move hops?

[wegz15]

So I have some second year hops. Today my wife decided she wants to make a raised bed where my hops are. She said I can leave them. The bed will add about a foot in depth.

My question, should I just bury them or dig them up and replant higher?

Edit: not sure if it matters but they're about 10 feet right now

 

[kellanv]

Either way you will stress the plants. Burying them will cause problems with water acquisition and oxygen levels. Raising them will damage the roots themselves. Hops are tough tho!

 

[ThreeDogsNE]

It's June 5th. Isn't it getting a bit late to plant a garden in those raised beds this year? Does she still plan to try this? If not, why not just build the beds in the Fall, after you have harvested, or preferably after the first frost when your hops die back and the crowns can be raised with less harm to the plants. Is this one of those darn "do you love me more than...." gambits? Maybe some flowers and a nice dinner would save your plants for the year.

 

[B-Hoppy]

Tough call. I'm with kellany though in that either way they'll be stressed. By lifting them, you'll most likely lose the present growth but they'll manage to throw up some new shoots once they get back on their feet. You could bury them and then lift them and reposition this Fall which may be a little less stressful at this time of the year. Either way, I seriously doubt if you'll kill them, they are HOPS after all! Keep us posted.

 

[wegz15]

She plans on buying the plants from a nursery so they were started a while ago. I built the bed today and put down some leaf mulch and tried to avoid the hops. I guess I'll just bury them as is and raise them at harvest. Thanks for the replies.

 

[wegz15]

So I ended up burying them. No side effects yet. They seem to be growing fine. Grew about 2 feet since I buried them