[mention]Vanman[/mention] , color on stems is related to variety, some are redder than others and also temperature, with some clone colouring up more in cooler weather than hot.

[mention]Vanman[/mention] forget it, you'll never get rid of this stuff.
I decided to dig some roots for a dye experiment couple months ago. So this is what I got from my 'scrawny' plant - the child of the original patch which is nothing special, 3 or 4 stalks on it I guess... As you can see, I did not manage to get all of the root, part of which is likely poking up in Outer Mongolia. (I replanted the crown and it's also still going).

[mention]Bower[/mention]
We actually have a hard time with rhubarb in my garden, too--but not in the same ways. I mean, the plants grow and live just fine (they take a year or two to get established, though), but they bolt pretty much as soon as they sprout up in the spring, and they're fibrous all year long, pretty much. I think we just need a different kind, though; we used to have one that did somewhat better, and before that we had a kind that was even better.

I've read about rhubarb being grown as an annual in Florida, before; it's supposed to be the only way they can grow it. However, the fact that people *can* grow it as an annual is amazing; that would be pretty miraculous here.

Rhubarb plants are supposed to need a cold period (if you grow them as perennials), kind of like tulips.

[mention]Shule[/mention] I think Whwoz's point about keeping the roots cool might really help. They like to go deep and it really does take a few years for them to do that. Stands to reason that deeper roots would be cooler too.
Just to make the point about how much they like being weeded and generously fed!
I snapped a pic of my other 'patch'. Two crowns I transplanted at least 4 years ago, but haven't done much - and I haven't paid them any attention. The one on the left, you can see was undisturbed and is overgrown with grass and other plants. The one on the right is the one I took the root from and replanted. Neither plant has been a bit productive, I just ignore them.
Then compare the plant that had soil heaped next door. They are big enough to harvest some already. Shallot bunches in the pics are about the same height. Yes, it seems that weeding and feeding makes a big difference to the barb.
I wonder if extra soil /raised bed near your rhubarb would also help with the bolting.

[mention]Shule[/mention] bolting in spring is standard for rhubarb, the plants are just looking to reproduce after all. You may find it beneficial to break off the flower spikes as you see them beak out of the protective sheaths.

All stems have fibre in them, after all that is what the plants use to support the leaves as stems are not woody.

[mention]Whwoz[/mention]
When I say fibrous, I mean, no amount of chewing will break it up (especially the veins); it's not usable for pies and stuff. I've had plenty of rhubarb that I didn't consider particularly fibrous in the same sense (but I've never had any particularly chewable rhubarb from our current plant). It does grow nice and big, though.

[mention]Shule[/mention] that variety sounds like it is good for the compost bin and not much else.

[mention]Whwoz[/mention]
Well, at the very least, it looks nice, and gets a huge flower stalk! And, if you don't mind spitting out the veins and stuff afterward, you can at least taste the rhubarb. Other rhubarbs get like this after a while, in my garden, too, but they don't start out like that, like this one seems to do.

Shule wrote: ↑Thu May 27, 2021 10:18 pm @Whwoz
Well, at the very least, it looks nice, and gets a huge flower stalk! And, if you don't mind spitting out the veins and stuff afterward, you can at least taste the rhubarb. Other rhubarbs get like this after a while, in my garden, too, but they don't start out like that, like this one seems to do.

Wired, got me wondering if some sort of a nutritional imbalance is playing a role here [mention]Shule[/mention]

[mention]Whwoz[/mention]
Probably the soil, and drought. That's my guess.

[mention]Shule[/mention] , thinking about the bolting, it may be worth you trying to limit the nutrients the crowns absorb back from the stems in the last 6 or 8 weeks before they go dorment by harvesting the stems heavily. If the crowns are starved slightly, they may be less likely to bolt.