I cut 4-1/2 pounds a week ago and make a rhubarb/raspberry crisp with frozen raspberries from last year. When I transplanted my strawberries I found several rhubarb starts, shoots? not sure what you call them, but my rhubarb plans on taking over. I transplanted some to another corner of the yard. Here is a picture of the rhubarb before I cut it.
When I worked at a rose greenhouse, there was some discussion of the usefulness of leaves to the plant. In that case, the plant was a rose.
Flowers are harvested as the valued crop but with the flower comes several leaves. The leaves are the generators of plant growth. They handle photosynthesis. Without that process - no flowers and, no plant growth.
Rhubarb should not flower. I remove the flowering stalks as soon as they can be found. On my 5 plants, the leaves I am interested in are the ones with some maturity. In 'Rabbit's photo, they are not the wrinkled, smaller leaves. The mature leaves have the longest stems, also. Stems are the valued crop for rhubarb. I am able to get a summer harvest of rhubarb.
The greenhouse discussion was that, unfortunately, the younger, more productive leaves are taken with the rose flowers. The cut should not be so far down the stem that only the old leaves are left on the plant. Those old leaves are not where the greater amount of photosynthesis is taking place.
I no longer remember how this information was gathered. I mean, it isn't as tho' we can "hook a meter up" to a leaf and measure its ability to do photosynthesis.
I really do not know what I am doing with it. The neighbor moved and said I could have some of her plant and I said thank you, but never did go get any, but a year or so later I thought I should get that rhubarb and I did not want to kill her plant, so was careful and dug up some crowns/starts? and just picked and spot and planted them. As I was planting the rhubarb a truck drove up in the neighbor's yard and some people moved in to rent that house. It was early spring and about 3 or 4 years ago and by magic the rhubarb grew. I just go cut rhubarb and I am not sure if I take enough or take too much. Then, I found all these little pieces growing in the strawberries. I planted them. If you look at the picture with the little rhubarb beside the big that is part of what I planted and then took some more to the other side of the yard.
I have made rhubarb/raspberry crisp, rhubarb/strawberry crisp, rhubarb/peach crisp. My DH liked all of them and rhubarb/raspberry is my favorite. I am going to make rhubarb/elderberry next time.