We have had a couple good frosts so far this season and I have two plants that were real late bloomers. No cones produced and only grew a few inches but only started growing during late summer. I assume they are still healthy and (hopefully) will come back next spring. Because they are so young and short, I am not really sure about pruning them back? Both plants are roughly 5 inches with some dead growth towards the tip but newer growth coming from one of the nodules. Do I cut them down to almost grown level and cover or should I just leave them how they are and move them to a garage or shed and prune in the spring. I want to give myself the best chance of keeping these hops alive. Any suggestions will be helpful thanks!
Winterizing young plants
- Thread starter Lacasse93
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In order to move them to the garage/shed, would you have to dig them up and put in pots, or are they already in pots?
I am fairly new to growing hops plants but an experienced gardener. Your plan would depend a lot on where you live and your growing zone. The size of pots would makes a difference too. Since you are have had a few frosts I assume you are not too far south. Where I am at, on the edge of Zone 6 and 7, I could probably leave the pots where they are and be fine. My biggest issue would likely be freezing and thawing. Some references I see put the hardiness of hops at Zone 5. Usually you want to treat potted plants as requiring one zone more hardiness than your zone.
If you are outside the US, I assume there is something similar to the USDA Hardiness Zone Map: Home
I am in zone 5 and the pots are fairly small since they didn’t really grow until late. They were cuttings so they were originally in water until I saw new growth then put them in potting soil in small planters with some rooting hormone. There is still green on them so I’m a little afraid to snip it down but like I said I want the best chance to bring them back next spring
I think people somehow think hops are fragile. I am in Winnipeg Manitoba, winter often hits -40C (for you Fahrenheit guys that is also -40F). I never di anything other than trim them to ground level, and they came back every year. There are several medium sized hop yards in the area that also do nothing to the fields, and have hops every year. These things are hardy. When I decided I had enough of them, I found they are harder to get rid of than they are to keep alive. They have tap roots that went down well past 3 feet, where I stopped trying to dig and just hacked them up. Still have the odd shoot that comes up, and I have not let them grow past lawnmower height in at least 5 years. They can freeze solid in the winter and come back.
