Wisconsin Hop Growing

[Mitgaard]

I'm new to the site and did search for this first. Does anyone know if i can keep my hop plants in pots through the cold Wisconsin winter? I'll hang up and listen. Thank in advance.

 

[Yooper]

I'm new to the site and did search for this first. Does anyone know if i can keep my hop plants in pots through the cold Wisconsin winter? I'll hang up and listen. Thank in advance.

I think so- maybe mulch them to help.

They aren't buried very deep at all in my yard- in fact, spreading along the surface in some places, and our frost line is about 6 feet deep in the winter, so I assume they are darn tolerant of being frozen solid!

 

[Mitgaard]

Thanks for your speedy reply. Into the pots they go until spring.

 

[GolFisHunt]

From my understanding, most hop varieties need a certain amount of time below 40° to flourish. If they are in the ground now, I'd leave them there.

 

[Yooper]

Thanks for your speedy reply. Into the pots they go until spring.

Where are they now? If they are in the ground they need to stay there. If there are in pots, they might make it if you keep them outside in the pots if you mulch them well.

 

[Mitgaard]

They are currently in pots with rice husk covering the tops. They have bben there a week or so.

 

[Ruint]

I kept several over winter that are still alive in 5 inch flower pots...but I put 6 bags worth of mulch over them. You will probably want to have a minimum of 4 inches of mulch over the top of them....not sure that rice hulls are gonna be able to protect them that well. I'm in central NY, and we get some pretty cold winters, but I'm thinking that they won't beat what you deal with in Wisconsin.

 

[Mitgaard]

Thanks for the information. I will get them covered up the best i can.

 

[Mitgaard]

So ive got them in fairly large pots, probably 12'' at the top. Do you think i literally need to make a mound of mulch covering the entire pot?

 

[Ruint]

It would help. If you push your pots as close together as possible, it will reduce some of the mulch needed. Don't neglect getting some of the mulch down in between though...every little bit will help insulate.

 

[Yooper]

It would help. If you push your pots as close together as possible, it will reduce some of the mulch needed. Don't neglect getting some of the mulch down in between though...every little bit will help insulate.

Right. The ground is the best place for the hops crowns, especially in the Northwoods where the snow provides great "mulch" and insulation. But if you can't get them in the ground, like if you need to move them, a pot will work if you can insulate it very well.

 

[Psywar]

Sorry to Hi-jack the thread.
I wanted to try and grow Saaz or Tettnang in 2018.
I live in Michigan would I have to dig up the hops each fall and replant? I don't really know anything about this. I was just hoping to get rhizomes when they became available and then attempt to grow it. I chose either of those two because those are the ones I brew with the most. I was kind of just hoping for something I could just plant and leave and let it do its thing.

 

[Ruint]

Your hope is in the right spot! Make sure you get your hops from a reputable grower/nursery that guarantees them to be disease free...or you might get something you really don't want to be growing, that will also make it very difficult to grow what you do want. Once planted, there they will be...no digging up is necessary, but there will be plant "maintenance that you will have to devote some time to! No ands, ifs, or buts!!!

 

[SoCal-Doug]

Leave them in the ground or at least outside in the pots. Don't dig anything up or transplant them. They need their dormant cycle. Each year (if not disturbed) they will grow back stronger, more productive and larger. When the vines above ground are dead in the fall, trim them off about an inch above the ground. Forget about them and leave them alone through the winter. When the crappy weather stops in the spring, they will magically reappear. Ours (Sterling, Willamette and KG) really like fresh horse poop once before they start growing and once mid summer (having horses = free fertilizer) and being watered at the same rate as the lawns.

 

[Psywar]

Oh Right on!
Thank you for the answers and tips!
I need to give this a shot for sure.

 

[davealicious]

hey @Mitgaard just an fyi, i moved to wisconsin, and recently found out there's a local hop market here, if those hops you're growing don't make it or supply enough for your brewing, info here: http://wisconsinhopexchange.com/

 

[KaptainKarl]

I know this is an old thread, but I’ve got Cascade, Brewers Gold and Nugget doing well with zero mulch. We are north west of Eau Claire by 90 minutes.