should I be worried

[Anarchos]

So I finally took the step to growing my own hops and ordered some from great lakes and got three crowns the night before last. So naturally yesterday I went down to Lowe's to get some pots to plant them in and some garden soil to fill them with. When all is said and done I planted one Nugget, one Golding, and one Willamette. So this morning I wake up, and when I go to water them I find that my nugget crown has been dug up by my cat and drug into my yard and looks like it was shredded, I can still see the heart of the crown but most of the root system was ripped off. do you guys think shes a goner or should I pardon the cat this time?

 

[jhoyda]

You shouldn't be worried, the cat should.

 

[wilserbrewer]

How green are your thumbs? Anything is possible with a root cutting, I would replant it and tether the cat.

 

[Anarchos]

yea, im not even sure its my cats, because we have a neighborhood cat that likes to hang with my cats otherwise I would cage my cats for thier infractions lol. As for my green thumb its been about 10 years since i've done any gardening so its very basic. It had what looked like the main root that broke grown before they shipped it to me and some other larger roots which I would assume were the rhizomes. so im still hopeful that it will survive, but yea I thought I had to worry about my dog and kids wanting to dig them up and destroy stuff so I put them in pots for this year, it didnt even occur to me that cats would mess with it.

 

[The Soft Underbelly]

Rhizomes can be pretty durable. I had tiny Willamette crown in a pot awaiting transplant a couple years back that one of my dogs destroyed. I was out of luck in that case, but who knows. Form what you describe, as long as it didn't dry out, i expect you'll be okay.

At least its early enough in the season to replace it.

 

[Anarchos]

I am a bit curious though, how long should it take before I see or dont see activity so that I will know if I need to replace it?

 

[LowNotes]

You could always put a mesh cage, or anything strong enough to keep a cat out, but open enough to let essentially 100% sunlight through, over the top of the pot. Depending on how big the rim of the pots are you might need something of a heavier guage. Something that can either be tied-down or weighted might help if the cat seems particularly determined. This will work at least until the hop sprouts, and at that point maybe the cats won't care anymore.

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

You could always put a mesh cage, or anything strong enough to keep a cat out, but open enough to let essentially 100% sunlight through, over the top of the pot. Depending on how big the rim of the pots are you might need something of a heavier guage. Something that can either be tied-down or weighted might help if the cat seems particularly determined. This will work at least until the hop sprouts, and at that point maybe the cats won't care anymore.

I think any potted plant is going to look like a giant cat litter box to some cats and they will dig it lol.

Just get some cheap chicken wire and make a tube around the planter a few feet higher than the top so cats cant jump in.
Or if they do you now have them trapped and know who did it.

 

[+HopSpunge+]

Squirrels love to do that kind of crap. Those bastards.

 

[tchuklobrau]

I never tested this, but I was told that marigolds will keep cats away. plant 1-2 in there with the hops

 

[organ]

Squirrels love to do that kind of crap. Those bastards.

I can confirm that squirrels are bastards.

 

[williamsdm1111]

How long could you keep them in a pot? I want to start growing some, but live in a rental.

 

[Anarchos]

so I was very wrong about the cats as the perpetrator, it was the dog... and he is most definitely grounded. I let him out for 30 mins in the backyard and go to let him in and he transplanted all three of my brand new hops crowns.

 

[organ]

I still blame the squirrels.

 

[wilserbrewer]

How long could you keep them in a pot? I want to start growing some, but live in a rental.

You can keep them in a pot forever, but they will only get so large confined to a pot...you will get lovely plants in a pot but limited harvest would be my guess.

 

[Anarchos]

what I plan to do is keep them in the pots until my children are old enough to understand my instructions to stay out, not that they will listen. So in about two years I'll take and split them, i will trim down the roots to a very large crow and harvest some rhizomes and plan them in the ground in the garden. that way I will have some decorative vines for my deck and have harvest vines for the beer.

 

[HALIFAXHOPS]

Try hardware screen over the top, the bines will grow through them, and also you can electrify it and dam the dogs, cats, squirrels and the kids will listen! Only kidding on the electric. Wait NC?