Last Spring I was given a rather large old rhubarb crown. Having split it in two and left it out in the cold I planted each half and resisted picking any stem last summer in order to allow the plants to fully establish.

While out in the garden yesterday I noticed that one of the rhubarb plants has produced some pretty amazing looking flowers. They look a bit like purple sprouting broccoli.

It is a bit of a misconception that rhubarb plants flower just before they die.In this case I suspect the unusually dry winter followed by the very warm early Spring has fooled them into thinking it is late summer.

All I’ll do to this plant is to remove the flowers so that all of it’s energy can be diverted into producing more tasty stems rather than flowering with an aim to producing seed. Hopefully the plant will carry on as normal as it now looks very well established.