Rhizomes planted too soon

I planted my hops yesterday thinking I was all clear from frost after looking at the next weeks forecast. So today I check and it's changed and there are two nights back to back this weekend they're calling for lows around 28 degrees now. Will they be okay or should I dig them back up and put them in pots?

They will be fine. A few nights f freezing temps will not freeze the ground. Ur babies are safe and snug underground. More concern would be needed if they had shoots already(though not much more).

+1 to tchuklobrau, agreed.

Underground they'll be just fine. It's the new, green shoots that don't like the frost. If its an extended hard freeze you may want to cover to keep the soil from freezing...I don't know how quickly it freezes or how deep it'll freeze overnight.

I can't speak for hops specifically, but rooting rhizomes in pots would be wise over exposing them to extreme temps. The warmer conditions will escalate the propagation anyway and the freezing temps could slow this process some. I am growing mine in pots with vermiculite and when the weather is too hot outside or it is too windy I place them indoors while at work so that they don't dry out. I advise protecting them while they are young.

Gotta admit ima fairly lazy grower in some aspects, Never covered em, I have some 3' bines and have no damage on any shoots from 1"- 3'. When I moved all my plants and rhizomes last year it was 40 outside. It snowed 3 days later and kept snow for 2 weeks. ALL rhizomes and crowns did their thing just fine after the thaw. I say put em where they are gonna stay, rdwhahb, and let nature do its thing.

CraigT said:

I planted my hops yesterday thinking I was all clear from frost after looking at the next weeks forecast. So today I check and it's changed and there are two nights back to back this weekend they're calling for lows around 28 degrees now. Will they be okay or should I dig them back up and put them in pots?

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You should be just fine, if your still worried the throw a few inches of mulch over them, which will help keep the warmth in and weeds out.

There is nothing to worry about if you planted them more than 1" deep. If you're really worried put another inch or three of soil on them... or mulch.

Okay thanks everyone. I have them all about 2-4 inches below ground. So hopefully they'll be alright.

I've had my crowns in from glh for about a week now and i've had to cover them 3 times so far because of frost issues. they're not really digging the cold but all the bines and leaves are still in good shape. since your rhizomes have that extra protection of being underground i think you'll be fine. maybe just a little slow

Yeah, I jumped the gun and put mine in the ground when we had the unseasonable warmth here. It's frozen a few times since then, and looks like we'll have a few more freezes coming up. I've been covering them, so I'm sure they haven't frozen, but i doubt the rhizomes are doing much to wake up when the temps are close to freezing half of the time.

Dude, hops are as vigilant as they come...they'll be just fine. I planted some rhizomes about two weeks ago...I'm in PA too (Pittsburgh), and we've had about 3 frosts, and 3 freezes and I have two inches of growth on those new plants...and they grow another half inch every day there's a frost. I've learned that as long as they get direct morning sun to melt the moisture (frost, freeze, dew, etc...), they do just fine.

The rhizomes should be fine. If you are worried about temps dropping at night, throw some more mulch (up to 3 or 4 inches) for insulation. If buds start to pop and temps drop, just cover with a 5 gallon bucket. Hops are very hardy. I live in Denver where it just snowed a couple inches a few days ago and one of my hop plants is already up to 3 feet high. I covered it with a bucket and it is survived and is thriving.

I planted too early as well, but think my crowns will be fine. I put in two cascades from GLH with lots of green shoots- and they totally got hit by a surprise frost last Tuesday. Although they've lost some leaves and look pretty beat up most mornings (lows of 32-34 since), they look fantastic again every day by dusk. I tried covering them, but the wind has been brutal here and yet they've survived uncovered. The 5-day forecast makes it look likes the worst is behind me, good luck to those of you elsewhere.