growing hops, Fall maintenance?

I planted Fuggles last March and the bines grew (no harvest this year).

question...do you cut the plant off right at ground level before winter, or above the woody portion that is above the ground?

from my reading, that part is unclear.

Thanks

Cut it off at the ground and clear all of the debris from the plot.

thank you, david_42...appreciate that!

When I was growing my own, I used to cut at ground level and cover with some leaves. But then, we can have some pretty hard freezes here.

I cut mine back to ground level and dressed the top with horse manure. Should be good for the winter and spring.

I don't recall what all exact varieties I have growing, but I didn't do any more than water them and I was getting cones the same season I planted. Now that they're established, I just let them die back and they come again in the spring with a vengeance.

As I usually say; plants often grow in spite of the care they receive.

Is it true that hops will grow cones after 2 or 3 years of being planted?

They should do it by the season after they were planted. Like I said, mine grew some the same year.

I got a few ounces from my first year plants but this past year (the second) I got a pound and a half.

I'm really glad this thread came along. I planted hops vines from seeds LAST summer, and nothing grew, but this year, 3 of the vines sprouted! Not much happened in ways of growing, but one of them has since taken off. It's probably about 10-12 inches tall now. Frosts, and freezes are already taking place, but the plant seems to be doing fine. WHat should I do???

-5gB-

Hop seeds?! Were did you find those?

Your options depend on how much work you want to put into the little plants you have now. If you really want to try saving it, you might try building a cold frame around it(which may not work if your winters are cold enough). Who knows, it might come back next spring even if you do nothing at all. That, or you can just order new rhizomes in the spring.

Mine have produced and are about 90% dead already even with weather that hasn't yet dipped below the 40s. When they're totally dormant I need to dig them up and relocate to a better growing area.

5gBrewer said:

I'm really glad this thread came along. I planted hops vines from seeds LAST summer, and nothing grew, but this year, 3 of the vines sprouted! Not much happened in ways of growing, but one of them has since taken off. It's probably about 10-12 inches tall now. Frosts, and freezes are already taking place, but the plant seems to be doing fine. WHat should I do???

-5gB-

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http://www.freshops.com/gardening.html said:

Hops are dioecious, which means they have separate male and female plants. Only the female produces the flowers that are used for brewing or medicinal purposes. Male plants have no commercial value, but are used to pollinate females. Pollination stimulates higher yields by increasing cone size and seed set, but because brewers prefer seedless hops, males are only grown with other wise poor yielding female varieties. Hop seed from a pollinated female is only planted when a cross between the male and female is desired to obtain a new variety.

Click to expand...

Each seed has a 50/50 chance of being male or female, odds are(depending on how many seeds you palnted) you are going to get some of each.

As far as this season I'd let them die back with the coming winter and cut off the dead vines.

Oh, and good luck with your hop breeding program.

Thanks for the input on my tiny hops vines. I hope they make it through the winter. I'll probably move the vine over to my inlaws vineyard, where they treat the vines in the winter time.

I found the seeds online BTW. There were not many places selling them, and whoever did didn't have very many.