tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post4120765096524836952..comments2024-03-27T07:35:21.832-07:00Comments on Plants are the Strangest People: Random plant event: Rheum sp. flowersmr_subjunctivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-26654405309631688482010-04-29T08:30:14.245-07:002010-04-29T08:30:14.245-07:00From the Kansas State University weekly email come...From the Kansas State University weekly email comes the following: <br />Rhubarb Harvest and Seedstalks <br /> Rhubarb, like asparagus, is a perennial vegetable. It is harvested for the leaf stem, which<br />is also called a petiole. Some years, especially those with long, cool springs, rhubarb will<br />produce large, hollow-stemmed seedstalks that arise from the center of the plant. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-40418624992212934832010-04-28T11:13:33.936-07:002010-04-28T11:13:33.936-07:00So far as I'm concerned, they can flower their...So far as I'm concerned, they can flower their heads off - no need to worry about the vigor of rhubarb. Roots go to China and clumps muscle their way across the bed and lord help anything in their path. Bent a spading fork one year trying to take a clump out for a friend. As the joke goes, "good though".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-71144230305858995272010-04-28T08:50:02.717-07:002010-04-28T08:50:02.717-07:00The flowers look similar to the wild Rhubarb seen ...The flowers look similar to the wild Rhubarb seen on this page:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.wildflowersofcolorado.com/html/white_page_7.html" rel="nofollow">Wildflowers of Colorado</a> (fourth and fifth photos on the page.)Karen715https://www.blogger.com/profile/15979479537943300181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-5850379273332195372010-04-28T07:41:36.446-07:002010-04-28T07:41:36.446-07:00That is definitely rhubarb. İt does tend not to fl...That is definitely rhubarb. İt does tend not to flower in the shade or if the soil is not rich enough so that might very well have happened with your parent's plant. People do cut off the flowers to preserve the plant's energy for the production of stalks but İ am bit sceptical as to how much of a difference it actually makes. İ can never get myself to cut the flower stalks off because Nichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07291223943168030684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-91120475323856233682010-04-28T06:05:38.672-07:002010-04-28T06:05:38.672-07:00Doesn't quite look like the rhubarb I'm fa...Doesn't quite look like the rhubarb I'm familiar with, but I've never grown it. I know it grows wonderfully in the higher elevations of New Mexico where the leaves get quite huge. That's why I've always been fond of it. I've never actually eaten it either.Lancehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17953459540634785074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-73692900498229601092010-04-28T06:02:03.198-07:002010-04-28T06:02:03.198-07:00Unless the photos that come up in a Google image s...Unless the photos that come up in a Google image search for <i>Rumex obtusifolius</i> are extremely wrong, that's not what it is.mr_subjunctivehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-47097091132723040432010-04-28T04:11:20.120-07:002010-04-28T04:11:20.120-07:00From the photos alone, I'm not certain if this...From the photos alone, I'm not certain if this is rhubarb or possibly the common perennial weed broad-leafed dock (Rumex obtusifolius), which is in the same family (Polygonaceae).<br /><br />There are non-flowering varieties of rhubarb, though a lot of the rhubarb I see in gardens does flower.<br /><br /> I'm also not sure how effective cutting down the flower stalks would be at directingDonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01886233441603021667noreply@blogger.com