Southern California First Time Grower

Hello this is my first post and i need your guys' advice. I just bought 6 starter hop plants: 2 hallertau 2 cascade and 2 northern brewer which should be arriving in the mail next week. I know the growing season is basically over but I bought them because they were available and I would think starters would be better than rhizomes. I live in Anaheim in Orange County, CA; where the orange groves were before the houses were built. The fall and winter is temperate, I think my region is listed as a USDA 10a zone. Would this cause the hop plants to grow throughout the fall and winter if I plant them now being it is the beginning of fall?

Taking the climate into consideration, would it be better to plant the single hop plants in seperate couple gallon pots and have them become dormant in the pots and transplant them into the ground next spring, or should I just plant them now in the fall and let them go dormant in the ground so they're ready for next spring?

I used to live in Fullerton. In a good year, it wouldn't freeze at all. I'd go ahead and plant your starters in the ground. They may not do much until the Spring, just because of the shortening days.

This is my second year of growing hops but I have been gardening for years. I went with rhizomes from freshops.com...which are available in the Spring. They have done great. Second year and all four have produced about a pound of dry hops this year in MN (williamette, cascade,Zues,nugget). Then I ordered two " hop plants" thru highhops.com this late Summer with the thought I d expand and get a head start into next year. By my best estimate these plants have grown from a 3/4" rhizome cutting. My other rhizomes were 4-6 inches in length. The plants were twice the price ($10 plus s/h) as the rhizomes. I hope your plants do well but if they don't rhizomes are almost fail proof.

Thanks for your guys' advice. I ended up plating them a couple of days ago. I removed some type of succulent flower plant in the area I wanted to plant the hops, turned up the dirt, and added a bag of Kellogg patio plus soil into the dirt. The bag listed that the soil contains chicken manure, kelp meal, and worm castings. I've read that it has perlite and peat moss mixed in. Hopefully they grow for a while to give me more of a head start for the spring growing season. Here are some pics:

The left 2 are Cascade, the middle 2 are Northern Brewer, and the right 2 are Hallertau.

Looks good. I'm in HB and am just about done harvesting with my second year Mt. Hood, Nugget, Northern Brewer and Magnum. All did well first year, except my original Cascade that just didn't make it...

We don't really ever get a good enough frost near the beach, so I've noticed that the bines just sorta slowly fade away instead of being killed outright in the winter. Last year I let them go until about January I think, then chopped them down. Went crazy this summer. I think that you'll have success.

One thing to note is that your plant look a little close and you may have some crowding issues - and will definitely have trouble keeping them separated. This just turns into a PITA when harvest time comes...

Anyways, welcome and good luck.

SoCal FTG,
Thanks for posting some pics of the planting- I always wonder how the plants will look after 3 days in a box - they look good! ( Don't believe that BS about rhizomes - my gallery proves it is crap) You have a good clean start with certified plants -Grow on fellow Hophead and Welcome to HBT!