Hop plants/rhizomes - growing report

[user 18729]

Both my vines are starting to flower. Looks like a good year

 

[Wezzle]

My prima Donna is technically only a year old but doing very well. No signs of flowering yet, but I don't expect it either.

Whilst cutting back only the best 5 shoots I picked my best 2 off-cuts and used some rooting formula my partner got for her shrubs, and they also seem to be doing very well, one now looks as big as the main plant when I first got it last August.
I didn't think it would work as I previously heard you had to split the rhizome to get multiple plants.

 

[jMac]

Just caught one of my vines with the strimmer

That’s not good - has it severed completely or do you think you might be able to splint it?

 

[jMac]

I picked my best 2 off-cuts and used some rooting formula my partner got for her shrubs, and they also seem to be doing very well, one now looks as big as the main plant when I first got it last August.
I didn't think it would work as I previously heard you had to split the rhizome to get multiple plants.

I’ve also heard it can be hard to get actual cuttings to take - so good job you!

I’m going to try this next year:
https://twothirstygardeners.co.uk/2016/05/how-to-take-hop-cuttings-note-its-easy/
Can’t face lifting the root and splitting the rhizomes - I’m likely to kill the whole plant.

 

[gar]

That’s not good - has it severed completely or do you think you might be able to splint it?

It's shriveled up very quickly. There are still a few vines intact, so not a complete loss.
It wasn't completely cut, but enough to kill it.

 

[Wezzle]

I’m going to try this next year:
https://twothirstygardeners.co.uk/2016/05/how-to-take-hop-cuttings-note-its-easy/

I find it a bit odd they say to literally just stick a cutting into dirt. I used "Maxicrop Take Root" root growth stimulant. Brown stuff, horrible to get on clothes but everything we've used with it has been growing nicely.

 

[jMac]

I find it a bit odd they say to literally just stick a cutting into dirt. I used "Maxicrop Take Root" root growth stimulant. Brown stuff, horrible to get on clothes but everything we've used with it has been growing nicely.

But it’s not a cutting that’s being stuck in soil, it’s a middle portion of the shoot, stripped of foliage, while still attached to the main root stock. It is only severed from the main plant at the end of the season once the portion beneath the soil has had a chance to develop its own rhizome. It took me a couple of reads to figure out what they were doing!

May try the rooting solution myself though, after your success, as it’s a little less faff.

 

[AXW123]

My hops are flowering like maniacs - this is year 1 . This year I didn’t do anything much to them as I wasn’t expecting any hops at all.

 

[Benfleet Brewery]

Year 2 for my fuggles and Centenial hops. Didn’t end up with any last year as both plants suffered a severe infestation of red spider mite. Been spraying regularly this year with an organic deterrent and they seem to be performing a lot better. Fingers crossed.

 

[jMac]

Year 2 for my fuggles and Centenial hops. Didn’t end up with any last year as both plants suffered a severe infestation of red spider mite. Been spraying regularly this year with an organic deterrent and they seem to be performing a lot better. Fingers crossed.

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Looking good! So is this your first year with a crop?

NM: just reread your post and see you said it was only year 2

In which case, how are you going to use them this year? Drying? Brewing wet?

 

[Cwrw666]

Don't think I'm going to get a crop at all this year (from 6 plants) due to the early start to the season followed by several batterings of 40 to 60mph winds. The cascades had a few cones developing a couple of days ago but it's 50mph out there now - I think they'll be shredded. The prima donna gave up weeks ago - looks like it already thinks it's autumn.

 

[jceg316]

My Fuggles are doing extremely well this year. I couldn't get to the hops in my parents' garden due to isolation so the saaz there is really bushy, loads of bines and not many cones. The cascade seems ok though.

At my farm my bramling X is doing very well. I have 2 chinooks which look like they've seen better days. I think the rhizome is too big as I've noticed bines growing quite far away from where I originally planted it. I planted 2 centennials in a strawberry bed which was a bad idea. I saw some growth from them earlier in the year but the stawberries won that fight. I will move them before next season. I also have a couple of first year hops which are doing ok but no flowers.

 

[jMac]

Year 3 for my single Goldings plant. Lots and lots and lots of lovely cones this year .

 

[jMac]

 

[Benfleet Brewery]

Looking good! So is this your first year with a crop?

NM: just reread your post and see you said it was only year 2

In which case, how are you going to use them this year? Drying? Brewing wet?

There aren‘t that many but I think I’ll try drying them.

 

[GerritT]

I cut mine, and will clear the pots next weekend. They were dying, not related to the bunch of plants my missus put in the same pot, because there was plenty of room, and who doesn't like narcissus? so she told me.

Next year last try.

 

[Oneflewover]

There aren‘t that many but I think I’ll try drying them.

Freeze them? I picked some wild hops last year and froze them, and they were absolutely fine when I came to use them

 

[gar]

These are my fuggles. Just turning brown. Should i pick 'em?

 

[terrym]

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These are my fuggles. Just turning brown. Should i pick 'em?

Wot I said in this thread
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/local-hops.86033As for picking there appears to be a window of a few days when the hops are ready to pick. The cones should be just going brown and have a slight papery feel if you roll the cones in your fingers. If they are still green and spongy, they aren't ready, or they are beginning to dry out and have gone 'beige' they are too far gone. And of course they are not all perfect and ready to pick on the same day, so picking might be staggered. If you want to know more about the best times to pick there are plenty of videos on Youtube which will help you on that.

 

[terrym]

Anyone new to hop growing wondering if their hops are ready to pick may find this Youtube video useful.
Note in particular the different maturity stages over one plant.

Finally I reckon the first of my First Gold (Prima Donna) cones are not far off ready, perhaps at the end of the coming week so others may be the same, although that of course depends on what you are growing, where the plant is, and importantly, where you are located