GARDENING:

There’s just enough time to restore old rhubarb plants to their youth. But do that now, before December runs into double figures. As a perennial crop, rhubarb will thrive for years without attention. But the plants become less productive as they age. They also take up more space and can deteriorate in quality.

To keep rhubarb tender and tasty, replant your crop — or some of the plants — every four years. Begin by digging up each entire plant.

You’ll find that on the outer edges of each, there are plump dormant buds, often showing pink or red among the dead vegetation. Those are in the youngest part of the plant and will be needed as replacements. so begin by digging out the healthiest of those outer parts. Those will become your new plants.

Use a spade to cut into the corky growth and make sure each new division has at least one dormant bud and some root. set those aside and keep the roots moist.

Once you have gathered as many off-shoots or divisions as you need, dig out the rest of the plants.

The corky or woody centres of each old plant might be hard to remove. But most of that material is already dead and can be broken up in situ.

If your soil is workable, you can replant the young divisions straight away. sprinkle a little general fertiliser or bonemeal into the ground before planting.

If your soil is too wet, pot up as many young divisions as you need and plant those out in March.