Found something cool today

This year I decided to start growing my own hops. I ordered one cascade and one centennial rhizome from morebeer in late April. I got the rhizomes in mid may and got them into 5 gallon buckets filled with 10 year old composted grass clippings. The centennial Shot up within two days of planting but the darn cascade took over two weeks but finally gave me 5 usable bines.

I figured this would be too many bines to make use of so I decided to try something I had not heard of anyone trying as far as I know. I carefully dug around the and down one of the stronger shoots to see what would be buried bellow, low and behold was a very small root ball and one more shoot ready to sprout!

So I decided to cut that portion off of the rhizome itself with a stanley knife and give it a go on its own just to see if there was any chance something like this would work. So I planted it in a separate place in front of my rental home (uncle owns it, so I have permission) the exact same way I cut it off of the rhizome, with the same amount sticking up that was above ground before, and with the fresh sprout still an inch under ground.

So I went outside two days ago and to MY COMPLETE DISBELIEF... there was a new bine coming up that looks as healthy as could be desired. Because of the butchering, the previously sprouted bine looked a bit weak for a week or so but with just one more week it is starting to strengthen up, I am sure it doesn't want to be shown up by its new brother that just poked up, so it even started to wrap itself a bit.


Sorry I know this was a long post, but I think this could be an incredibly useful think for new hop growers to experiment with. Think about it, if you have four shoots that come up, you could pull up your rhizome and new roots very carefully and dissect them in a way which gave all of them some roots, I am willing to bet you could get at least three viable plants from one rhizome, maybe one or two would die but heck, its worth it if you get several plants from one rhizome. I didn't try it anymore because I had also put the plants into their final resting place in the ground but I am positive I could have made some more out of all the shoots that were available instead of just chopping them off above ground.

Next year I am going to order a couple different rhizomes and try to cut one of them up before it sprouts and then try to grow one and dissect the shoots from the main rhizome when they have roots. It will be an interesting experiment.

Anyway, I was just excited to mention this and someone please post the "the thread is worthless without pics," because I am going to post pics as soon as I can.

"the thread is worthless without pics".......is that good?

In a year, you will be using your weed whacker on the Cascades. Mine puts up shoots 3-4 feet away from the main plant and that's after I trim the root and clean up.

"Sorry I know this was a long post, but I think this could be an incredibly useful think for new hop growers to experiment with. Think about it, if you have four shoots that come up, you could pull up your rhizome and new roots very carefully and dissect them in a way which gave all of them some roots, I am willing to bet you could get at least three viable plants from one rhizome...."

Don't mean to be rude but, how the hell do you think you got your Rhisome?

Each year, in the late winter or very early spring, yards perform "root pruning" to benifit the main crown. It is these root prunings that get shipped out for sales to propogate new plants in yours, mine, and many other gardens.

In fact, after about the 3rd year. You'd be advised to practice this yourself to aid in controlling your plants from spreading throughout your yard. Hops are considered EXTREMELY invasive, nearly weed like in their invasive ness. Each year after flowering (cone set) the plant uses reserves to further extend it's rhisomes to propogate itself.

GilaMinumBeer said:

Don't mean to be rude but, how the hell do you think you got your Rhisome?

Each year, in the late winter or very early spring, yards perform "root pruning" to benifit the main crown. It is these root prunings that get shipped out for sales to propogate new plants in yours, mine, and many other gardens.

Click to expand...

I understand what you are saying about trimming roots after the second year and almost all years after that, but what I am talking about is the first year that you buy a rhizome, if everyone has the success with this that I did, one single rhizome in the very first year could yield multiple plants.

It would allow the less financially well off hop grower to buy a rhizome and possibly get many plants from that one rhizome, not in the second or third years, but the first year.

I also know that my first year rhizomes will have a hard time producing any cones at all, and that taking these separate root/bine sections off of the main rhizome will even further impede its growth, but in the second year it is highly likely that at least several of these will come back very strong.


I guess my point is to not take this as a "wow, I found out the roots of this plant will grow a new plant", I know that, I am simply trying to help those who just bought thier rhizomes to realize that they may not need to buy multiples of one type to grow the number of plants they want, in the first year they may be able to cut off several separate plants from one rhizome, not an already established plant.