seriously though, are my hops ruined?

planted 3 weeks ago.

nuthin'.

they were little spindly lookin things too.

i'm tempted to dig them up, but haven't yet.

when i got them they were just in a sandwich baggie.

at what point should i do something?

I wouldn't worry to much. Makes the hair fall out and stuff. Be patient and go drink some beer.

Planted inside or outside?

Where are you, and what's the weather been like there?

Watering? How much? How often?

After three weeks I'd probably succumb to digging in to check on them. I'm NOT saying that that's the right thing to do, I'm just saying that I'd probably do it, being the weak-willed individual that I am. I had my rhizomes in a planter indoors for two weeks before I dug to check why the Cascades were the only ones not doing anything. One rhizome (the weakest of the bunch) still hasn't done anything. The other (the strongest of the bunch, I got two each of three varieties) had a few good sprouts, which all seemed to be happily burrowing towards the center of the earth, as I'd planted it sprout-side-down.

Just my 2 cents. My experience is minimal. I figure that those on the board with more experience will want same answers to those first few questions, though.

planted outside. i'm near baltimore. weather has been springlike. watered daily except when it has rained.

one of the goldings was sprouted yesterday. YAY!

i'm not worried worried, i just want to know when to pronounce them dead so i can order new ones.

If one has now sprouted then you should wait and see what happens. I planted rhizomes for the first time this year, too. I also went through a suspenseful period like you're experiencing. Then, one day one of the centennials sprouted up. The very next day my other two rhizomes sprouted. I went from doubt to having all hops sprouting within 24 hrs!

So, don't give up hope! Perhaps the ground is still a bit cold or something.