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I have a lot of family that has the same cultivar of rhubarb, but it never seems to flower (from the same mother plant that we split the roots apart over 30+ years). Why do people say that it flowers, when it never has for us?

black thumb
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    If you harvest the stems a few times during the growing season , that will prevent the plant from building enough energy to bloom. I bought roots from a neighboring farm that harvested 3 times a year. The second year I had blooms because I had not harvested much ; They never bloomed on the farm. – blacksmith37 May 30 '19 at 23:33
  • Pics: https://gardening.stackexchange.com/q/64527/41923 – miken32 Jun 07 '23 at 15:28

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Well it can and does flower under certain conditions; first, some varieties are more prone to bolting or flowering, but otherwise, the factors are usually maturity, or conditions such as a very warm spring might trigger flowering, or stress such as suffering drought. Rhubarb crowns which are lifted and split when they get large enough are less likely to flower than crowns left alone to get very mature. https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/rhubarb/rhubarb-bolting.htm

Bamboo
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  • I can confirm that it is most about varieties. My rhubarb makes many flowers every years and it continues to make flowers also after cutting them. OTOH most rhubarb will never flower. – Giacomo Catenazzi May 31 '19 at 07:53