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**scottab** · 08-23-2012, 07:10 PM

So I bought a crown of hops last week from Great Lakes hops and it was shipped out Monday.
I received it yesterday and find in the box to my surprise 2 crowns.
I ordered 1 crown of Willamette and the other had 2 markers, one said 'lucky dog' and the other is fuggle.
I am assuming that 'lucky dog' signifies that i am a lucky dog and that fuggle is the variety i received as a "thank you for purchasing our product"
Has anyone else purchased from them and is this common?

Also does anyone have experience with planting crowns?
Do they tend to be hardier than rhizomes?
Is there anything special i should do to care for them?

jperry · 08-23-2012, 08:03 PM

You are lucky for getting an extra. I don't know how common it is. The instructions that come with the plant are straight forward. Keep them out of direct sunlight for a week or two. I transplanted my crowns into pots, so that i could get the planting site ready. Make sure to plant them in enough soil, so the roots can grow really deep. don't over/under water them. don't fertilize right away. Other than that, they are pretty dang hardy. Also, most people build there trellis system before planting.

**sweetcell** · 08-23-2012, 09:39 PM

i also received a "lucky dog" (newport) when i ordered back in spring.

heed the advice of not exposing them to direct sun too soon. i did, and it caused the plants to go into shock. they recovered, eventually, but it stunted their growth for a good month.

plant the crowns in a raised mound, if you can.it can be up to a foot high. yes, that means that the entire crown & soil plug that it came in will be above ground.

i don't know what the impact is of planting the crowns so late, and any specific concerns that comes along with their shortened growing season. i would contact GLH and ask them if you need to do anything special since they're going in so late in the growing season.

hoppy growing!

**scottab** · 08-23-2012, 11:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetcell

i also received a "lucky dog" (newport) when i ordered back in spring.

heed the advice of not exposing them to direct sun too soon. i did, and it caused the plants to go into shock. they recovered, eventually, but it stunted their growth for a good month.

plant the crowns in a raised mound, if you can.it can be up to a foot high. yes, that means that the entire crown & soil plug that it came in will be above ground.

i don't know what the impact is of planting the crowns so late, and any specific concerns that comes along with their shortened growing season. i would contact GLH and ask them if you need to do anything special since they're going in so late in the growing season.

hoppy growing!

They actually say that crowns planted in the fall do better than those planted in spring

BradleyBrew · 08-24-2012, 12:59 AM

I would use a good potting mix (yes, miracle grow potting soil). I had a crowns and 1 "field" grade hop plug. The plug that I planted in the soil but the mound was built with potting mix grew just as fast as the full crowns.

FrugalEndeavorsFarm · 08-27-2012, 11:05 AM

First, the folks at Great Lakes are fantastic to deal with! What a stand up company. I placed a large (for me) order last year of 25 crowns and they threw in a few extra.

I did a late planting last year, 2nd week of September, and had an excellent yield this year. I put everything under individual covers I made of tyvek house wrap (already had it on hand). On overcast days I would uncover them and give the plants some exposure. FEF

1fast4door · 08-27-2012, 06:18 PM

+1 for GLH! I stopped by there one night last spring to pickup some of the past years trials they had for $10/ crown. The owner stayed well past closing time to chat about beer and growing hops. Really great guy. When I have more room, I'm heading there.

david_42 · 08-27-2012, 07:30 PM

I'd plant them as soon as you can. Although they may not put up any shoots this late in the year, they will start building their extensive secondary root system.

The big plus of crowns is you can expect a good crop the first year.

**krenshaw** · 03-13-2013, 06:03 PM

reviving an old thread.. i received the 3 i ordered plus an extra as well for this season.. i'm planning on giving that one away at my homebrew meeting since i don't have room for a 4th and it was the same style as one of the others anyways.. i hope to plant mine this weekend.. seems to be warm enough up here at night so i'm looking forward to brewing with some cheap hops!

**Grippe** · 03-14-2013, 03:31 AM

Another very satisfied customer - nothing but great things to say about GLH.