Rhubarb Aficionados, Mammoth?

[BlueDog]

Hello all, along with tomatoes, I really enjoy growing rhubarb. I’ve got a hankering for some tart rhubarb cream pie just typing this.

In my journey, I’ve been trying to find the variety “Mammoth” or sometimes called “Stott’s Mammoth”. I would love to add it to my collection, but it seems like it may be my white whale.

If anyone has any leads, I’d be most appreciative!

[rxkeith]

how do we determine if we have mammoth or not. i was give my rhubarb by a co worker several years ago from what she had growing forever,
but i don't know enough about rhubarb to tell one from the other.


keith

[Tormahto]

Will this do?

https://store.experimentalfarmnetwork.o ... rt-rhubarb

Some seeds will be available in the MMMM swap, later in the year.

[bower]

We never seem to get the name of a plant like rhubarb that is passed on and passed down through generations. My Mom has a patch that came from her mother's garden. It has relatively short and small, deep red stalks.
The one I have growing here though, is turning into a contender for "mammoth" traits. I believe the roots have gone down through the bedrock and found fertile soil somewhere on the opposite side of the globe. It was planted here by a friend, and IDK if it ever had a name, one of two anonymous varieties which are still growing at the farm. I will take some pics to show you just how long the stalks are and whether they rival the one in the link...

[BlueDog]

how do we determine if we have mammoth or not.

Hey Keith, I don’t think there is a way to tell other than word of mouth from the original person who planted it. EVERY rhubarb around here languishing in side yards is just “rhubarb”. Long forgotten, but still hanging on.

Will this do?

It looks like it’s definitely capable of growing large. I’ll try to catch them when available. I think all the old varieties of rhubarb have been “lost” or at least forgotten as they’re probably still growing somewhere.

We never seem to get the name of a plant like rhubarb that is passed on and passed down through generations. I will take some pics to show you just how long the stalks are and whether they rival the one in the link...

I agree. Some of my rhubarb is “unknown”, and I guess it’s just my nature to classify everything. I would LOVE to see some pics of this big rhubarb!

[bower]

Just so happens I took a pic yesterday! The plant is about 5 ft tall. Some of the stalks are bigger than my wrist. Help!
First pic is a week ago, second one, It's a little wilted as shown due to the horrible drought that just broke here overnight. So if it's gonna bolt, it'll be thanks to the refreshing drink from the sky.

rhubarb-394.JPG

rhumungous-808.JPG

[Whwoz]

@Bower , would love to see a photo of a stem or two of that beast against a ruler or something next time you harvest some.

Interestingly a lot of the old clones here down under were collected by a couple, most apparently have raised little to no interest from the public. I have three clones which have been spread about with names and a request for those whom receive a division to keep them named and pass on the name with any divisions offloaded.

[GoDawgs]

I Waaaaaant one! But unfortunately rhubarb won't survive here. Too hot in the summer, too few chill hours in the winter. Can't even find it in the grocery stores around here and a lot of people don't even know what it is. I LONG for the home canned rhubarb sauce my grandmother used to send us from upstate NY many years ago, packed in her Christmas box along with her cookies and popcorn balls.

[BlueDog]

Just so happens I took a pic yesterday!

Thanks Bower! That’s a pretty impressive plant for sure. I wish we were neighbors and I’d try to convince you to carve off a bit this fall. I wonder what variety it is? Thanks again for sharing, and a pic of those massive stalks may just put me over the edge….

[bower]

Just back from a long 24 hr internet outage.. Trotted out and got a pic of the stems. It seems about 1 1/2 inches in width top to bottom - don't know if that is enough to make me eligible for any bragging rights. Scrawny wrist included just to prove I'm not a liar!

rhumungous-stem-868.JPG

rhumungous-stem-871.JPG

Getting underneath there, it seems the big mother plant has spawned a half dozen others with more normal sized stalks, of course (babies).
I didn't see any sign of a a flower stem as yet.
These should've been harvested already, could've been harvested back in May.

