3rd year hops pruning question

i have third year since rhisome hops. they are coming up like crazy!! my question is, how many bines can i allow to start climbing? should i trim back all but three like with 1st and 2nd year, or can i just let them all go nuts?

Some people let theirs go. I prefer to cut it back to six bines per rhizome. I have two lines for each plant and wind 3 around each line.

excellent. thanks for the info.

I am growing mine up 4 lines, 3 bines per line.

It also depends on how much vertical growth you can allow.

If you are growing on a 7 foot fence, I would let them ALLL go.

If you have 2 stories, 9-10 may be the max or none of them will reach their prime.

Suthrncomfrt1884 said:

Some people let theirs go. I prefer to cut it back to six bines per rhizome. I have two lines for each plant and wind 3 around each line.

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Hey Suthrncomfrt, how are your hops doing? I'm in Aurora IL, same region. My second year hops are between 4" and 12" tall. Just curious how regional growers are doing.

Last year did a single line per plant, but I could see doing two maybe three lines. I may tweak your suggestion and do three lines with two bines each. Just for the look of it, I'd like to have a 'wall' of hops.:rockin:

Retrofit said:

Hey Suthrncomfrt, how are your hops doing? I'm in Aurora IL, same region. My second year hops are between 4" and 12" tall. Just curious how regional growers are doing.

Last year did a single line per plant, but I could see doing two maybe three lines. I may tweak your suggestion and do three lines with two bines each. Just for the look of it, I'd like to have a 'wall' of hops.:rockin:

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If it works for you, go for it. Everyones setup is a bit different and has to adjust to the available space you have. My hops started growing about a month ago. My bines are also around 12" tall. My problem is that I tore down my trellis last year to improve the design a bit. I haven't had any time to work on it yet and so I'm going to have to rush my design in order to meet the needs of my bines. I haven't trimmed mine back either. I've got about 20-30 bines coming up from each rhizome even after pruning last fall. Seems like I'm too busy this year to try and grow hops, but it's all worth the extra effort in the end.