no sign from 3 of my 4 rhizomes

[akpingel]

Hey everyone, I planted 4 rhizomes (2 centennial, 2 cascade) April 26th that I bought from a big online homebrew retailer. I live near Charlotte NC, and we have had a ton of rain since then. So far I have only one rhizome that has sprouted anything, a shoot about 4 inches tall this morning. No activity from the other 3. I probably just need to RDWHAHB but I am thinking about hand-digging the others up to see if their is any growth? What could be wrong with them, and is there anything I can do to get them going? The good news is I have 1, so I could potentially have at least some hops next year... but I really hope I don't have to try again next year with 3 new rhizomes. Maybe 1 out of 4 is an acceptable success rate? Seems low.

Thanks :beer:
Alex

 

[akpingel]

The site has full sun until about 1-2PM. The soil has a lot of clay, so I used claybreak and black cow... averaging about a bag of each per rhizome. I then covered the site in mulch.

Thanks, :beer:
Alex

 

[Senormac]

Hey everyone, I planted 4 rhizomes (2 centennial, 2 cascade) April 26th

.....

WAAAYY too impatient. They are still just getting used to the flavor of your soil. Just kick back and wait.....

 

[Calder]

How deep did you plant them?

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

They like moisture and good drainage. Did they all look about the same when you planted them? Full, not shriveled?

 

[shoengine]

I planted four rhizomes in early March. They all sprouted at different times, except the Cascade which I've seen neither hide nor hair of.

 

[akpingel]

I planted them about 6 inches deep. When I planted them it took me a minute to figure out what was the root side as there wasn't much growth on them. I believe the drainage is good, haven't seen any standing water nearby or when digging. I maybe haven't watered them enough, relying on the heavy rains. I tend to under-water. I'll post a pic of the rhizomes before I planted them.

 

[B-Hoppy]

I planted them about 6 inches deep . . .

This is most likely your answer. Basically, the deeper you plant, the longer it's gonna take for them to pop up. As long as you haven't drowned them they should come up sometime. Alternatively, you can always take a shovel and gently 'dig and lift' until you see something. Let us know.

 

[Calder]

I planted them about 6 inches deep.

That's the reason. Expect about a week per inch depth for them to show.

6 inches is no problem, Do not disturb them.

Make sure you don't over-water them.

 

[akpingel]

Hey thanks for the feedback. So being totally impatient I dug one up today. First off I couldn't find it. I think it was well below 6 inches, plus when you add mulch on top of that... It basically had no new growth except maybe one new sprout. It was nice and wet and didn't look dead. We had a nice thunderstorm roll through late yesterday so this was as expected. I think the comment about it being way too soon makes sense plus with them being so deep. I put it back but a little more shallow this time, and I will stop worrying about it.

Meanwhile the one cascade that has sprouted is doing well, so hopefully at least I will have a little yield next year.

Ill post an update whenever the other 3 sprout if ever.

 

[akpingel]

Just an update. The one cascade plant is still going strong and getting stronger every day. Should be a good to go next year and beyond. I never did see anything from the other three rhizomes. I found a couple rhizomes at my LHBS and put those in- a centennial and a columbus. I will say that the two I just purchase looked way healthier than the first four I bought. They were thicker, and had more budding roots and shoots. That being said, the centennial hasn't popped up, but the columbus took off immediately. At this point I am wondering two things:

What are the chances that the centennials skip this year and pop up next year? I know I have seen this from bulb flowers I have planted in the past.

Anything about my soil I could change to improve my chances of a new Centennial rhizome planted next year would come up?

Thanks,
Alex

 

[Kent88]

First of all, I'm not an expert. First year grower here, but I feel like I'm having some success and I have been doing some research along the way.

This is why I bought started hops. They may have been double the price of a rhizome, but I knew that I would have a plant that was in good shape and that any problem that might come up would more than likely be my fault. And if I get good production out of them for a few years, than what is an extra $5 at the start?

Bone and blood meal are good things to add to the soil when you plant. Blood meal provides Nitrogen that the plant needs during the late spring and early-to-mid summer, and a little bone meal provides Phosphorous which is good for root growth and doesn't permeate well through the soil, so planting is a good time to add it. I use plenty of cow manure compost (about 50/50 with topsoil).

I wouldn't plan on those rhizomes coming up next year. They've gone how long without photosynthesizing... so I'd be surprised if they pulled through.