After the leaves and stems dies back, dispose of them, and simply wait until the plant returns next year. Actually I never harvest new rhubarb for two or three years. Remember the leaves are poisonous.

When we had a dry spell, the leaves on mine all withered up once, which surprised me. Normally they stay plump, but the older leaves gradually do clonk out before the end of the season. The object is not to pick so much that it weakens the plant. I had always heard that the stalks get tough after mid-summer. I tried experimenting by picking a bunch right before it would have froze for the winter. It was just fine, no different from spring cut. Now I always take a final harvest just before killing frost, cutting every stalk that isn't flabby or yellowed. I cut it into 1/2 inch pieces, put it in ziplocks, and freeze it to make rhubarb crisp over the winter. Use the partially thawed rhubarb for best results in making the crisp. Rhubarb loves lots of compost or aged manure, and I give them some lime each year or two. Where I used to live, they grew right next to my compost pile in heavy clay soil and were waist high. When I moved, I had to put those same plants on a sandy ridge which was the only sunny spot available and where it is difficult to access them with soil amendments. They have stayed scrawny for the 15 years we have been here, in spite of fertilizer and mulch. I have read that the leaves are poisonous and that it doesn't do well in the southern half of the country. When the plant gets a stalk with a big seed pod on it, cut that off, as it will use up energy that the plant could put into more stalks and leaves. You can just leave the withered leaves on the plant and they will eventually decay, or you can tidy things up by putting them on your compost pile, just like with other perennials. I hope yours grows well for you. Northwoodswis

Gigantic leaves and tall stalks are unusual for year-one rhubarb plants. Your plants/root systems must have been large when first planted.

A plant this size can be harvested without any problems, if by gigantic leaves you mean 3 feet across and tall stalks around 18-24 inches.

I would keep any stalks/leaves that are laying on the ground pulled off until mid-October, when the remaining stalks will lie down and begin to decay. Then pull those also. If you wait and do all the stalks at season's end, you may have a gooey mess on your hands.

If the dying plant had huge leaves, I don't know why it is ailing--did it bloom--what was your watering pattern, if any (I haven't watered mine much during this year's cool West Coast summer).

Thanks to all of you for your help. I have learned quite a bit about rhubarb from these postings. For one thing, what I thought were gigantic leaves apparently aren't that gigantic. Mine are about 18" across. The stalks are about 18" high.

My 2 plants are in half oak barrels planted in a custom soil mix from a local nursery. The one is still dying back and I still don't know why. It didn't bloom and I water every day when it's hot since they are planted in barrels and not in the ground. The other plant looks great though I have noticed some small holes in the leaves and think I may have a bug of some sort.

I will wait till next year to harvest just to be on the safe side. Thanks again for all your help.

Container planting and watering is a whole different ballgame from in-ground plantings. Poke around deeply in the soil of the ailing plant to make sure water is getting to the roots and not going down the sides of the barrel.

18" leaves/stalks are a decent size; if you had 12 stalks, you could harvest 4 to 6 of them.

The holes in your leaves might be from noctuid (moth) caterpillars or slugs. Check at night on the leaf undersides.

If your custom soil mix is very loose you may have to be careful when harvesting the stalks to avoid uprooting or disrupting the roots. It can take a fair amount of force to wrest the stalks from the plant.