Latest date to plant hop rhizomes?

[hazedandconfused]

Ive read online that you should plant no later than may. I take this to mean may first. But am hoping it means no later than any time in may = may 15th or so. So which is it? Any time in may or at the beginning of may?

 

[Suthrncomfrt1884]

The general rule of thumb with plants is NOT to plant them before mothers day. You'll be fine planting them anytime in May. I planted my first rhizomes in late may and had a harvest by mid august. You're supposed to need 120 frost free days for hops to show up, but I think that's wrong.

Now, mine start popping up in the beginning of april every year.

 

[user 21663]

I didn't plant mine last year until after May 15th, which is typical the last chance for frost around here. The grew ok, but I think that was a result of me not fertilizing properly and the fact that 1st years don't yield much.

They are taking off like crazy this year. Each crown has about 12-15 shoots. Probably going to thin out this weekend and get my trellis setup.

 

[frazier]

Planting today is better than planting tomorrow. Tomorrow is better than the next day. But as with many things in life, don't sweat the small stuff, because it is all small stuff.

Get'em in the ground, and let the root systems get established. Anything you get this year is a bonus (I got 2 oz each from two first-year rhizomes). Next year is the harvest to have your eyes on.

BTW, we have a hop-growing subforum. Lots of good reading and information down there. Enjoy!

 

[hazedandconfused]

Wow. Hope! Sorry about not posting on the hop growing foeum, i figured id get faster answers on the beginners forum. Will post over there with future questions. Ive already got a few down in the ground back home (oregon coast) but i wanted to get a couple more varietals going as well. But im not going home for a couple weeks at the earliest - so i think ill plant them in pots until i can transplant them. Just to get them started.

 

[Fennis]

I live in Maine, and we can still get frost some nights in early to mid May. I really don't want to wait to plant them until late May, so I planted my rhizomes in planter pots inside in mid-April. I used a basic vegetable garden mix of soil I found at the hardware store, put each rhizome in its own plant pot, and after about a week I started having sprouts. I have them setting in front of a picture window that gets sun for about 8 hours a day, and after a few weeks they are doing very well. Hopefully it warms up soon and I can put them into the ground because one of them has a shoot that is about 8 inches tall. I plant like this every year with vegetables for the garden, so I don't think its going to be much different with hops plants either. Its a good way to get things started without worrying about the plants dieing off from frost.

 

[Gunfighter04]

still getting frost here, just had one last night. Memorial day is the rule of thumb for this zone. Basically as soon as your last major frost is best, of course the trick is being able to guess when that is.

 

[hazedandconfused]

Hey, i just picked up a magnum and a sterling from a lhbs and am going to plant in planters until i take them home. I was wondering, there is a really long shoot on the sterling (straightened out it would be ~6") so how should i plant this? Should i just plant the rhizome 2" down and leave the shoot above the soil?

 

[hazedandconfused]

Scratch that - it had a long shoot. I just looked at it again and noticed that the shoot was wobbly and saw that the shoot was broken about 50% through the middle. Should i plant anyways?

 

[frazier]

Does the shoot have leaves or buds? I would try to leave at least the top of it above ground, so it can provide energy to the root system. But even if it breaks off (it happened to me), you should be OK.

 

[user 21663]

Scratch that - it had a long shoot. I just looked at it again and noticed that the shoot was wobbly and saw that the shoot was broken about 50% through the middle. Should i plant anyways?

Plant it but I would cut back that shoot. If it's partly broken, it probably won't support the plant when it grow further. Other shoots should come up. You want to take you best 3-4 shoots and cut back the rest.