Rhubarb rhubarb

[Marthaandthemuffins]

Please can you let me know what is
a) happening with my newly planted rhubarb?
b) what to do with it?

It's a flower spike!
Assuming you don't want to save seed, chop it off right down as far as you can. They normally flower when stressed. Does it need water?

Oh you don't have much leaf per crown actually. It's knackered! It needs to build itself back up. If you're picking it, stop for a good while. And if you have any manures compost, give it a feed.

I bought it from a garden centre about 4 weeks ago and planted as instructed. We’ve had very little rain recently but I’ve been keeping on top of watering.
Thank you, I shall cut it back tomorrow.

No, it’s new so I’ve not picked any at all.

The heat may have made it bolt. Article here.

Thank you all!
The article is very interesting and I hadn’t realised about plants getting ‘stressed’ before (I’m very new to growing fruit and vegetables)

I've never seen a rhubarb flower, so thanks OP. It's bolted though, cut the spike off down low, mulch mulch mulch and water every day. Unless it's actually raining of course. It could have been stressed before you bought it, (it was a very dry April) so I wouldn't worry.

They used to say rhubarb was a crop you had to water even when it’s raining. They are also hungry plants and it won’t have been very happy in the pot so you did a good deed by liberating it. A nice water and some well rotted farmyard manure and let it settle in and I am sure it will be grand.