How tall to let my container hops grow?

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gbx

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I have 2 second year hops (cascade and willamette) growing in large rubbermaid storage containers. For a trellis I run lines to the upstairs balcony. When the hops reach the top (only about 8ft) I let out more line and hang the bines over the railing. As of tonight, both lines of Willamette have hit the top for a second time, approx 12ft in total length and there are laterals popping out all over. Last year I let it grow to more than 20ft in length but this year I was thinking of not letting any more line out and just letting it fill in. What would experienced growers recommend? Is 12ft long enough? Whats going to get me the most cones? Here is a pic of my setup from about a month ago
Image0162.jpg
 
IMHO, I wouldn't stop them from growing as high as hey want. Soon you'll see side arm growth starting at the leaf nodes. These will become the laterals that produce hops. Most of the hops form in the top half of the plant. Some folks prune off the growth tip to force side arms but I prefer to let nature take its course. art of the fun is experimenting, though. You might decide to do one strategy on one and not the other and compare results for next year...
 
I measured them today and the one bine was over 15ft long. I'm going to let this plant just fill in - there are a lot of side shoots already. Here are some new pics from this morning.

Image0166.jpg


Image0167.jpg
 
gbx said:
I measured them today and the one bine was over 15ft long. I'm going to let this plant just fill in - there are a lot of side shoots already. Here are some new pics from this morning.

Holy **** those leaves are huge!
 
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