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Paulasaurus · 04-06-2009, 11:58 PM

I read the current article in BYO magazine and decided to try and grow my own hops. I picked up a single cascade rhizome from my LHBS and while searching for a pot managed to only find a 16" pot.

My question is will my hop plant survive and grow ok in a 16" pot? Plans are to repot before next season. Hopefully into a more permanent home.

Thanks

JarrodH · 04-07-2009, 01:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paulasaurus

I read the current article in BYO magazine and decided to try and grow my own hops. I picked up a single cascade rhizome from my LHBS and while searching for a pot managed to only find a 16" pot.

My question is will my hop plant survive and grow ok in a 16" pot? Plans are to repot before next season. Hopefully into a more permanent home.

Thanks

It will survive as hops are hardy plants, (read: if you take care of them) but it wont do much in the realm of production.

cuinrearview · 04-07-2009, 01:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paulasaurus

My question is will my hop plant survive and grow ok in a 16" pot?

It should survive and grow if you take care of it. Consider container growing (especially in a small pot like this) like yeast starters. You'll wanna get them into the ground as soon as they're ready, which in the case of hops is after the first year, regardless of what you read in BYO. Did you see the picture of the root ball after the second year? How much dirt could be left in that pot?

Paulasaurus · 04-07-2009, 02:38 AM

Thanks for the info and suggestions. I agree that root ball was huge and would not leave much for anything but roots in a pot. Gonna have to find a good sunny spot in the yard before next year.

Paulasaurus · 04-07-2009, 01:16 PM

Change of plans. I'll be making a raised bed using treated lumber to border/raise the dirt a bit and planting them in ground. Makes me feel much better knowing I won't have to move them later on.

Now how large do I make this raised area if I plan on adding another hop plant down the road?

2' x 4' large enough to allow 2 different hop plants to grow well for a few years before splitting? Also thinking about putting plywood splitter down the middle just to keep the roots apart when the time comes.

Thanks

david_42 · 04-07-2009, 01:59 PM

The recommended minimum spacing is 5'. You might try putting one at each end of the bed.

Talloak · 04-07-2009, 07:05 PM

A plywood divider isn't a horrible idea. In the future, if you harvest some rhizomes to share with others, you will know exactly which variety the rhizome belongs to instead of guessing. Keep in mind, roots can grow quite deep. Plywood may rot away quickly though.

Paulasaurus · 04-07-2009, 08:26 PM

Thanks for the info. How deep and wide can the roots grow? Do they tend to spread fairly quickly? Could I expect to see vines coming up in my neighbors yard in a few years? I'd like to keep it somewhat contained. They can grow deep all they want. Unless of course I move and it'll be a bitch to dig them up.

Thinking now to build my raised bed 2.5' wide x 5' long x 16" high.

**GNBrews** · 04-07-2009, 09:00 PM

When growing in pots, it's usually best to coat the inside of the pot with a copper-containing root pruner like "Spin-Out". This prevents the roots from reaching the sides of the pot and making the plant rout-bound.

You can make your own by mixing 6-7% copper hydroxide by weight with a normal latex pain base.

salzar · 04-10-2009, 10:19 PM

Well I grew cascade in an 8" pot last season started off slow but lived till janaury. Last week I looked out side to see 10 shoots coming out of the hops pot, so I thought to replant it. When I went to lift my pot I found that the roots had grown out the bottom and into the dirt spreading out. I did my best to dig them up, and broke the pot so I could get the roots out. Now they are in a large rubbermaid tub.