Size and Age of Rhizomes

From what I gather, the larger and older any potential rhizome is, the better the chances for viable new shoots and the more likely one is to take in at least a decent harvest the first year. I know I'm speaking generalizations here, but this sounds right....right?

Could this explain some of the big differences in price what we are seeing? Like twice the price? Not sure there...

The flip side being some very cheap "bundles" that are out there. Maybe they'll be full yield in a couple plus of year but I don't think that the expectation would be that a rhizome that is half the length is going to have the same chances at success in terms of a good yield the first year. That said, the most important thing is likely the rootstalk selection.

Thoughts?

A normal rhizome is 4-6 inches with a few buds already present. I may have gotten a bundle for cheap, $1.25 a root, some being the same as the average rhizome, some being much better. Just consider a normal root is $4-$6. There may be 2 roots of the 12 that did not show any bud growth when I received them. They will just take more time. Other's are vigorous growers. I would not go with buying a bundle of 50 roots that are 2" each. That would defintelty take a few years to grow up good, but once it did the yield would be crazy.

The basic thing is the more roots the rhizome already has established the better the plant will be at producing flowers for the first year. If you want to spend more money on "jumbo" roots and such you can and will have a better yield that first year. If you can afford it you can have a lot of varieties in jumbo form. Planting 2 normal rhizomes per hill can also help out your yield.

There is a nice pic of a 3 year old centennial hop root that is 3 feet across. That just tells you how much an original rhizome grows in that amount of time.
http://www.fortunecity.com/boozers/brewerytap/555/hops/HopsRhizome.jpg

I wouldn't worry to much about the size of the rhizome. Mine have grown really fast and spread to an area larger than I would have liked. They were only about 4 in and grew to around 18 feet the first year.

A rhizome should have a couple shoots on it. More than that doesn't really matter, they grow like the weeds they are. Some places also sell small root balls, which are what a rhizome should look like in a year. Dave calls them jumbos. Take a look at: http://www.freshops.com/rhizinfo.html They'll have a decent yield the first year.

Rhizome price depends more on whether you are dealing with a source or a middle-man. Anyone outside of WA. OR, ID is probably a middle-man.

Hops will spread. Either you cut around them every year and dig out the rhizomes or place a barrier around them that runs 6" into the ground.