Exposed rhizomes

[tonyole]

This season was the first for my hips. I planted a couple of cascade and a halertau. All three grew well with the cascade being the most active reaching the 18ft limit of my trellis pretty quickly.

I had read that the first year can be mostly root system growth and I think that's the case as I got maybe a dozen cones max. Not too surprised at that.

So today as I'm cleaning up the garden for the winter I noticed that all three of the plants had the main "root" at the very surface of the garden bed. They are all huge and have multiple runners heading in all directions. So.......

Finally to my questions..... Is it normal for the root system (with numerous small shoots) to be so close to the top of the bed? Should I cover them with more soil? I'm worried that the winter will kill them off. I'm in the Hudson valley of NY.

Also, should I cut back these "runners" and just keep the main plant?

Should I wait for the upper part of the plant to die away completely before cutting it back for the winter.

Any help would be awesome. I've babied these guys all year and would not be a happy chappy if they bit the dust this winter.

 

[day_trippr]

[...]Finally to my questions..... Is it normal for the root system (with numerous small shoots) to be so close to the top of the bed? Should I cover them with more soil? I'm worried that the winter will kill them off. I'm in the Hudson valley of NY.

Totally normal. If it wasn't pitch dark out I'd shoot a pic of some five year old crowns, that have the knobs from major roots all gnarled up at grade.

Also, should I cut back these "runners" and just keep the main plant?

Yes, I recommend cutting any runners back to the crown unless you want your hop plants to sprawl.

Should I wait for the upper part of the plant to die away completely before cutting it back for the winter.

You're north of me, and I just cut my bines to a few inches above grade last weekend after they finally got croaked by frost, then buried the crowns in leaf mulch. I'd say you could do the same any time now...

Cheers!

 

[tonyole]

Awesome. Thanks a lot. A huge weight off my shoulders. Will do.

 

[B-Hoppy]

If you grew from rhizomes, the runners that you're seeing may only be surface roots. If that's the case, you're fine just leaving them stay put without worrying about them taking over. Rhizomes will have rings of buds at intervals from maybe 3-6 inches apart all along its length. Generally, if you follow it from the mother plant out to where it terminates, the terminal point should have some very well developed buds visible.

If you planted crowns, it may be rhizomes that you're seeing. Good luck.