after the first season

I grew my first hops this year in containers. The yield was small (less than an ounce. I want to put them in the ground for next year. When should I do this. Its wet and about 60 degrees here now. Should I do it now or wait.
I looked at the roots and they are huge. They wrapped around the container walls on the inside several times.

I'd put them in the ground now. It'll be less work in the spring. Make sure you fertilize them well and add plenty of manure.

I thought I had read somewhere that you should wait until spring. I think the transplant would be too traumatic before the cold winter where the roots are trying to store as much energy as they can and could damage. If you transplant in the spring the damage can easily be fixed with the warmer weather and sun...

Maybe someone can confirm\correct me.

This summer was my fourth year growing hops. I have tried uprooting and changing locations both in fall and spring. I have not noticed any difference in the quality of hops or quantity I produce. In fact... my first growing season, I actually planted the previous fall. They did fine and produced almost a pound between 3 plants which is fairly good for first years.

I believe the reason spring is suggested it only because the ground is usually softer and easier to work with.

Generally speaking, anytime you disturb or stress a plant it will spur it to grow. If you rhizomes start growing now, they won't be able to produce enough carbs to offset what they spent trying to grow. (I'm assuming your north enough to have snow.) So we wait until the plant goes dormant and then dig it up to transplant.

Doing it in the spring is best because when we dig it up, the plant is still dormant but when we shove it in the ground and it starts to grow, its at the beginning of the season so it will survive.

That said, if you really want to get it in the ground, go for it. I would just wait until its been cooler than 50F for an extended period to make sure the roots are asleep.

Thanks for the info guys