Anyone who plants rhubarb in the garden knows that the vegetable is quite undemanding. However, you should share your rhubarb at least every ten years. With it, you can get a bigger yield.
But how do you properly divide a rhubarb plant?
You should always divide your rhubarb with a spade. Rhubarb has very deep roots. You should therefore expose the roots very generously in order to be able to divide the root system as far down as possible. Make sure that the new plants have at least three to four buds. Then stab the plant with the spade, trying to damage the roots as little as possible. Read more about this in the article Sharing perennials.
When to share?
We always share in autumn. The ideal time is when the first leaves are turning brown. If you divide your rhubarb too early then you risk not giving the plant enough vigor to grow. Since the rhubarb roots should not remain in the air for too long, you have to dig out the new planting hole before dividing. To do this, you must loosen the soil as deeply as possible and mix it with mature compost. You should always plant the rhubarb in a sunny spot afterwards.
Rhubarb needs a close season
After planting, you have to water the rhubarb well and also mulch it with compost. You should not harvest the transplanted rhubarb plant for the first two years, as it needs a closed season. That's why you should also leave part of the hive in the place where it was and only transplant it again after these two years. But after these two years you can harvest a lot of rhubarb.