Deer ate mine to the ground. Leaf, stalk, and all.
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You could try preemptive defenses. Copper wire, salt, dishes of bad beer (I’m looking at you naddy light) and picking at night with a flashlight should all increase your odds of success.
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Seems like someone said the seeds were not to likely to sprout.
This is what I see most people do to spread them.
They basically just dug up the plant, chopped the root in several pieces, and replanted. Their like giant tuber roots and all you need are pieces, but I would look at the video to see it yourself.
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Yes, I know that rhubarb is most commonly divided, but I am experimenting with growing things from seed. Even so, I appreciate your input. Thank you. 
I bought a packet of seeds from an interesting rhubarb grex from Experimental Farm Network this spring. Got about 50% germination rate, but all declined and died over a period of a month or so, long before I ever got them in the ground.
I’ve tried growing rhubarb from purchased root divisions on multiple occasions… in-ground, in pots, it doesn’t matter… I can’t get it to live.
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Have you tried Gurney’s KangaRhu? They say it’s supposed to be heat tolerant.
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Two years on, our seed-planted rhubarb is thriving though our recent heat wave definitely slowed it down. Tina’s Noble remains the champ but we are also trialing the Claytons’ Red Surprise (a sport of Winter Wonder so should handle cold) and something called Ebony. We also attempted Next Generation, a parent of Tina’s Noble but I believe the seeds were crushed in the mail and barely germinated. The Red Surprise seedlings especially seem strong and reportedly can produce stalks that are red all the way through. Ebony has the potential for producing black stalks about which I remain ambivalent!
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Thanks for the update. Where did you get the Ebony seeds?
The Claytons are not yet selling them to the public. Because my chapter of CRFG tested so many of their seeds and I wrote about it in our magazine, The Fruit Gardener, Colin sent me some as a thank you. I’m sure they will be available soon.
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Every time I read “______ is not releasing/selling ______ yet” it confirms my need to breed my own seeds. Thanks for the encouragement!
Curious how Ebony did for you. I’ve planted Tina’s Noble, Crimson Sunrise, Red Surprise, Next Generation, and Success last June and was able to harvest some very red inch thick stalks before the frost. We’ll see how they survive the 7a winter. Gave some to a friend in SC should get some information about their heat tolerance next year.
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Well, a little late getting back to you! Sorry. I was actually looking around for persimmon info and stumbled on your question. Guess I wasn’t alerted 18 months ago! Anyhow, the Ebony has not done much. It is probably not in a great spot and the two Red Surprise beside it are also not doing that well. Can’t see that my single Ebony plant is any darker than the Red Surprise beside it; but of course these are all seedlings so no telling how true they will be to Colin’s. . If they don’t grow this year, I will probably move them to a better spot (right now squeezed between the house, a Reed avocado and my bananas . My Tina’s Noble continues to be my star performer, enormous stalks and delicious. Success is one of my favorites though, growing most strongly at different times of year from Tina though with a propensity to go to seed. I think I actually like the taste a little better. It’s sweeter and definitely redder, but no arguing with Tina’s size and vigor She has now been in the ground for 3 years I think and one plant has 3 separate crowns so I will start separating when I can figure out the appropriate season here. I wouldn’t worry about your cold. Most rhubarb does best with that winter dormancy. Our efforts down here have been to get it to grow without. I just put in Crimson Sunrise this year so I’ll be curious how it does.
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Thanks for the information! Sounds like Tina’s Surprise is the overall winner of the varieties you tried! All my varieties seem to be performing and looking quite similarly so far, but they’re less than a year old.
So far we have had a very mild winter, a couple nights in the mid teens but otherwise almost entirely in the 20s or warmer. The rhubarbs all have healthy leaf buds around the crown so far, but all the stalks have died back. If they do well I plan to replant them under fruit trees since the critters don’t bother them much.