The real key to this plant's size is (1) it came from a deep piece of root, which got left behind when I tried to move the plant, then made even deeper as I built a small raised bed over it. And (2) I then built another raised layer next to it with some nice compost, where I intended to sow something else. I have no doubt in my mind that all goodness from that extra bed has been gobbled by Rhumungous.
So if you want bigger rhubarb, I suggest you try to kill and then bury them.

[Whwoz]

Certainly good enough for bragging rights for me @Bower. Rhubarb is a heavy feeder, you need to talk to those moose of yours to use that area as a dump ground, should give it plenty of food to keep up that size.

[BlueDog]

WOW! Not that is some mammoth rhubarb @Bower . If I had some plants that big, I’d certainly be bragging about it. Rhumungous! Lol, yess!

[bower]

Well I will happily collect and send you seeds if and when it produces some again. Is there anything that you do especially to get a rhubarb to bolt?

[Whwoz]

Bower, I can't think of anything in particular to make rhubarb bolt other than to say it's weather dependant. One of my clones will bolt with the warming weather most years, another occasionally and I don't think that the third one has ever bolted in the 10 years I have been growing it. Bolts early spring for me and I have had divisions bolt that have been replanted that year to established for 3 or 4 years. Nothing consistent across clones and apart from feeding when I replant, the do not get a lot of fertilizer.

[bower]

Yeah @Whwoz it may be an either/or for rhubarb. All the new crowns tells me she has spread her wings that way and perhaps won't do any seed this time. It is much more of a patch now than last year, and if they all get as big as mom....
There have been seed stalks though for a couple of years past, so I'm sure it will happen again.
I will steal away any moose gifts to the area, to discourage vegetative growth.

[Tormahto]

Well I will happily collect and send you seeds if and when it produces some again. Is there anything that you do especially to get a rhubarb to bolt?

If you talk loud enough in the kitchen that you plan to make strawberry/rhubarb pie this year, and the plant hears it, I expect early bolting.

My instructions were to plant roots very shallow, with the "knob" barely above the soil surface. I think that I'll try a few deeper next year.

[BlueDog]

6DD51B2F-501C-4267-9EB5-47593054A5DA.jpeg

@Bower, it takes us about 6 hours to mow everything with two mowers, so I have lots of time to think. So yesterday my mind was occupied with your rhubarb, (I know, I know, I have problems…) but I kept thinking about it’s growth habit. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a “master” rhubarb stalk produce regular looking stalks at the end like this one. Very interesting. I’ve had a flower stalk produce an odd leaf stem, but nothing quite like this.

Is this it’s usual growing habit? How big do the secondary stalks get? Is there just one “master” or “queen” stem? Sorry for the barrage of questions (just intrigued).

[bower]

@BlueDog I've never seen (or noticed) something like this before, but I did think that stalk with the five fingers was odd. I gave it a second look wondering if it was turning into a flower stalk, but then I remembered how those emerge quite differently from leaves. There is a second leaf next to it which has three "branches" as well. Didn't check the others. It is odd then, isn't it?
The leaf itself is completely connected all the way around: there aren't separate leaves on each branch I believe. Will double check that when I'm out.

I had a visit from my favorite rhubarb loving family members this morning, and they'll be back for snacks in a couple of weeks, so I hope they will allow me to hack off a goodly amount for them to take home. Will take some pics of chunks under the chopper when that happens.

[BlueDog]

@Bower. Ok, this helps me visualize what this looks like. I was visualizing it with separate leaf stems, but this is a single leaf with voids. This makes much more sense. I guess now I’ll be able to mow in peace. (Lolol) I still haven’t seen anything like it.

[zeuspaul]

@BlueDog just an FYI. To get a mention to work: start typing the name beginning with @. You will get a drop down menu after you have typed a couple of letters. Select the name from the drop down menu and the mention tags will be inserted for you. The name in the final post will be in red. Then the poster will be notified of the mention.
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