Trimming / Pruning

[cscade]

I'm not sure if anyone has good info on this, but here goes!

My hops are very, very happy this year. They have 14' of coir yarn to climb, and two of the Cascades are already 2' or so beyond the top and looking for more line. They are starting to entangle in the pulley system that allows me to drop the lines for harvesting!

My question; is there a "right" or "wrong" way to cut the bines back at the top? If I don't do something soon I won't be able to lower them later for harvest because they'll foul the pulleys.

 

[NorthForkHops]

You can cut them back at a node further down the stem. The top may split which isn't good for young plants. If you cut it back you will set the plant back a week or so; however cutting will stimulate root growth.

Never prune after irrigating. And keep a close eye on the plant until new growth starts. A weak plat sends out signals to pests that alert pests to the area.

 

[cram]

Stupid question....but could you throw a stout line over the top of your horizontal line when it's time to harvest to just pull the buggers down? The reason I ask is because most of your hops will be at the top 2/3 of the plant's growth.

Cropping the top might be a losing battle because the laterals will tend to adopt the role of a climbing bine, which means you might have even more of a tangle to contend with. If it were me, I'd probably let it be and deal with the "how am I gonna get them down?" question come harvest time...

 

[cscade]

I decided based on this helpful input to re-direct the plants instead. I dropped the lines and wound the bines that were "reaching for the sky" around the main cable heading away from the posts.

It will only work for so long, but hopefully the bines will stop growing eventually.

I'm already seeing burrs, which seems crazy for early June in Ohio!

 

[brewguyver]

Redirection seems to work for me.

My yard is on a slope, so I run them up about 8' and then uphill to another line about 30' away. That seems to be working for now.

They do tend to like a slight upward angle on the line, and don't stick well to cloths line (lesson learned). If you spin some Coir rope around the cloths line they'll figure it out.