Hop vines everywhere, what to do?

I planted some hops from seed a few years back in a 4x4 area and they grew. Over the past couple years the rizomes have grown thick and are spreading like mad, vines everywhere, more than I can possibly train in the area and they continue to spread underground. For a quick fix I mow them down around the area but how do you keep them managable? I don't want to start a hop farm. Makes me wonder why they are so expensive? I guess this is why...once you have them you don't need to keep buying more so they get you good the first time.

By the way, I don't know the variety as my girlfriend bought the seed for fun and forgot what and where. I have used them in brewing and they do the job.

Your best bet is to dig up the crown(s) and cut them up. Replant a few of the healthiest looking pieces (rhizomes) and deal with the rest. Give them away to fellow home brewers, give or sell them off on here, and the rest should probably get chopped up and composted or burned.

You could try putting plastic over the area where they are growing, and tack it well into the earth and cover it with mulch to keep it down. I don't know how well this would work for hops but it works for other plants. I bet it would take a while to contain those rhizomes though...

This is why when I planted some, I cut the bottom off of a plastic pot, and buried it in the dirt and put the hops inside it. This way it will (hopefully) only fill out the pot it's in, and not spread like wildfire.

If it is able to grow down 12 inches and go under the pot, and then pop up above the dirt again, then it won't work, but I don't think they do that. I think they only spread close to the surface. Is that a correct assumption?

That plastic pot will not stop those roots. I planted mine in containers and my cascade went down through the container then about another 6 ft that I know about (thats how much i pulled out of the ground).

sagnew440 said:

That plastic pot will not stop those roots. I planted mine in containers and my cascade went down through the container then about another 6 ft that I know about (thats how much i pulled out of the ground).

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Going down isn't the problem, which is why I cut the bottom off the pot.
I just don't want them to spread horizontally, and take over my garden. Will the pot not stop the plant from spreading uncontrollably?

StittsvilleJames said:

Going down isn't the problem, which is why I cut the bottom off the pot.
I just don't want them to spread horizontally, and take over my garden. Will the pot not stop the plant from spreading uncontrollably?

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No - the rhizomes will break right through that plastic pot no problem. Plants seem weak, but they are no - especially anything underground. If you imagine that rootsystem putting pressure against an obstacle... it trys to get around it, but cannot in the case of a plastic pot. So, it just continues to grow, bunch up, building pressure until..... snap, right through. Its happened to me personally.

If you want them contained but in the ground, you need to build a small raised bed with a good 2 feet below them so they cannot break out of the container.

If grass can grow up through my freaking driveway, I dont think a plastic pot is going to stand a chance vs hops.

I will take a few if you are willing to send them my way. I don't really care the type just so long as they taste good in the long run... PM me if you want

Sorry, been away for a while. So if I do decide to dig them up (just mowing them down like grass/weeds for now) when I the best time? Early spring? I bet digging them up is a chore though, I know trying to dig up ivy is. If I knew the variety maybe...I would think about trying to sell them cheap but that sounds like a lot of labor. I think for now I will continue mowing. I was curious what other people do to control them.

snccoulter said:

I will take a few if you are willing to send them my way. I don't really care the type just so long as they taste good in the long run... PM me if you want

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Sure, if I decide to try digging them up and it looks like something worth giving away I will look this post back up and PM you but for now it is not on my have to do list. Makes you think though how in a few years you can really propogate a few plants into a bunch once they get established. Maybe I will just dig up a spot to see how much effort is involved.