How long for rhizomes to emerge?

[Sherpa]

Im a complete nubie to growing hops so bear with me. How long does it typically take for rhizomes to emerge from the soil? I planted 4 cascade rhizomes about 2 1/2 weeks ago and have not seen any shoots pop out. Is this normal?

 

[Gridlocked]

How deep under the surface did you plant them and how warm is it where you are?
Have you been keeping the soil moisture up?

 

[Sherpa]

I planted them roughly 2 inches below the surface. The mid day temps have been anywhere from 45 to 70 degrees. I probably haven't kept the soil moisture up to where it should be. I tend to over water stuff so I didn't want to get the rhizomes too soggy.

 

[wolverinebrewer]

The questions Gridlocked asked are very important to know. Also, before you stuck them in the ground, did you look at the rhizomes to see if they were pushing new buds? New buds emerging should mean they are ready to go. As long as you didn't bury them too deep or the ground isn't too cold you should be ok. Be patient, the ground could just be too cold where you are but even here in Michigan my 2nd year plants are up a few inches.

I planted my new rhizomes in pots a couple of weeks ago to get them started because I don't have a permanent home for them yet. I had 4 rhizomes, 3 with multiple buds (which I cut in half) and 1 had only a single bud. Within 3 days, 4 of 7 had come up and as of now, only 1 hasn't come through. I only put 1" of soil over them.

 

[Sherpa]

Good info!! All of the rhizomes had at least one bud sticking out. It has been fairly cold at night so like you said, I will try to be patient and wait it out for a while.

If by chance I planted them too deep, is it worth it to bring em up a little or skim some dirt off the top or just let them be?

 

[Gridlocked]

I wouldn't mess with them if you think you may have planted them too deep, just keep the H20 at acceptable levels and they'll pop. Then, once they start, they'll amaze you with how fast they grow. I think I measured like 6" of growth in a day when my new plants started taking off last year.

I planted a new rhizome (soil/manure) about a week ago and have about a half-inch above the surface as of yesterday, so mine took off quick!

keep us posted.

 

[wolverinebrewer]

Soil temperature controls the emergence of most perennials. A general rule on planting hops is to plant them when the soil is workable kind of like planting peas, lettuce etc. But, if your soil is too cold, they may just stay in a dormant state.
If you know you planted them at 2", I would leave them alone. If you aren't sure on the depth, you planted them, I would CAREFULLY dig them up and re-set, as well as take a look at the progress. Obviously they haven't done much so its not like you would be cutting through roots and such. The care part comes in in which you need to be careful in not breaking off any new buds that you cant see yet. You could lift them up with a shovel and carefully use a hose and wash the soil off. Once you have them washed off, replant them just under the surface.
I only recommend this if you can be careful. I am a horticulture person by profession, so I wouldn't hesitate to do this but care needs to be taken.

 

[Gridlocked]

I'm a hack by profession and practice, so I would leave em. HA! Both schools represented.

Not to be a thread hijacker, but Wolverinebrewer, do you know of any "how to" videos or picture tutorials anywhere that walk a guy through rhizome harvesting?

 

[Sherpa]

Thanks for the help and I'll post some pics when they come up.

Here is a picture of a plant that I bought from a nursery that hasn't done much growing either. At least its look healthy.

 

[david_42]

Hops are heat and light lovers. Once your soil temperature hits 65F at 2", you should see shoots within a week.

 

[Sherpa]

I bet the soil temps are still pretty low, although I have other perennials popping up. I'll leave them alone, wait and watch. Just a little excited!

 

[wolverinebrewer]

Not to be a thread hijacker, but Wolverinebrewer, do you know of any "how to" videos or picture tutorials anywhere that walk a guy through rhizome harvesting?

I was looking around but didn't find much. Everything seems to be on growing them and not on digging them up for propagation. But it seems easy to do.
http://gardener-matt.blogspot.com/2009/03/harvesting-and-starting-hop-rhizomes.html

I'm new at hops so I just apply what I know about other "green" things in growing hops. This is my 2nd year. Last year I had 3 plants (centennial, galena, EKG) . I bought 4 more this year (cascade, columbus, chinook, magnum) and I believe Homercidal is sending me a bag of Cascades.
I'm trying to work out a plan to grow a lot of plants. I have a couple of acres free to use but haven't figured out all the particulars of trellising, harvesting, processing and selling.

