LindaLou
Newly Registered
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Jun 06, 2018 2:17 pm

Rhubarb turns all pink and dies

Planted 3 rhubarb crowns about 6 weeks ago. They all started growing healthy looking. Then a couple weeks ago one turned pink and died. Last week a second one started looking pink. Its not dead yet. And I have one left that looks healthy, but I am afraid it will die too in another week or so, because I have no idea what is wrong.

These 3 plants are about 4 feet from one another, in full sun, zone 6b, not too much or too little water.
Attachments
20180606_142719.jpg

User avatar
applestar
Mod
Posts: 30514
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

Where are they planted? Did you put the wood chip mulch around it?

To me this looks like the rhubarb is turning all pink because all of its chlorophyll has been destroyed... which immediately makes me think herbicide. Is it possible someone has been treating them with herbicide not knowing you have intentionally planted them? Is it possible those wood chips have been treated with herbicide?

User avatar
applestar
Mod
Posts: 30514
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

I was looking for some reference that would back up this theory, and found this. Command is a familiar-sounding product.... ah ha! It’s a pre-emergent herbicide.
https://passel.unl.edu/pages/information ... =4&maxto=8

Herbicides That Act Through Photosynthesis
Destruction of chlorophyll causes a bleaching of the leaf.

Herbicides that inhibit the biosynthesis of carotenoids may do so early in the isoprenoid biosynthetic pathway. An example is clomazone (Command)

LindaLou
Newly Registered
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Jun 06, 2018 2:17 pm

I put the mulch in last year. It is around all my living plants in my vegetable garden. Everything grew and is growing fine, so no herbicide from the mulch. We do not use any weedkiller or fertilizer. I am stumped.

JONA
Greener Thumb
Posts: 812
Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2014 7:11 am
Location: Sussex. England

It sounds like crown rot to me. The plants may well have come to you with the fungi already in them.
Excessive water logging can set it off. Are you sure they were sound plants when you got them?

LindaLou
Newly Registered
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Jun 06, 2018 2:17 pm

I don't know how to tell if they were sound plants or not. Several years ago I got a couple from christmas tree shops and they grew huge amd healthy. We moved a few years ago and I got these 3 plants from Burgess. They have a catalog with pretty pictures so I thought they would be good quality.



Return to “All Other Fruit”