Dead Hops?

Hi-- my "babies" seem to have curled up and died. I had gotten a plant (dug up and repotted) from a friend who has Cascades. We split it into three pots in the house, they grew incredibly over 10 days.
Happy Hops

Then I decided to get them outside--our local temps had been below zero at night but because I didn't want to risk freezing, I put them (still in pots) in my garage for a couple days/nights to get used to temperature swings.

Now, after having them in the ground for two days, it appears that the bines have died.
Unhappy Hops1
Unhappy Hops2
Unhappy Hops3


Wondering what to do---cut them down right to the soil and hopefully some more will start shooting up?

I've planted them in a nice healthy blend of manure, compost, and potting soil, covered in cedar mulch. Have rigged a trickle hose around the plants, too, for watering.

-Jeff

Just leave the other growth for now and see if the plants recover from the move. Those plants don't look dead to me, but they may be in shock from the transplant.

Thanks for the reply---yeah, probably shock. And when I was checking the earth out there today, seems quite wet. I did mound them but perhaps they need a re-dig and mound a bit higher. Probably getting soggy...

Jfriah said:

Thanks for the reply---yeah, probably shock. And when I was checking the earth out there today, seems quite wet. I did mound them but perhaps they need a re-dig and mound a bit higher. Probably getting soggy...

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You have good drainage in that pot? You want moist but not soggy.

Sorry, perhaps wasn't clear. They started in pots and were very happy. Put them in the ground and now not happy. I think I'll carefully dig them up on the weekend or an evening this week when I get home, bring them up a bit do it is a definite mound. The original bine post (deadwood) and the rest of the non-growing bines are below soil level. I've heard not to cover the 'crown'. Perhaps too deep and the fact I've got mulch on top might be keeping the soil TOO wet.

I'll just do the old 'kitty litter' trick to break up the soil some more, although I have used compost, manure, and good gardening soil. Should have just been like other guys in my area: dig a hole in your backyard, insert rhizone, harvest in the fall, drink and be merry.

Noooo just leave them alone! They're just in shock, and messing with the plants some more will only stress them more.

I would leave them a week and DONT over water them, if the soil is moist (ie NOT dry) just leave them be for a week.

The leaves look like they're getting chewed up?

EvilTOJ said:

Noooo just leave them alone! They're just in shock, and messing with the plants some more will only stress them more.

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+1

One of my new plants had one end of it's rhizome exposed after it grew about a foot by a rabbit the other night. It looks much worse than what you're dealing with and is most likely done growing this year. I'll just leave it alone and wait for another shoot to appear. Hopefully it'll be this year, but most likely I'll have to wait for next. I figure the growth above ground means that the roots were doing well below.

Really sucks because I was 6/6 with the new plants and the older plant that I split is doing VERY well along with the three second years.

killerhertz said:

The leaves look like they're getting chewed up?

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Btw, I just noticed my Warrior vines are starting to have mild symptoms similar to yours. My 2 Cascades seem to be unaffected for whatever reason. I looked closer and noticed a few aphids on the underside of the leaves. I then sprayed all of my plants with insecticidal soap. It's basically some soap/oil, mint, and water. Aphids aren't big fans of mint, and the soap/oil dries out their protective membrane. I'm growing on my balcony, and I almost always have aphid issues in the summer.

Warrior? Please tell who sells this variety.

cuinrearview said:

Warrior? Please tell who sells this variety.

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I bought a rhizome from freshops a month ago. Looks like they're out now...

most definitely over watered/ overly wet soil... I've got 20 bines with the lower 1/4 looking just the same.... just on a larger scale.... don't water so often... the upper 3/4 of mine now look great.... they will come back just let the soil dry out a bit before you water them again.... I'm down to watering once every 12 days or so and the soil here is a heavy clay so it retains a bit of the moisture.

Seabee John said:

most definitely over watered/ overly wet soil... I've got 20 bines with the lower 1/4 looking just the same.... just on a larger scale.... don't water so often... the upper 3/4 of mine now look great.... they will come back just let the soil dry out a bit before you water them again.... I'm down to watering once every 12 days or so and the soil here is a heavy clay so it retains a bit of the moisture.

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As John noted, overwatering will cause the leaves to go yellow. I have some hops in a pasture that gets flood irrigation once a week. I have some others that are watered with soaker hoses - 30 minutes twice a week now and I will increase it to 60 minutes twice a week when it gets hot. If you water heavily and water less often, the roots will go deeper in search of water. The plants get more drought resistant as well. And you minimize the possibility of mildew because the top layer of soil does not stay wet.

Thanks, Guys. I was prepared (still am) to dig them up this weekend and try to cut some rhizone if they're not rotten. It is still quite damp down in the soil and I haven't watered (or rain) in 5 days. It was just a real kick in the A to see my nice first-year bines taking off inside the house, like crazy. Then broke three in the process of putting them outside on strings, then the yellowing/wilting.

But now my siding on the sunnnnnnny south side of my house is complete and I could probably find spots for a few there amongst the Tiger Lilys, strawberries, and wildflowers. Maybe rig up some clips and strings to the roof of the house.


Hey how much 'clearance' should a guy give out from such a surface, ie: attach a post or something out from the gable ends at least a few inches to give the vine some room to grow/wrap around?