Can I dig up and replant 3 year old hop plants?

[whattafero]

Does anyone have any insight on if I can dig up and replant my still dormant hop plants? When I put the hop bed in a few years ago I never took the time to round up the grass and just tilled a bed and planted. Over the years the grass and weeds took it over with deep roots and I could not pull weeds as fast as they were coming. I was thinking about digging up the main balls, and replanting them in new fresh soil after taking the old stuff out. My hop bed looked nasty last year and I would really like to save the plants and not have to start over. Any thoughts? Thanks!

 

[DarkCoder]

Yes you can if they are still dormant. Don't worry, hops are though !

 

[Snowden]

Absolutely! If they are still dormant this is the perfect time to transplant them. My recommendation would be to dig as large of a root ball as you can manage (in order to limit disturbance to the crown/rhizomes to the maximum extent practicable). Once you have it out of the ground, prepare your new planting location as you would for new plants - compost, topsoil, fertilizer, etc. Then, stick that bad boy down into its new home!

 

[stpug]

Yes. I dug up an entire cascade crown (rootball) last year; potted it in three sections; and it's sprouting in the pot as we type.

 

[B-Hoppy]

I agree with the others and also think that after 3 years, it's a good idea to dig up the entire crown and trim it back anyway. If they're growing in a good environment, they become a real pain to manage, so I try to keep mine on a rotation and completely dig up a crown or two each fall after they've died back. Some varieties aren't as aggressive and can be kept in check with a good pruning every spring, but some (Cascade, Canadian Redvine) need to be beaten back into submission every now and then. This picture was taken today of a deconstructed Redvine crown. The big thick woody pieces are some main parts of the crown and the rest are pretty much all rhizomes.

 

[Bitterweed]

Yes..... I dig mine, pull out grass/weed roots, trim, cut rhizomes for new hills, add compost and replant .. it is very time consuming, the bonus is you can have several 3rd year plants.. the finger size rhizomes still take a couple years..it seems I can't grow any perennial that doesn't require similar treatment.

 

[Snowden]

I agree with the others and also think that after 3 years, it's a good idea to dig up the entire crown and trim it back anyway. If they're growing in a good environment, they become a real pain to manage, so I try to keep mine on a rotation and completely dig up a crown or two each fall after they've died back. Some varieties aren't as aggressive and can be kept in check with a good pruning every spring, but some (Cascade, Canadian Redvine) need to be beaten back into submission every now and then. This picture was taken today of a deconstructed Redvine crown. The big thick woody pieces are some main parts of the crown and the rest are pretty much all rhizomes.

Wow, what a monster! How old is that thing?

 

[whattafero]

That thing is a beast! Nice to know that they are that resilient. I got a lot of friends into home brewing over the past year so I'm thinking they will enjoy some free rhizomes. Thanks for the info!

 

[B-Hoppy]

The original cuttings I received were from a fellow in Upstate NY back in the late 80's. The crown(s) have been dug up and moved several times since then and it's been in it's current location since about '98. Routine maintenance is to cut the top of the crown off (usually with a bow saw) and excavate a trench around it to remove all rhizomes that have formed over the previous growing season. Last year I tried an experiment to encourage rhizome growth and it worked, but the rhizomes didn't thicken up like I had hoped. By far, the Redvine is the most prolific variety when it comes to rhizome production that I've ever dealt with but it's brewing value isn't that great: http://www.ars.usda.gov/SP2UserFiles/person/2450/hopcultivars/21679.html