I just harvested my Rhubarb plant by cutting the stalks a couple inches above the ground, then proceded to search the net and found that cutting the stalks is not a good idea. I guess it allows deasese to enter the plant. Is there anything I can do now? Did I just kill my plant? Any insite would greatly appreciated !!! Jim
Since the stalks are what you eat... Maybe what you read was to not cut all the stalks on a plant at once.
The debate as to pulling the rhubarb stalks or cutting them has been going on for years. It appears to be a personal choice, but your observation about disease if cutting probably has a slight bit of merit. Plus it is often difficult to cut the stalks, since they are usually crowded in a healthy stand of rhubarb. My method is to pull gently the larger stalks about a quarter to a third at any one time. I will pull some crossed-over stalks or some that are not getting any sun. Usually I get four pulls during a growing season. After about the 20 of June in Zone 5 no more stalks are used, since the plant needs some energy to rejuvinate for next year's growth. Rhubarb is a most forgiving plant. http://www.durgan.org/Blog/Durgan.html
