Can you eat rhubarb after it flowers?
While the flower or seed stalks should not be used, the leaf stalks are edible. However, the flower stalks should be promptly pulled and discarded. If allowed to develop, the flower stalks reduce plant vigor and next year’s production. Dig and divide large, old rhubarb plants in early spring or late summer.Click to see full…
While the flower or seed stalks should not be used, the leaf stalks are edible. However, the flower stalks should be promptly pulled and discarded. If allowed to develop, the flower stalks reduce plant vigor and next year’s production. Dig and divide large, old rhubarb plants in early spring or late summer.Click to see full answer. Thereof, should I cut the flowers off rhubarb?Since rhubarb is grown for the stems, most gardeners choose to remove the flowers as soon as they appear so the plant can focus its energy on leaf growth. Rhubarb flowers can simply be cut from the plant as soon as you see it appear. If your rhubarb produces a flower, this does not affect the stems and leaves.Furthermore, can you eat rhubarb after it goes to seed? A rhubarb plant that is allowed to go to seed won’t yield as large of a harvest as it otherwise would have. Ideally you really want to avoid letting your rhubarb plant even get to the point where there are flower stalks. I’ve heard the flower stalks are edible but remove and discard the flowers and leaves. Secondly, when should you not eat rhubarb? Rhubarb Stalks Become Toxic in Summer There are two good reasons not to eat them in summer. They tend to get woody in late summer and don’t taste as good. If you harvest too many stalks in spring, the plant needs some leaves to grow food for next years crop.What should I do if my rhubarb flowers?Remove flower stalks as soon as they appear to prevent them weakening the crowns. Flowering is usually worse after wet summers or where high nitrogen feed has been overused.
