Can I grow hops in pots?

[Sam Law]

Hello!

I'm keen to get 3 or 4 hops going in the back yard, but would hate to leave the guys when I move house, so I was wondering if I could pot them? Then take them to their new homes in one or two years after a harvest?

I'm in a grow zone between 9 and 10. Are my dreams of becoming a hop grower dead on arrival? All help welcomed.

 

[AJinJacksonville]

I planted three Cascade rhizomes this season...and to be honest, at least for this year, the one in the pot is doing the best. It's planted in a resin half-barrel (picture a whiskey barrel-style) planter...filled with potting soil, some homemade compost and topped with mulch. It's doing really well. Just make sure it is able to drain (I drilled a few 1/4" holes in the bottom) and keep an eye on the moisture level. It drains almost as quickly as the ones I planted in soil.

I staked a line on the other side of the barrel, and ran twine from the stake through a notch in the side...and then onto an eyelet mounted on the fence. I'll try to snap a picture of it tomorrow.

Good luck!

 

[Sam Law]

I planted three Cascade rhizomes this season...and to be honest, at least for this year, the one in the pot is doing the best. It's planted in a resin half-barrel (picture a whiskey barrel-style) planter...filled with potting soil, some homemade compost and topped with mulch. It's doing really well. Just make sure it is able to drain (I drilled a few 1/4" holes in the bottom) and keep an eye on the moisture level. It drains almost as quickly as the ones I planted in soil.

I staked a line on the other side of the barrel, and ran twine from the stake through a notch in the side...and then onto an eyelet mounted on the fence. I'll try to snap a picture of it tomorrow.

Good luck!

O awesome! I should try find some barrels then. What grow zone are you in?

 

[AJinJacksonville]

I'm in NE Florida; Zone 8/9

 

[Beerisgud]

The bigger the pot the better and these half barrels will be very heavy. Get them in place before you fill them. When you move just root prune and take the root ball for ease of transplant. Look for heat tolerant varieties like Chinook centennial cascade and nugget. Good luck, happy growing!

 

[Kent88]

I finally put mine in the ground this year after about 3 years in pots. I had to move around a bunch, so they've been around zones 4-6.

The pots I had them in weren't big enough. The bines would grow to somewhere in the neighborhood of 8'-10', and I haven't had enough cones to make it worth picking them. I recommend putting them in the largest pot you feel you can move around.

You imply that you wont be at your current residence for more than another year or two. If you were going to stay there any longer than that, I would recommend you look into different ways of keeping your hops geographically flexible even after planting them in the ground. I believe that, given enough time, the root crown that grows from an immature plant will put out new rhizomes that you can cut, move and grow. I also think that root systems can be dug up and moved or even split. Something I'm trying this year is growing hops from cuttings.

This video details how one can get hops started in large pots, but I'll also highlight that around the 9:30 mark they start talking about (and showing) digging up an established root crown to give it away / transplant:


These guys are a little obnoxious, but this shows what one could do with a hop crown that has established itself, transplanting and splitting:


This is a thread that I've been participating in, where we discuss how to root cuttings: Propagation from Cuttings?