Hops 1 foot then stop growing?

I planted my rhizomes last year. So, I was hoping this was going to be the first good harvest year. As scheduled, they popped out the ground about a month or so ago again and started to grow up my twine. A couple just popped out the ground and are still just a leaf or so. A couple others started to grow up the vine looking healthy. Like I said in the title of this thread, they have grown to about a foot length and now and ceased to grow? They have been the same length for several weeks now. I have kept them watered (every other day) but not overwatered. They are on the side of the house that gets decent sun. What could be wrong? Just FYI, they did the same thing last year but I just thought that was because of first year rooting and what not. They don't get any taller than this and I havent seen a hop cone yet??? I have 4 different varieties with 2 rhizomes of each variety planted about 5 feet from each other. I planted with a mixture of my soil, topsoil and a little sand mixed in.

Well this is my first year planting, and my hopes are going crazy! Being that I probably got lucky. But you know I read alot before I planted them, and learned that the soil composition has alot to do with hops. Top soil really isnt a good soil to mix in in my view. I planted mine in two and half deep holes about 2 feet wide, and mix in miracle grow garden soil, manure, potting soil and coffe grounds on top. I live in the desert so I completely desgarded the soil that I dug up. Topsoil is not very nutrient rich, and I dont know where your from, and do not know what kind of dirt is around your house, but sounds to me like they are nutrient deprived.

I am not experienced enough to offer a solution, but I constantly feed mine mulch and give miracle grow twice a month.

Are there some trees nearby that have grown their leaves in the last month? Maybe they are getting more shade than before.

It was miracle grow soil that I used. I just call that topsoil. I guess there is a difference. Yeah there are trees around it but they get good sun throughout the day anyways. Should they be in direct full sun?

Would it be best to dig them up and find a better location and prep the soil with nutrient rich soil? Or, should I leave them be and just use some sort of fertilizer?

They need alot of sun, but I'm not sure about moving them. They'd live, but not sure if it would be better. ANybody else?

Sounds like they are hungry to me. Go get some fish fertilizer and see if that perks them up. I avoid chemistry experiments when it come to plant food.

I really wanted to keep them organic but at this point I need to try something else.

Has the weather changed? A cold front? A cold spell?

Hops do like lots of water but every other day is overkill untill there is substantial growth. If the soil is moist too long the roots get oxygen stressed and cease to function thence, the plant exhibits nutrient deficiencies.

1" per week of water is all they need unless the temps are extreme and the soil exhibits dryness to a depth of 4" before the next watering.

If it got cold, or really cool, the hops will not be vigourous.

Its been typical North Carolina weather. Soil here dries out really quick because a lot of it is clay. I normally just water when the soil looks very dry. I just cant believe how short they look. I expected some lengthy hop vines but I cant even get them to grow more than a foot. I really thought they would grow well here. I hate life.

I have no idea what "typical North Carolina weather means. I am having typical Oklahoma weather and I assure you it is nothing similar to NC. We are in the 80's. You being North I 'spect you are cooler if not much cooler.

When temps are in the 70's through 90's the hops will explode/ Less than that and they just sort of jog or speed walk.

As to soil, clay? Yeah. I know clay. We have the red stuff. Cracked and dusty when dry with deep 1/2" to 1" wide casms. Soaked playdough when wet. Funny thing is, clay like to dry a crust about 1" to 2" deep when it gets hot. Dry as a bone, cracked, and barren. Yet, the soil under that can be saturated even bogged until the cracks go deep.

Surface moisture IS NOT a proper indicator of water needs. ESPECIALLY in clay. To get a feeling for the moisture. Dig a hole with a small garden spade (like a 3" spade) to about 3" deep and see what the soil is like there. If dry as bone. Water more. My guess with your watering regimin it'll be pretty wet down there.

Proper soil should ball in the palm easily yet crumble apart when dropped from waist high to the ground. If it does not ball it's too dry. If it does not crumble it's too wet. BUT that only applies to the miracle grow stuff. Clay, ha, has no rules until you amend it.

1" a week is enough water unless you hit high 90's or triple digits.

How do you water? With a sprinkler? What type? Or with a hose and time to think?

dmbnpj said:

Would it be best to dig them up and find a better location and prep the soil with nutrient rich soil? Or, should I leave them be and just use some sort of fertilizer?

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Hops prefer full direct sun but, so long as they are getting 6+ hours per day of direct sun they will be fine. If they are getting that your is a different problem.

