Rhubarb Propogation

Hi Guys, its me again - the complete amateur !
I just purchased some Rhubarb seeds from ebay! Any tips on seed sowing / propogation ? The varieties are: Glaskins Perpetual & Victoria !

I look forward to your replies.

Seasons greetings to you all.

 

I'm not very well up on rhubarb growing or it varieties oktarine but I'm not sure how you can get a variety from seed.
Most plant varieties need to be propagated by division or cuttings to come true to type.
I suppose they could be strains that will come reasonably true.
I would be interested to hear what some of the veggy growers have to say.

 

Well, success has come my way.

I purchased some seed from Orkney Seeds via Ebay - Victoria variety.

Planted in (my own home made ) compost in peat pots, on a sunny windowsill in my conservatory. I planted 6 off on 30th December, and now have 3 out of the 6 propogated.

I will not be able to crop from these in first year or two, but hey, I'm overjoyed at my success !

I also planted 8 off Glaskins perpetual at the same time, and am waiting for these to propogate. If these are successful, I expect to be able to crop these this year.

As only Pete replied to my original post, I ventured to the library in my quest for info. The best book I found was a 1960's copy of Odhams Big Book of Gardening, which I've since managed to buy a copy of from an Oxfam bookshop in Maidstone. Its a really great book for a novice like me well worth 50p !, and I would reccomend it to you all. Worth a laugh too when reading the section " How to dig" - the illustrations are of a guy wearing a suit and tie !!!!

I'll let you know how I get on.

 

Now have 9 out of 14 seeds propogated !

I've got some seeds left over . If anyone fancies a try at these, email me. First reply gets them. There's only about half dozen left mind !

 

I too have got some rhubarb seeds and I am looking at planting them this weekend, hope I'm not too late.

Good Luck

 

Hello!
I would love to give them a try!
The only thing I know about rhubarb is how to make a good crumble but wanting to learn!
I am a complete beginner both on this site and in the gardenning world!

 

Hi french flower, drop me an email with your address and i will post them to you.

 

You guys hoping to have rhubarb in 5 years time?
Even planting a root it is recommended that you dont pull stalks to eat for maybe the first two years (certainly the first one)
It would be great to grow from seed. But why not buy a root too? And enjoy the rhubarb crumble earlier?

 

Im hoping to harvest the Glaskins in the first year, the Victoria in 2 - 3 years.

I have been advised that this is well within normal expectations , and i guess we'll see !

The bonus for me is growing this from seed. Seedlings are currently 3" tall after 4 weeks so I remain optimistic.

As for buying a root , where from ? Cant find them anywhere. Can you advise ?

 

Sounds as though they do grow very quickly
Wonderwoman just bought a root from Homebase for �£3.99 (three roots in the bag) because our old plant is past its best. Probably if it was split it would be fine, but I think she wants to try a different variety
Never argue with a woman

 

I've been lazy and have ordered 3 roots from organicgardener, at �£8.90.

This was my biggest buy this year, and I was unsure whether to go for it.

You can't take money with you, though!

 

Very true TC .

The main thing for me was that I'm not in a rush. Not saying that you are, its just that so many people think of gardening as a seasonal thing and they want the instant results.

I read a thread last week that stated " My gardening season has just started" which made me laugh ! My gardening season never stops - i.e. I'm in for the long haul.

There is always something going on in the garden, and i try to be out there at least 5 times a week, and come summer at least once per day. I may only have 10 mins each day, but if you are careful, thats all you need.

I'm looking forward to getting out there a bit more, constructing my raised beds, sowing my seeds and generally trying to learn / fathom out what i need to do next.

TTFN

 

I got rhubarb stools many yrs ago form my FIL garden still have them and have split them many times.

 

good stuff oktarine - I have a similar attitude (half of me), but also like instant results (the other half)!