My hop growing situation

[king]

So this year I tried out growing some hops. Now a few months after planting I've read a lot more about it and realized how much I did wrong.

First, I planted only a single rhizome, Columbus. Heard its better to do at least 3-4 in one area. I also planted this single rhizome vertical instead of horizontal. Originally it was in a 12 inch pot and actually started growing pretty rapidly, one large shoot up to 4 feet and a few smaller ones at the bottom...then a storm came through. Broke the tip off of the 4 foot one. But eventually some of the smaller shoots took over and got back up to around 4'. At this point I decided that I needed to 1) put it into a bigger pot so the roots had more room and 2) put it on a more permanent trellis-like system. Unfortunately my timing was terrible. The day that I moved the plant into its new 7 gallon pot and put it on the new trellis a 4 day heat wave came through Chicago. Heat index was up around 115 degrees. I watered it well during this heat wave, shadowed the pot that it was in because I heard it could heat up too much and kill the roots. But there was nothing I could do, the large shoot and the other 4 or so that weren't far behind it dried up and died. Now its about 3 weeks after that. I left the large shoot wrapped around the twine and now some new ones are growing out of the top of it and also some others from the base.

I know I shouldn't expect anything from my plant this year but I have some questions about making it successful next year. So should I pull the rhizome out and flip it horizontal like it supposed to be? Is it even worth it reusing this rhizome? Any other input on my situation would be appreciated.

 

[tchuklobrau]

Hard to be clear w/o pics. however i say new shoots means signs of life. let it grow as is. Just my opinion though.

 

[hoppymonkey]

Firstly I wouldn't grow them in pots unless it was ENORMOUS. If you have to do that top off the pot as much as possible with 50/50 manure or black compost/topsoil mix and let her grow as much as possible this year. When it dies off,Trim the bines to the dirt and put down 3-4 of mulch for them to weather in. A 7 gallon pot isn't near big enough in my experience. MIne are in a raised bed 2' high by 8' long by 3' wide and they suck up every bit of that room in their second year.

 

[king]

I intended to let it finish out this year in the pot. I am very limited as to growing here though. I live in an apartment in the chicago city area. I live on the second floor and have considered next year building something for it on the ground level and putting the twine up to the balcony. This would actually be a really good area for a lot of sunlight. I just have to make sure its cool with my neighbors below first. And they're kind of bitchy. So if I do this should I take the rhizome and whatever roots have grown out and put it in the new build with some new rhizomes or should I just ditch it and start from new?

 

[king]

Heres a picture. Looks pretty pathetic. And as I was out there I checked out the potential of putting something on the ground level and I think it could actually work. Too bad I have to wait until the long winter is over before I get to try again. I'm thinking of sprouting it inside early under a plant light in a degradable pot that I could just put directly into soil once the winter finally goes away. Usually not until late April/early may around here.

 

[day_trippr]

Stop thinking "rhizome", you have a "crown" now. Yeah, a vestigial one, but still, you'll be transplanting the whole plant, you're way passed worrying about orientation.

What fried your plant was likely the heat on the roots. Hops don't like hot feet. An important aspect of proper planting is to shield the roots with a healthy topping of mulchy stuff to keep the hot feet at bay.

So when you do whatever you're planning on doing, find a way to shield the roots from the heat of the day, and if you're doing it in a pot, I'd come up with something to shield that, too. Even a dense wrap of burlap would be better than letting the sun blast on the pot...

Cheers!

 

[king]

Thanks for the help guys. I'll just leave it in the pot for the rest of the warm season and then put it in a bed sometime next year. I could probably get away with something thats about 2'-3' high and 3' long. I'll put the crown in the bed along with some fresh rhizomes. Already can't wait for the spring.