First cones!!!

I am so excited to see these little spikey boogers! These are first year (rhizome) Cascades and i have a couple bines up to about 12 feet or more already. It seems the cones are developing on the taller bines first.

Im really wondering how much these first year bines will produce... Specifically, will they flower and then kinda peter out as summer begins to ramp up? Or will i be enjoying picking cones for the rest of the summer?

Thanks guys!

Guess this post didn't quite grab anyone's attention. Well my initial exhilaration has worn off and i did some reading. Apparently I am a luck man with my small crop of developing flowers.

My question remains unanswered if anyone cares to help me out... Id like to know if Hops produce cones throughout the rest of the year or if it has one pronounced flowering period. Cheers

It got our attention, you're just so far south that most of us are still a long way from the burr stage, even.

Technically, you only get 1 flush of cones. So in theory, you should only have a single harvest season...but that's theory. In reality, the cones aren't all ready at the same time. Usually ones near the top mature first, so you can just pick the ripe ones and come back later for the rest.

You shouldn't get a second set of burrs (cones) on the same plant unless you really over fertilized them. Then the bines will sometimes do goofy things but those cones usually aren't any good.

Pictures! or it didn't happen...

rmaloney86 said:

Pictures! or it didn't happen...

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Ive got the wife on it, pics will be posted.

Ok here we go, the first one is a close up of a what i'm pretty sure are some early flowers. At each junction there are a couple cones on the taller bines. I mean these plants are pretty small, i'm just excited to get a look at them. The setup is pretty ghetto too, i stretched some rabbit fencing, its probably 5 foot tall, then i realized these bines were gonna way outgrow what i thought would be ok for a first year. Then i put up the 16 foot pole with some twine connectors. it seems to be working out but now ive got one bine thats balling up at the top looking for more climbing. I didnt expect this for first year rhizomes.

some of my cascades have started to throw side arms everywhere and flower... 1st year plants in virginia

Me too! My first year cascade, field grade starter, is just starting to get burrs. And they are around the same height as yours.

Funny its always Cascade that goes crazy.

My first year Cascade has some probably 12-16 inch side shoots at this point. I havent noticed any flowers yet but its spreading and growing like crazy.

I've got burs on my first year cascade as well. It's over 14' tall already and almost out of twine. Our Texas heat is about to set in. I hope that won't set them back too much.

The first photo is from towards the top of the bines. The later ones are towards the bottom. This cascade is really making up for the magnum that didn't make it.

Looks good Daniel! yours seem to have more leaf vegetation than mine do. I think the single long climbing rope may be better for them than my big trellis.

Thanks. I have soaker hose run through my garden and I regularly fertilize with foliar and granular fertilize. That helps the vegetive growth out.

I don't ever remember having spikes this early in the year, but I looked last night and my Hallertau is starting (none of the others are). Must be the goofy early heat we had a few weeks back has them itching to get on with it.

4 out of 5 cascade already have burrs.



(First year growth in containers on balcony). When can I expect to harvest?
2nd year centennial is still growing up and over, no burrs yet, expecting a bigger yield than last year (6 cones).

My Willamette down here in SoCo is only about 2 feet long right now but climbing

Nice. I have flowers on all 3 of my varieties now. Can't wait to dry hop some fresh cascade into my IPA.

my newport has topped its telephone pole and has full-blown cones at this point. cascade is close behind, while the centennial has started showing burrs. other plants (sterling, santiam, nugget, and a columbus cutting) are farther behind.

really need to get some pix uploaded.

Now I'm worried... I'm in Southern N.H. and my first year cascade, Willamette and mt hood are only about 31/2- 4ft tall. Planted rhizomes on April 28. Am I doing something wrong or is it just the climate here?

Coppinburgh said:

Now I'm worried... I'm in Southern N.H. and my first year cascade, Willamette and mt hood are only about 31/2- 4ft tall. Planted rhizomes on April 28. Am I doing something wrong or is it just the climate here?

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this is your first year. the plants are just setting up shop. they are putting a lot of energy into establishing their root system, as swell as grow bines.

my plants are all second year crowns (so sorta third years, in a way). they started this year with a huge advantage over yours: lots of sugar (energy) stored up and roots already in place. they only thing they had to do was to shoot up bines... so that's what they did.

also, it's warmer here than NH. we got a head start on you northerners. i don't remember for sure, but i believe my plants broke ground in march.

basementbrewbrad said:

some of my cascades have started to throw side arms everywhere and flower... 1st year plants in virginia

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Same here and I'm just 35 miles west of you in Culpeper. I have three 1st year Cascades that are 10' tall bines with side shoots starting at 6' up. The Centennial are doing almost as well!

EDIT: holy carp this was my 2,000th post!

After the rain they are going nuts. A good portion of the cascades are over the 13 foot structure

Daniel1980 said:

The first photo is from towards the top of the bines. The later ones are towards the bottom. This cascade is really making up for the magnum that didn't make it.

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What did you build your trellis from? How tall ?

How did your rhizomes look when you planted? I got some massive rhizomes this year and they are going nuts too. happy hopping.

heh...all of my plants are second years. My cascade and centennial are about 2 feet tall and just now seem to be taking off. My hallertau, willemette, and nugget are going like crazy at 12-18 foot tall with flowers all over them.

My cascades are in last but Im not too worried about it. We'll see what happens.

I used an old analog TV antenna my dad had laying around and I fashioned a bracket at the top to run the string through. It's about 15' tall and the base of the plant is about 6-7' from the base of the pole. My lead bine is already a foot above the pole now. I'll post pics later. Its too dark to take one now.

Getting closer

Daniel1980 said:

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Getting closer

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I have some cones that are about done also. Does anyone have advice on how to tell when the best time to harvest is? Are there certain tell tale signs i can look for?

I have some full size cones on some of my Centennials already this year (second year). I hope that they don't peak very early? If they get large, early does that mean that they have more time to develop more of the potent lupulin?

After reading most of the threads on first year plants I didn't expect much but this cascade is full of hops already.

Sunbeam is going nuts!

Cascades looking really good so far! This is my second year and I am really excited



And I have some huge centennial cones also

I'm on my 2nd year with cascades, and I've already picked and brewed about one dry ounce from one plant, and the burrs are going nuts. The same plant gave me 3/4 a dry ounces on the first year. And I would expect multiple harvests, don't let the early hops turn brown while the rest ripen