First year hops growing, total fail?

[Atalanta]

As a local garden show asks, "Where are you calling from?" so I'll start with that. I'm in Lower Bucks County in Southeastern PA. We moved into a "new" house last year and I wanted to grow some hops to decorate the pergola that is just off our porch.

Down the street from us is a bar that has had great success growing hops to cover the archway into their outside dining area. Course I didn't consider that they have as much sun as we do not.

I bought some Sterling hop rhizomes from a local homebrew shop this past spring. I put one each into a half barrel planter. The planters were filled with soil, peat moss, mushroom soil and compost. They were planted with the green bits sticking up and about an inch of dirt over top.

One planter, I think the rhizome was dug up because when I went to dig it up (to see if it had died) I couldn't find it. That planter did grow mushrooms. The other planter did grow a hops plant, but it didn't get much above a foot tall and was spindly.

Our house is surrounded by trees, lots of black walnut (which we plan to harvest this fall), so not a lot of sun. What sun it does get is in the afternoon from when it passes the house until it sets.

My herbs didn't fare much better, the rosemary is fine, as was the tarragon (until the squirrels got it), but the basil didn't even try.

I read on other posts about a variety called "Sunshine?" I didn't see it in the hops list from last year (its still posted on Keystone Homebrew's site). I also read there was some success with "Cascade" which I think was on the list.

Should I try a different variety next year? Should I just give in and plant something else in those planters (they probably weigh about 100lbs with all the stuff in them).

Thanks!

 

[brian4508]

Give it another year. Yes sunlight has a lot to do with growth, but also sterling is very hard to grow. A double issue right now. You could let the one go into next year, then get another bucket and plant something easy growing like cascade in the dead and new bucket. Melo the sterling away from the cascade so they don't grow into one another. Easier to harvest that way!

 

[Atalanta]

Thanks, brian. It didn't occur to me that where they were being planted wasn't going to get much light. And of course I pick a tough one to grow LOL. I was hoping that maybe next year it might do better, be a little more established.

I'll try cascade next year. Should I put 1 or 2 rhizomes into the planter? It's about 26" diameter. As it is right now, the planters are about 6 to 8 feet apart.

 

[Arrheinous]

I had a rhizome go missing. Could it be something like rot?

It's my first year too. All in all, 1 out of 4 rhizomes (an East Kent Golding) survived the Midwest's combination brutal winter, relentless spring rain, and wonky summer heating/cooling this year. PA is probably not much better. It did grow like a weed and should thrive next year.

You won't get any hops until the second year so hold on to whatever you have and it will produce next year hopefully.

 

[porterpounder]

A foot of growth even for a first year plant is not a good sign. No hops, fine, but the bines will usually grow. The need a lot of sun, good drainage and lots of water. Sterlings are not particularly hard to grow up here in MA, but every hop variety finds its happy place. I can't grow centennial for the life of me, but Magnum, Cascade, Liberty and Sterling have grown out of control in my garden for years. Cascades will grow everwhere. I have a buddy in Horsham, PA that has a huge crop of Centennial and Cascade every year.

 

[Atalanta]

I'll have to post a picture of my mess. The sterling barrel got "contaminated" with a raspberry plant so I now have a hop/raspberry tangle growing out of it! They are both very vigorous and racing up the pergola.

The other barrel had everything die. Even mint. I had planted some cascade that a friend gave me and thought they'd died as well. This year, there are hops coming up after ignoring it for a year. So I now have hop plants. Whether either one buds, is anyone's guess.

 

[RyanWeary]

Regarding the stunted first year growth - I am in my second year of growing hops and I had a plant do the same thing last year. This year, however, it's perfectly healthy and is about 15' tall. I think what happened was the tip broke off early in the growth phase and it just stopped. It still looked like a hop plant - but a "bonsai" variety so to speak. The key is proper nutrition and sun sun sun! I'm in North Texas and I planted my hops on the east side of our house. All of my plants get approximately 8 hours of sun per day until the sun goes over the house and is shaded in the hottest part of the day. It seems to be working so far.

 

[rondemay]

They don't just love sun but also love warm soil. If all the shoots die and the rhizome is just sitting in ground it may go dormant in drier soils or it may actually decompose. If you have a sunnier spot somewhere I'd start a rhizome there, let it grow the first year or two and then pull it up, cut it down into more smaller rhizomes and replant. A healthier rhizome has a much better chance growing in a little shade. Make sure to feed some compost tea in the spring, and make sure it's not too waterlogged. Sterlings are tough but not impossible. Cascades are probably the easiest I've ever grown.

 

[shoengine]

I had my cascade decompose last year. Got vigorous growth from my columbus, and the Willamette and centennial sprouted, but nothing from the cascade. Replanted it this year and hoping it doesn't up and die again.

Good luck!