Help! Weird growth!

[ForerunnerBrewer]

Three questions:

1)Is it good to cut leaves off in late summer to encourage growth?
2)Should I let buds grow on the bottom 3 feet in this recent late summer surge?
3)There is a very thick shoot coming up from the crown, should I let it be or cut it so that the higher bines get more nutrients?

More details below.

question #1)I just recently cut off some leaves on my Cascades to allow sunlight to get in and to remove old growth. Is that a good idea? I think I heard it is a good thing to do this late in the season right? I wanted the hop laterals to get enough sun for the hops.

question #2)Also I have been fighting off bud growth in the lower 3 feet for the past few weeks as I want the energy to go higher to the hops. Some of the ones I missed around the 2.5 foot mark have come on very strong and I'm wondering if that is a good thing to do as they may grow very fast and produce more hops. If so, would this adversely impact hop growth or would they grow quickly like an early year shoot?

question #3) I also have a thick robust one about 3inches coming up from the crown. Because of it's vigor I wonder if it would be good to let it grow? The growing season here in Charlotte NC I think is longer as it shouldn't get below freezing until mid-late November so it may have a good chance of reaching hop maturity.

Thanks! John

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

1. The reasoning behind trimming hops is to allow for airflow into the mass. Usually kept to the bottom 1-3 feet of the plant to discourage harbouring pests, to allow the soils below to dry out (avoiding mold or moss growth), and to help controll moisture on the foliage. Whether the leaves are on the laterals or on the main bine they all finction teh same. that is to produce food reserves for the plant as a whole. trim the bottoms but let the rest of the plant be.

2. Sure. Why not?

3. Entirely up to you. Nutrient needs are pretty phased with hops. An extra bine or two isn't going to make or break the whole.

And, if nothing else, just remember that hops left alone to grow wild and crazy tend to thrive all by themselves. Get my drift?

 

[ForerunnerBrewer]

I'm thinking this new growth may have been prompted by a recent heavy dose of humus and some ashes. Is it common for hops to sprout new shoots after some heavy rains and hot-hot weather? Also for people to let these late season-ers grow?

I'm curious to see what happens, think I'll let the new bine coming up from the crown grow, why not!?

PS because I live in a townhouse with limited yard space I put two Cascades in a 3x1.5x1 foot deep cedar box. Which is why I worry about extra growth because there is only so much soil/nutrients to go around!

 

[JRems]

I have new growth and shoots on my hops that are at the bottom too. I took them and buried them with a few inches still sticking out of the soil( the other side still connected to the hop plant) it only took 2 weeks for those buried side arms to get roots. Now I'll have extra rhizomes for next year.

 

[ForerunnerBrewer]

That's a good idea to propagate your bine. I have recently taken up rooting hop clippings. My wife got a mini tabletop size greenhouse that has little shot glass size peatmoss containers. I've been using the left over peat moss cups and some root hormone and within about a week I had 6 more Northern Brewers with roots coming out of the peat! I don't think I ever have used NB but I thought I'd add another hop to my portfolio since it was half price. So now i have more than I know what to do with and I plan on doing this with the Cascades too... anyone wanna trade clippings?