When to plant??

GIusedtoBe · 03-27-2010, 03:08 AM

I've got 3 cascade and one willamette rhizome to plane this year and i was wondering when to put them out? I live in TN and it goiing to 33 F tonight and we usually get freezing temps at not sporadically until the 2-3rd week of April or so. Should I wait until then and put them out or start them in pots indoors and then transplant them when it warms up?

THanks
Alan

Orangevango · 03-27-2010, 04:25 AM

I would just plant them.

They survive every winter, why should a late frost kill them?

They are probably sitting in your fridge right now... cold.

Zulu · 03-29-2010, 06:27 PM

2 weeks before last official frost date for new rhizomes, plant about 1" below surface and use rooting hormones to help them.

Make sure they wont drown , must be well drained soil. or mounded above grade. Light watering until you see growth

ctheis · 03-29-2010, 06:58 PM

Just go ahead and plant them. I live in eastern TN. They will be fine. It got down to 26 the other night and all of the shoots are good. Did not loose any of them. I have had mine in the ground since the 8th of March and all of them are coming up and have had no problems with the snow or the cold since then.

Cheers

**Randar** · 03-29-2010, 07:11 PM

Plant them as soon as you can. The shoots are generally very sturdy and will survive a decent frost without issue. If you hold onto them and fail to plant you risk killing any buds or the rhizome itself starting to decompose.

Do not start in a pot and do not wait to plant. Do so as soon as the ground is workable. If you are concerned about it, you can always cover them on evenings where you may get a hard frost.

fineexampl · 03-29-2010, 07:21 PM

don't know about everyone else's method. i put my rhizomes in a trade 5gal pot in my usual planting medium, dosed them with seaweed and put them about 4-5 inches below the surface. Seemed the logical route. if nothing else, they'll be protected from mold, etc and get some shoots going before i can move them to their permanent home.

Zulu · 03-29-2010, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fineexampl

don't know about everyone else's method. i put my rhizomes in a trade 5gal pot in my usual planting medium, dosed them with seaweed and put them about 4-5 inches below the surface. Seemed the logical route. if nothing else, they'll be protected from mold, etc and get some shoots going before i can move them to their permanent home.

I actually agree with this... having planted over 100 rhizomes, my success with pre-planting them in pots and putting into greenhouse for a month , got almost 95% , but direct in ground I got less than 70% success.

I was reading earlier today that quite a few hops farms are now putting new rhizomes into a nursery section before planting out, that way they get 100% success in a new hops yard as they only plant the growing plants..

I am doing the same this year with my expansion, have 150 new Rhizomes in Nursery right now....

fineexampl · 03-29-2010, 08:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zulu

I actually agree with this... having planted over 100 rhizomes, my success with pre-planting them in pots and putting into greenhouse for a month , got almost 95% , but direct in ground I got less than 70% success.

I was reading earlier today that quite a few hops farms are now putting new rhizomes into a nursery section before planting out, that way they get 100% success in a new hops yard as they only plant the growing plants..

I am doing the same this year with my expansion, have 150 new Rhizomes in Nursery right now....

This is my first year doing them of course, but i'm extremely experienced in herb, vegetable, and aquatic plant growing. Hops should be a snap. That said, i start every single plant i have indoors (not these hops though, due to space considerations) under CFL bulbs with a heating pad and get very good results. Nice healthy plants. Plus, since they are potted, should i hear of a freeze or frost coming, i have the option to bring them inside and not waste the hard work.

**Randar** · 03-29-2010, 08:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fineexampl

This is my first year doing them of course, but i'm extremely experienced in herb, vegetable, and aquatic plant growing. Hops should be a snap. That said, i start every single plant i have indoors (not these hops though, due to space considerations) under CFL bulbs with a heating pad and get very good results. Nice healthy plants. Plus, since they are potted, should i hear of a freeze or frost coming, i have the option to bring them inside and not waste the hard work.

Hops are closer to bamboo or kudzu than any of the items you listed above and are not really susceptible to light freezing (like tender veggies or newly sprouted herbs will be). Also, I have found that transplanting them while they are active and growing from small trimmings, which is what most buyers will get and only have 1 or 2 active buds/shoots, are quite delicate and easy to damage, especially when transplanting. I lost roughly half of my started hops when I tried the process you described above the first year I started growing. Just offering my experience. Others may have had great success with this, but I have had fantastic results with early-season planting directly in the desired location.

fineexampl · 03-29-2010, 08:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Randar

Hops are closer to bamboo or kudzu than any of the items you listed above and are not really susceptible to light freezing (like tender veggies or newly sprouted herbs will be). Also, I have found that transplanting them while they are active and growing from small trimmings, which is what most buyers will get and only have 1 or 2 active buds/shoots, are quite delicate and easy to damage, especially when transplanting. I lost roughly half of my started hops when I tried the process you described above the first year I started growing. Just offering my experience. Others may have had great success with this, but I have had fantastic results with early-season planting directly in the desired location.

right on. i considered this as well. when i'm ready to plant out i'm just cutting out the bottom of the planter and burying it in the ground. while i expect it to creep underneath, i'll be able to remove rhizomes in the future should my in-laws (this is where they're ending up) move to a retirement village or similar. I won't have to guess where the main root sections are, etc.