 

[tchuklobrau]

Patience. I planted alot this spring and have summer syndrome going on as well(lol summer coming up and summer still under the soil). If your weather has been anything like here in the last week(snow and rain mix all week) they know its not time to come out and play. But as wolverinebrewer said if you "must see whats going on" you can, I personally would wait, now mind you I go out every day weather permitting and have a good long look at each planting spot and look for growth.

 

[ImperialLover]

I agree with everyone else. The temp of the soil is what's driving the growth/no growth. I live in Bama and mine were up out of the soil in a week; so I'd just wait for a bit longer and see what happens naturally. Good luck! Cheers

 

[Sherpa]

Thanks for all the great advice!

 

[Brent_in_Aurora]

My hops have sprouted, but they are 5 to 10 years old. If you need more rhizomes, you can dig some up from my yard. I am in southeast Aurora. PM me. I have some Saaz, Centennial and some Cascades.

 

[Sherpa]

My hops have sprouted, but they are 5 to 10 years old. If you need more rhizomes, you can dig some up from my yard. I am in southeast Aurora. PM me. I have some Saaz, Centennial and some Cascades.

Awesome, thank you! I will give these guys some time to pop up but if they don't I might take you up on that offer! BTY, how do your plants do here in A-town?

 

[Toecutter]

My temps are pretty much in the range you stated. I planted 4 each, Cascade, Centennial, Columbus, on April 7th. Yesterday 1 Cascade had popped through the ground with 3 shoots on it. i was trying to decide if it was a wild pot plant or not, as the small leaves looked similar.

 

[Brent_in_Aurora]

I harvested about a pound, though I have not been as dilligent about pruning or running a support system. I now have better methods to support the hops, so I hope to get better results this year.

I always need tomatoes, so PM is you have extra.

 

[dallasdb]

My hops have sprouted, but they are 5 to 10 years old. If you need more rhizomes, you can dig some up from my yard. I am in southeast Aurora. PM me. I have some Saaz, Centennial and some Cascades.

Brent,
I'm in SE Aurora as well and if the offer is extended I'd like to take a look at your rhizomes as well. I'm putting in sod and a brand new yard this weekend and can't think of a better addition than hops!

 

[Teromous]

I have a couple of new rhizomes (Chinook and Hallertau) and the Chinook sprouted 3 shoots after about two weeks. I got nothing from the Hallertau so I gently used my fingers to brush away the topsoil, and sure enough there was growth. Today I saw a tiny green leaf poking out of the soil. I'm no expert gardener by any means, but you could try this to see if the white shoots are growing upward. Just sift the soil back on top of it when you're done.

 

[ChadS99SVT]

Hey guys also in aurora....planted first year hops. 6 rhizomes in total. Planted them this past saturday and I am impatiently waiting for them to sprout

hopeing to get some growth soon!

 

[Sherpa]

Update: I unpatiently decided to skim some of the dirt off of the top of the rhizomes to see if there were any sprouts coming up. After a couple of inches were removed, I realized that I probably had planted them too deep. A little more digging finally exposed a healthy shoot! I covered the shoot with a little dirt and will patiently wait for the growth explosion. The temperature at night is still dropping in the low 30's but the soil temp. must be warm enough to initiate some growth. The rhizomes would have sprouted eventually, but at least I can rest assured that have started!!

 

[khugs21]

Congrats! My nuggets poped up but nothing on my cascades yet

 

[ChadS99SVT]

Update: I unpatiently decided to skim some of the dirt off of the top of the rhizomes to see if there were any sprouts coming up. After a couple of inches were removed, I realized that I probably had planted them too deep. A little more digging finally exposed a healthy shoot! I covered the shoot with a little dirt and will patiently wait for the growth explosion. The temperature at night is still dropping in the low 30's but the soil temp. must be warm enough to initiate some growth. The rhizomes would have sprouted eventually, but at least I can rest assured that have started!!

congrats....

nothing over here yet. I think the weather has just been to strange the past few weeks. as I type this it's snowing out.

hopefully soon enough we will get some growth.

