Didn't Prune hops last fall, What do?

[NitrogenWidget]

Yeah, it dawned on me today while out on the deck that I never cut down my bines.
I read to leave them up for the first yr so they can pull energy from the leave and bines.
then it got cold and I totally forgot to trim them down.

they were 2nd yr plants I bought but first yr in their location.

I noticed some buds coming off the original bine's now right at the ground.
tiny though.
we still are seeing high 20's and low 30's randomly here with 50-60 degree days every few weeks.

should I just leave them until it gets warmer then trim?
I used just one thick rope last yr and now want to use multiple ropes.

if I leave them will the original bines be used by the plant with additional popping out?
i'm a newb so any advice would be great.

Thanks.

 

[Ruint]

Cut em down. They will only be in the way for you. Fresh growth happens every year. They will not hold the weight of this year's growth.

 

[Ruint]

I have not witnessed any of last year's plants produce anything. A couple sprouts low on the bine maybe, but the rest of it was too dehydrated and dead to be able to recover. The new growth is where it is at my friend.

 

[NitrogenWidget]

Understood.
I was leaning that way but just didn't know what would happen if I didn't cut them back in the fall.

 

[B-Hoppy]

One other thing about leaving them up all winter is that there's always a chance for them to harbor disease or insects that may carry over into the next growing season. Sanitation in farming (keeping your growing area/farm) clean of potential sites to harbor the bad guys runs parallel to the same line of thinking in brewing.

 

[Kent88]

It is a good idea not to cut to close to the crown, but you should definitely cut down last years bines.

 

[NitrogenWidget]

i gave them a trim last week.
this week i'm seeing about half a dozen buds starting to come up.

 

[KaptainKarl]

I don’t believe that leaving the dead bines would cause a health/productivity issue, but it’s sure messy.

 

[B-Hoppy]

I don’t believe that leaving the dead bines would cause a health/productivity issue, but it’s sure messy.

So you don't clean and sanitize your fernenter before filling it with your next batch of beer?

 

[NitrogenWidget]

so, how long do you let the first growths grow before trimming them back?
It was 60 today and will be 60 tomorrow but the next week it will be low 40's.

Last yr, I didn't even put them into the ground until late april.

 

[KaptainKarl]

So you don't clean and sanitize your fernenter before filling it with your next batch of beer?

Never.

 

[Ruint]

Hops are very sturdy plants @NitrogenWidget. 40 degrees Fahrenheit won't phase them. If you choose to trim them, which really is not a necessity being they're only 2 years old, you could do them now, all the way up to 5 or 6 inches of growth. Two purposes in trimming....
1) To chop the apex buds that were closest to the surface, which have the highest chance of harboring downy or powdery mildew from the previous growing season and overwintered on them.
2) To get all like cultivars in, or on, the same growing times. Their regrowth will all be the same, so there will not be large variances when they are ready to harvest.