Until hops top out and the leader growth tip dips down hops take up very little Nitrogen and not much of the phos or pot. Once the tip drops and the plant looses apical dominance it will leaf out and throw out sidearms. This is the time that hops drastically increase nutrient uptake to begin the process of flowering and (if pollenation happens) seed production. You see, seeds take a LOT of energy and nutrient to produce. So much so that many plants if disallowed to go to seed will continue to flower. However hops are different. So I digress a little. Your hops will not seed without a male BUT they don't know that there are no males about and will take up the food they need just in case there are.

SO, in short, you used the Miracle Grow soil which IS nutrient rich. Something else is the problem. I suspect a combination of temps, perhaps exposure, and likely too much water with every other day waterings.

What cultivar/type of hop is it?

This matters as different varieties react differently to different growing conditions. For example I'm in central Misisipi. In my old home I had Cascade & Golding hops. They both did fantastic. On my 12.5' trellis the Goldings each grew over 20' their first year (22-24' to be exact as I had to wrap the runners back and fourth). My fairly small back yard however had 5 white oak trees all more than 30" in diameter, HUGE canopy of trees! This meant these hops got full sun from about 9:00 AM till 1:00PM. After that they were in the shade for the whole day, receiving only the small amount of light that filtered through the canopy.

I moved last summer and moved the hops to a hillside next to my parents home where they are now in full sun all day long. The cascades and columbus which I added are doing great. The Goldings however despite being 3rd year hops with HUGE root systems WILL NOT climb the twine. But they're the bushiest hop plants I've ever seen, not more than 12" high. Even trimming the dozens and dozens of shoots hasn't pushed the remaining shoots to grow.

Reading will produce many similar stories about people in hotter climates having hops that wouldn't grow very high up the trellis. I say all of this to say it could be as simple as the climate isn't compatible with the hop variety you have. Hope this helps.

Schlante,
Phillip

MVKTR2 does make a excellent point. However, YRMV. I too have Goldings. And they do not thrive. However, even amidst triple digits temps in the hot Oklahoma sun with direct exposure from sun-up to sun-down they do still climb 14 foot high. They just don't yeild but about half the harvest the other, more acclimated plants, do.

Climate is very imporatant. But it isn't everything to hops.

I have centennial, fuggle, willamette, and hallertau varieties. The leaves are so dry and crusty that the plants begin to shrivel. The leaves are so dry when I touch them they crumble. Isnt that a good indicator to give them water? How do I measure what an inch of water is?

i would say that if the leaves are THAT dry there might be something other than a lack of water going on. verticillium wilt is the only thing that might even come close, http://ipmnet.org/plant-disease/disease.cfm?RecordID=604
i've never seen it in hops but in raspberries it appears very similar. the only other thought is that there might be some type of debris or other material buried deeper in your soil causing the poor growth. maybe work up another spot during the growing season and move them there this fall. sorry i couldn't be of any more help. good luck

dmbnpj said:

I have centennial, fuggle, willamette, and hallertau varieties. The leaves are so dry and crusty that the plants begin to shrivel. The leaves are so dry when I touch them they crumble. Isnt that a good indicator to give them water? How do I measure what an inch of water is?

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Dig up a couple of them. If they are not stiff and have little hairy white roots on them, they are toast. Either they never sprouted roots to begin with or You have something chewing on them(Nematodes). Seems strange they would do it 2 years in a row?!?

What varitey are they?
I had 8 types, and of those 2 did not grow well-hallertau and horizon.
The hallertau was especially bad- 4-5 feet growth and it just stopped-no cones.
After a few seasons, I dug it out and replaced with some Cascade cuttings which were growing well.

I just figured some varieties don't grow well in certain regions/soils, so I dump the non-productive ones...

(^Just saw some of the other similar responses-started reading page 1 and replied before reading all responses...)

manganese defiiceincy?
wilt?
eaten? (do they still have the growth tip on them?)

dmbnpj said:

I have centennial, fuggle, willamette, and hallertau varieties. The leaves are so dry and crusty that the plants begin to shrivel. The leaves are so dry when I touch them they crumble. Isnt that a good indicator to give them water? How do I measure what an inch of water is?

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Rain guage stuck in the dirt works. I used to just cut the bottom off a juice jug and measure up an inch. when teh water reached the line it was done.

Now, I just calculate time vs flowrate of my sprinklers.

Nelson also makes the Traveling Tractor. At it's smallest diameter spray pattern and 60 psi it throws down 1 inch of water on everything it creeps by and can travel along a 100 foot path with ease.

I just water.

brewmonk said:

I just water.

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Volume matters. Roots grow or die back depending on water availability and depth. Deeper roots are better protected from heat and frost.

Watering 1 inch per week drive the root system deep to find water. Water too shallow and you cause the roots to stay shallow with more potential for dehydration.

Deep roots are important for perennials.