Trimming Back Shoots

[Flatspin]

I bought two hop crowns earlier this year. Both are taking off really well right now, and I am wondering when I should consider trimming back some of the hop shoots. This is the first year I have had these hops, but since they came as crowns, I would say they are closer in growth to a second year plant.

I know that I read somewhere in this section (I can't remember the exact post), that to maximize the number and size of hops, I should select 2 or 3 of the largest shoots with leaves spaced farthest apart, and those will be my main bines.

Since the root structure is pretty well formed already, is there a benefit to letting it grow free for the first year? If I can focus on training a few bines, when should I begin selecting them and focusing the plant on their growth? Or is it just way too early still to even be thinking about this?

I added a couple pictures to show the level of growth as of today,and because it's just cool to see them coming to life already! The thicker, greener plant is Sterling, and the other is Centennial.

 

[2BeerSpeer]

I bought 8 crowns and planted them late fall, was wondering the same thing! All but 2 of mine are like your sterling already...not sure yet if I will cut any or not this year. May contact GLH and ask them..

 

[B-Hoppy]

I guess it kinda depends on how old the crowns were. If it was a one-year-old crown, you could probably let everything go just to make sure it gets established in your location - you'll still probably get anywhere from 20 to 40 shoots. If it was any older you could get 50 to 100 shoots coming up - this will vary from variety to variety and also depends on how healthy it grew prior to you taking possession of it. With that many shoots you'll have to string them in a bunch of different directions to make sure they don't tangle together too much (tough picking). I guess the main reason for knocking back the first growth is that many of the early shoots exhibit very uneven growth, not to mention that they could be frosted off. It's all up to you and you'll have a better idea of how many to remove once you've grown them for a few years and see how many shoots they're actually capable of producing. Not meaning to be ambiguous but different growing conditions will produce different levels of vigor. Hop On!

Just did a little diggin - these were all little Chinook rhizomes that were planted last June. They were from cuttings I made in April and had been sitting in a zip-lock bag taking up space in the fridge that could have been occupied by beer . . . so I made space. As you can see, there's plenty of shoots coming off each rhizome ("crown" would be more appropriate at this time I guess) and these are just the first round. There are as many, if not more, little tiny buds that you can't see in the pictures. Each one will produce another shoot over the course of the next few months. You can decide if you want to cut any of them back or not, I'm just the messenger. Hop to IT!

 

[Flatspin]

Thanks for the info. By the way, love that Smuttynose IPA, it was one of my favorites when I lived in New England!

I made a quick count to figure out how many shoots have broken ground. The Centennial has about 40 shoots as of today with 3 at about 6-8 inches. The Sterling has more shoots, it's tough to count with all the leaves, but the longest are about 5 inches.

Your comment seemed to imply that I should train multiple shoots up each string. About how many shoots should I focus on growing to full length?

 

[B-Hoppy]

Depending on the variety, between 3-8 per rope. Cascade and others with big long sidearms usually 3 maybe 4. Any more and it becomes a tangled nightmare trying to pick. The ones with short sidearms I usually run a bunch. It's all an individual preference that you'll develop after a few years of trying different scenarios. It's all fun.