Should I plant rhizomes vertically or horizontally?

I'm looking to plant my newly aquired rhizomes, but not sure which way to plant them. I've read multiple websites that say conflicting opinions-some say plant vertically with sprouts pointing up, and some say plant horizontally. Which is best?

Typically horizontal, but if you have visible budding shoots on the rhizome they should be facing up when planted.
Either way the shoots are going to find their way to the surface.

+1

We plant ours horizontally as well with any shoots facing up.

shutupandbrew,

If you plant vertically, they are easier to maintain in the long run. If you plant horizontally, there's more of a chance of them running which will lead to more and more shoots coming up farther and farther away from the crown over time. If you are worried about trying to confine/contain the rhizome growth, you're better off planting them vertically. They'll grow no matter which way they're planted though. Grow on!

B-Hoppy said:

shutupandbrew,

If you plant vertically, they are easier to maintain in the long run. If you plant horizontally, there's more of a chance of them running which will lead to more and more shoots coming up farther and farther away from the crown over time. If you are worried about trying to confine/contain the rhizome growth, you're better off planting them vertically. They'll grow no matter which way they're planted though. Grow on!

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That's a good point B-Hoppy,
I am planting 3 different varietals-Cascade, Willamette, and Nugget. I don't want them to all run together once they have root systems established, so it sounds like vertical is the way to go?

Second question-the rhizomes I got through the mail yesterday had very dark ends and were starting to soften where they were cut; almost as if they weren't very fresh. My question is, is it good practice to snip the ends to "freshen" them up, our would I be damaging the rhizomes?
The advice is much appreciated!

Where did you get those Rhizomes from? I Pre-ordered from Hopshack and they havent sent an email or notice that they are shipping and there is no mention on their website, so I have no idea when my little childeren will arrive. I have a nice bed of compost sweetened soil that is well drained with a southern exposure that gets full sun all day,. I have three varieties coming and plan to sink a bottomless bucket around each one to prevent running. I have heard that a dust off with Clonex root enzyme is good for them too. So once they arrive they have a nice home and some good chems to get started. I got a plan!!!!....For once.
Bob

Rbeckett said:

Where did you get those Rhizomes from? I Pre-ordered from Hopshack and they havent sent an email or notice that they are shipping and there is no mention on their website, so I have no idea when my little childeren will arrive. I have a nice bed of compost sweetened soil that is well drained with a southern exposure that gets full sun all day,. I have three varieties coming and plan to sink a bottomless bucket around each one to prevent running. I have heard that a dust off with Clonex root enzyme is good for them too. So once they arrive they have a nice home and some good chems to get started. I got a plan!!!!....For once.
Bob

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I ordered from Northwest Hops. Quite a bit less expensive than the LHBS.

www.northwesthops.com

shutupandbrew

For ease of maintenance I would suggest planting vertically. It may take a few years before you get comfortable with understanding what they can do as they grow, depending on your knowledge of how stuff grows.

You can cut the 'punky' end of that rhizome off up to where it gets solid and healthy again. The punky portion isn't any good any more anyway.

I found a good rhizome to illustrate how the buds orient themselves while in the ground (laying horizontal). In the pictures, the best view of how they are oriented in a 'ring' around the rhizome is to look at the end of the rhizome nearest the face of the shovel. If those buds were to continue to be allowed to grow 'as is', the ones pointing downward would begin to grow at that angle and would probably surface a few feet beyond the end of where they originated on the rhizome. What would emerge would be a shoot, like any of the others that you normally see sprouting, but in this case there would be two feet of that shoot that you can't see. Over the course of the growing season there will be rings of buds forming on that underground part which will do the same thing next Spring. So you can see why some folks insist that they're an 'invasive' plant. Some general knowledge of their growth habit can help to put a damper on some of these urban legends or whatever you want to call them. Great day to dig but I've gotten pretty thirsty so now it's off to the pub. Hop On!

Thanks for the info B-Hoppy. Talk about going the extra mile!

No problem, Just been able to go out and get the annual Spring diggin' done about a month ahead of time this year. Believe it or not, that was a 3rd year Centennial (trimmed hard last year) that threw out that much growth. That rhizome made about 4 cuttings and I ended up with about 40 more which were all about the same diameter once I made it all the way around the crown. I think it had to do with the heavy soil amendments done with that particular crown. Hope to one day figure out how to use the little camera to take some really good pics. So hop to it, y'aint gonna hert'em!!

It's been almost a month since I planted my rhizomes. It's been a bit cool here (40-55F) in MN since the 70F weekend that I planted, so I expected a slower growth rate. My issue is that where I planted them, there is also some well established perennial flowers planted by my home's previous owner. The first weeks after planting my hops, I started to "eliminate the competition" by digging up everything that popped up in hopes of making a pure hop garden. The problem now is that I don't know what are the hops, and what are perennial flowers sprouts.

Anyone have a photo of a typical first year sprouting? I don't want to pull anything more until I know whats what.

Heres mine after a few days...i'd say leave things alone until you see some shoots and know for sure what your pulling up.