No flowers, no shoots, and of course no cones - Do I need to be worried?

[Calder]

I planted 4 different rhizomes this year with differing results. I allowed 2 bines to grow on each plant.

The Chinook and Centennials are about 14 feet, and each has between 50 and 100 cones/flowers. Bothe seem to be doing well.

The Cascade has completely covered my arch, and has several hundred cones/flowers. Doing way better than I ever expected.

The Willamette is 9 feet tall, and looks pretty healthy. But all it is, is just the two main bines. There are no side shoots, or any flowers. Is this normal? I'm concerned because the others are doing so much better.

 

[Yooper]

I planted 4 different rhizomes this year with differing results. I allowed 2 bines to grow on each plant.

The Chinook and Centennials are about 14 feet, and each has between 50 and 100 cones/flowers. Bothe seem to be doing well.

The Cascade has completely covered my arch, and has several hundred cones/flowers. Doing way better than I ever expected.

The Willamette is 9 feet tall, and looks pretty healthy. But all it is, is just the two main bines. There are no side shoots, or any flowers. Is this normal? I'm concerned because the others are doing so much better.

It's too late now, but during the first year, the plant should be allowed to grow. The bines shouldn't be cut.

If you get some cones, that's awesome, but at this point the plant needs growth and will do just fine next year.

 

[B-Hoppy]

If you planted 100 rhizomes (all of different varieties) in your yard, your first year results would be all over the board due to the fact that rhizomes can give really erratic first year results, even within the same variety. Throughout year two you should see pretty decent growth on all of them. Year three will most likely tell you which ones will perform well for you under your growing conditions. I've been growing here in NEOhio since 1990 and just can't seem to grow most of the really desirable aroma varieties no matter what? Chinook, Bullion, Cascade do extremely well but I have problems with things like Centennial and Mt Hood (decent crop about every 5-6 years). Many others like Hersbrucker, Willamette, Tett will grow really well but only produce a handful of cones. Give yours time and make a call after the end of the third year is about all I have to offer.

 

[psychobrewer999]

I've had my cascade now three years and it has produced nothing! My Mt. Hood, Northern Brewer and Fuggle are all Two years old and aren't producing much either. I had a Zeuss but a crafty little chipmunk stole it as a rhizome!! I recently learned a lot about growing hops. It seems I had been doing a lot wrong. Forst I never pruned the bines, Watered every two to three days but flooded the pots, and I had multiple bines growing wild and choking each other. So yesterday I pruned ( late I know it's August, but I figured it can't hurt), I cleaned up the bines, pruned off any diseased looking leaves and left the strongest healthiest bines in each pot. So I am happy right? Yeah well the dang Deer here decided to take a taste of my fuggle and stripped one of the bine clean!!! Luckily they didn't damage the bine itself so it should get new shoots. I added a splash of bone meal ( organic ) to ward off the deer and balance the ph. Did I get too aggressive? Possibly but next season maybe please oh please maybe my Cascade will at least produce cones!!!

 

[TheCADJockey]

FWIW:
This is my three year Nugget plant. I bought as a rhizome, stuck it in the ground, built a fence next to a pole. I don't trim it, prune it, fertilize it, water it, or help it. Every now and then I go out and sit in the garden and have a beer with it. That's all. Its a monster. Im a firm believer in letting nature take its course.

The first year it grew about two feet tall, flopper over, and died.
The second year it grew over twenty feet tall.
This year it grew just as tall but broke the pole it was on.

 

[clingy]

The Willamette is 9 feet tall, and looks pretty healthy. But all it is, is just the two main bines. There are no side shoots, or any flowers. Is this normal? I'm concerned because the others are doing so much better.

My first year Willamettes did the same thing, except they didn't even get that tall. My Columbus and Centennials both produced in the first year though and grew like monsters. I'm sure our Willamettes will be fine by next year. I'm with you brother.

 

[Calder]

Update: 1 week on.

Willamette: grown a few inches, but still no side shoots or flowers. Looks very green and healthy.

Centennial: seems to have quit growing. No new shoots or flowers. Leaves going brown, cones turning brown. Will probably pick them this weekend. Only about 50 cones.

Cascade: growing geeat, lots of new flowers every day. Looks healthy. May get enough for a brew ...... could be a 1000 flowers/cones.

Chinook: keeps growing, lots of flowers and cones, with more every day. Maybe 150 to 200 flowers/cones, with more every day.

I'm still concerned about the Willamette as it is not producing like the others, but I'm also concerned about the Centennial as it seems to have just stopped.