Post Harvest Centennials in a Barrel

[samandbekah]

Hi everyone,

Recently harvested my centennial plants growing in a barrel on my deck. 1st year plants (from crowns) and got a decent yield.

My wife really likes the look of the plants as decoration so I left them up and only plucked the hop cones.

Hops came out great, yielded about a half lb dried however a little worried about the look of this plant currently... I am not sure if this is common or if its just the plant preparing to go dormant for the winter or not bit it does have a sticky like appearance to the leaves and bines. Wondering if it developed some sort of illness and worried about it for next year...

We live in Upstate NY and the fall is here but the days are still warm. Been in the 80s and Sunny all week. Nights are cool however.

Anyone have any ideas? Pics below:

 

[B-Hoppy]

Sticky appearance, like do the leaves look glossy? If so, it's most likely covered with honeydew from aphids. Check the upper portions of the plant for little green bugs about 1/4 the size of a match tip. They can multiply exponentially and create problems in a very short amount of time.

 

[samandbekah]

Sticky appearance, like do the leaves look glossy? If so, it's most likely covered with honeydew from aphids. Check the upper portions of the plant for little green bugs about 1/4 the size of a match tip. They can multiply exponentially and create problems in a very short amount of time.

Yes, very glossy, there's even a "ring" of gloss around the bottom of the barrel on my deck...

Just found it odd it started after I harvested the plant... was wondering if it was just due to the plant going dormant for the season.

Will it kill the plant entirely?

 

[samandbekah]

Did some more quick research... sounds like the work of aphids and honeydew indeed...

My next concern is if this plant will survive - I've already harvested the cones and the leaves are dying, I was going to leave the bines up to provide more "grip" for next years... thinking I should cut the plant and remove the barrels immediately?

My other hops growing on a trellis on the opposite side of the deck have no issue... I fear if these are killer to hops they'll spread and destroy the rest of my plants!

 

[B-Hoppy]

You can just blast them with a dish soap/water mixture now or something like a safer soap spray and get rid of them (probably have to do a couple sprays) and that should take care of them. All that sticky honeydew attracts sooty mold and all the leaves and wherever else it has accumulated will eventually begin to turn black as the mold grows. If you didn't have any in between the petals (bracts/bracteoles) of your cones when you picked them, the infestation probably started after you picked.

If you have any Prunus (stone fruit: cherries, peaches, plums etc) nearby, that's where the hop aphids like to overwinter. And if you do, you should regularly scout your plants next year as they know where you live now, ha! Spray early and keep them under control next year. Hoppy Trails~

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Did some more quick research... sounds like the work of aphids and honeydew indeed...

My next concern is if this plant will survive - I've already harvested the cones and the leaves are dying, I was going to leave the bines up to provide more "grip" for next years... thinking I should cut the plant and remove the barrels immediately?

My other hops growing on a trellis on the opposite side of the deck have no issue... I fear if these are killer to hops they'll spread and destroy the rest of my plants!

Aphids are more like the flu than Ebola - they sap the strength of the plant so it will produce fewer cones, and honeydew/mould can be a quality problem, but it's reasonably unlikely that they will actually kill the plant.

Old bines are the perfect breeding ground for hop-specific pests, so removing them when they're done is good for hygiene. Commercially the bines are cut down for harvesting, but if you've hand-picked then there's no reason why you can't let nature take its course, a few more weeks of photosynthesis will only benefit the rhizome. It will also give you the chance to get a late feed on, to restore some of the strength lost to the aphids. Hops are hungry plants in general so need a lot of feeding, especially in pots.

I would still treat for aphids though, with whatever pesticide you think is appropriate (and that you're allowed to use!)

 

[samandbekah]

Thank you B_Hoppy and northern brewer... This is great, feel much better about them now... I love growing hops and was going to be pretty bummed if they actually killed it...

I will definitely remember to manage/lookout for this next year.

Do you have a suggestion for a clean pesticide? I'm inclined to use the dish soap/water but at what ratio?

 

[B-Hoppy]

A dozen or so years ago I began seeing catnip in different locations growing on my property. It's kind of hard to get rid of if you don't keep up with it and finally I gave up and just let a few clumps continue to grow. As I think back, I haven't had any issues with aphids in quite a while and ended up seeing this video this past spring. Maybe it has some truth to it?

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-XUpY82S18&feature=youtu.be[/ame]

http://www.saferbrand.com/advice/insect-library/garden-insects/aphids

They can also be vectors for spreading virus/viroids as they don't use napkins to clean their mouthparts after a meal so it's a good idea to try to keep a handle on them as there are a few viruses here in the US that can be really detrimental to hops.