn't happen much - maybe 3 or 4 times, over the whole season.

I was gifted a rhubarb in a 1/2 gallon pot.  Technically I was asked to hold it for a friend that ended up not wanting it .  It lived in that pot for 2 or 3 years, never once amended.  The first 2 summers it repeatedly got dried out and I thought I'd killed it but it kept coming back.  In its 3rd year it went to seed, it was in a slightly larger pot at that point.  I collected loads of viable seed from it and it never came back.  Been meaning to plant some more.

I got the impression they were indestructible based on my experience with that one plant!

r ranson wrote:I've been wondering if it's because it seldom gets cold enough for the soil to freeze here?  

Maybe that is why I have such problems with mine. I have planted them in every part of the yard I can think of and they never do well. I have a friend who grows them in containers in "store dirt" in a place much hotter than me and has great success, so I assumed it was some problem here. I've had them rot from moisture and die from dryness. Good soil, crappy soil. In fairness I did lose a few to a guy who trampled them. I feel like I'm constantly looking for new rhubarb plants to replace the most recent casualty.

My weather is very similar to yours, Raven, and I haven't had any problems with rhubarb, and I'm pretty good at killing stuff (my poor tomato plants that I bought and thought would be okay for one night while I figured out cloches for them....well, they're dead now). Anyway, I've never really done anything for my rhubarb. I planted it in a hugel next to strawberries and blueberries (note: don't plant blueberries too close to rhubarb, because that giant tap root seems to kill the blueberries too close to it). I never water mine. It's done fine through winters with snow and without. Mine have never died in the summer, nor made flowers. They're just happy.

Maybe it's the variety? Mine came from my grandma's rhubarb plant. I'm going to ask her how old it is.

Maybe they like more carbon than nitrogen, or just less nitrogen in general? I've never fertilized mine, and it's growing in a hugel. My mom has a huge one, and it gets mulched with woodchips. Pretty sure she's never fertilized it, either.

Maybe if the ground is too rich, they don't make deep taproots, and then are more susceptible to damage in the winter/summer?

I'm wondering if it's the cultivar.  Maybe if you could get some from someone nearby who is having good luck with theirs?

I had three miserable plants in an orchard.  I dug the biggest two up (soil was the nicest darkest soil on my place) and put them in full sun and sandy soil.  They took off and we harvested a ton last year.  This spring I dug up the last miserable one and put it out in a sandy field to fight with a raspberry patch.

I'm guessing you just have a bad plant?

There are about 8 different varieties from different people around town, including two commercial bought kinds.  They all seem to be doing the same.

too much moisture?

Well, there goes my theory...  Yes, maybe it's too wet.  I guess I don't know ideal conditions but several posters are mentioning a dry or well drained location working out...

My guess is it's probably not due to the ground rarely freezing. It doesn't freeze much here & mine are thriving. They're not in especially good soil & I never water them although we get consistent rains throughout the year. Our soil is slightly acidic. To make more I cut them in half with a shovel & remove one part to put somewhere else. I usually divide ones that are trying to go to seed. That discourages seeding & gets the plant back into making stems. Good luck figuring out the problem with yours. Such a tasty plant!

I’m wondering if being downhill of the manure runoff and too much moisture is the culprit.  Maybe too much of a good thing.

When my grandmother was dying of cancer, my infant daughter and I moved in to take care of her.  On my days back home I gathered every large pot, planter and window box I could find and created a garden in her yard. One of the things I planted from seed was “Victoria” rhubarb.  Many of those plants were passed on and a few ended up in my yard as well.  At the time I had two old and clumsy black labs who were detrimental to anything in a pot smaller than they were.  So, I put part of my crops inside of an unused 6x8 dog kennel to keep them safe.  Now fast forward four years and in an attempt to free up some of those containers that have been pretty neglected, I find two small rhubarb plants growing in a window box.  Yes, they’re still pretty small but thriving on neglect after being partially shaded by by a huge clump of comfrey.  They will soon have a place of honor in my new garden area.  Too be honest, I’m pretty sure all of the rhubarb seedlings had been removed from that planter years ago, though I could have mistaken them for burdock seedlings which seem to pop up everywhere.

I planted it in a moist spot

My understanding is rhubarb likes “well drained” soil and that is why it grows so well in our area of sandy soil.