Splitting Rhubarb

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bakerboy7

Smoke Blower
Original poster
Jan 10, 2011
111
12
Pittsburgh, PA
When we bought this house about 5 years ago, a fairly decent garden had been established and to our delight, there was quite a bit of rhubarb.  Now, I've tended a garden most of my life but don't have any experience with rhubarb other than harvesting and cooking.

The plants have done well but are starting to show their age and I would like to split them.  I've done a ton of research but thought that I'd ask the experts here.

Are there any tricks to successfully splitting and transplanting rhubarb?  I will be cultivating a new spot for these new plants.

I guess I should mention that I am in Southwest PA.  It looks like the weather will be warming up soon and I don't want to wait too long.
 
There should be a lot of help for you on here soon.

All I know about Rhubarb is that "Strawberry Rhubarb Pie" has always been my absolute favorite pie, right ahead of Mrs Bear's Raspberry Chiffon Pie.

Give my Western neighbor some help here please!

Bear
 
Some Rhubarbs have a central tap root that cannot be split. Others however when they get crowded develop several smaller side tap roots. Those you can easily dig up and seperate. I moved some of mine from the old home to my new home and all did well traveling without any soil wrapped in an wet newspaper. They usually take a year or two to settle in, then once the roots take hold they grow like weeds.

I love rhubarb and rasberry pie tempered with lots of sugar to offset the sour barbs.
 
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