 

[beerloaf]

My Cascade is around 18 inches and winding itself up on the line. The Hallertau is around 12 inches and the Northern Brewer is around 6 inches. They are all doing well, after only being in the ground for 1 month.

beerloaf

 

[Sherpa]

congrats....

nothing over here yet. I think the weather has just been to strange the past few weeks. as I type this it's snowing out.

hopefully soon enough we will get some growth.

Yeah the weather has beeen strange lately. I have another Nugget hop that I bought from a local nursery and I think that it may have taken a beating last night. They can handle some frost but there was frozen rain drops on it this morning. Hope it recovers!

 

[wolverinebrewer]

Update: I unpatiently decided to skim some of the dirt off of the top of the rhizomes to see if there were any sprouts coming up. After a couple of inches were removed, I realized that I probably had planted them too deep. A little more digging finally exposed a healthy shoot! I covered the shoot with a little dirt and will patiently wait for the growth explosion. The temperature at night is still dropping in the low 30's but the soil temp. must be warm enough to initiate some growth. The rhizomes would have sprouted eventually, but at least I can rest assured that have started!!

See, and you were worried that you messed up. Plants are pretty tough and sometimes it really takes a lot of effort to kill them.
I would assume that even with cold night time temps, that most people's plants will be popping. I have already cut back my 2nd year plants waiting for the 2nd flush. My first year plants I just bought and those given to me by Homercidal last week are all up already. When it's time, they're off!

 

[br1dge]

Planted 3 rhizomes (Cascade. Centennial, Chinook) on 4/24. 7 Days later I have 2 Cascade shoots, 2 Centennial and 1 Chinook. I put some netting over the mounds to keep the squirrels and other creaturs away. Now need to finish my trellis and get them climing in the next week or two.

 

[Sherpa]

Update: My rhizomes have emerged!!! There are several shoots coming up out of the soil and are growing fast. We got some much needed rain here in Colorado (2-3 inches over 2 days) whcih really jump started the growth. Some of the nights lately have dropped into the low 30's and it didn't seem th phase the hops! They are pretty hardy plants! Next year I won't worry at all!

 

[ChadS99SVT]

Yep we have gotten some growth from our centennial and I think the Cascade is just starting to break the surface. Still nothing from the chinook and columbus though.

 

[awarner]

The temp has been high enough in my area since march so I planted two chinook rhizomes and theres still no growth!

 

[ChadS99SVT]

The temp has been high enough in my area since march so I planted two chinook rhizomes and theres still no growth!

hmmm maybe not enough water? and or they are dead....This is still my first year growing but I know I was told there is a strong chance the rhizomes will not grow..

maybe you just got really unlucky.

 

[Retrofit]

Sort of what everyone else said. This is a very situational question. We say "hop growing", but different hops grow at different rates and produce different yields at different times.

With this in mind it's hard to develop a uniform blanket answer.

Like others said, factor in weather, soil conditions, and water, and again it's hard to give a blanket answer.

I can tell you this. I have 13 different hops in a row in a raised garden. Same soil, same weather, same water.

My Newport is 8.5 tall. My Tettnang *just* broke ground. Was the Tettnang buried under leaves that were suffocating it? Yes. Did it not get any sun under those leaves? Yes.

Disregarding my Tettnang, is it still true my that my healthy Mt. Hood is 3' tall, that my Golding is 2' tall, that my Chinook is 7' tall.

There are so many factors and you have a right to be concerned, but factor in you new, your plant is young, and it's still early. Just keep doing everything right- water moderately, keep it mulched, but not buried. Give it time. You'll be fine.

 

[Amin]

:rockin: omg what is this plant!

in my life i planted many things, but man i never seen anything like Hops rhizome!!!!

my rhizome posted and lost in post and got it like 1 month after shipment i though bleh they are probably dead or zombie mode!

but just after 3 days planting them i saw first 2 sprout!!!

this plant Rocking :rockin:

 

[Amin]

omg cascade plant is monster plant or something in just few hours after i post my previous post it sprout 4 more! :cross:

lol with this speed it will take over my home very soon hehe