Propagating from Hop Cuttings

[NicoleBrewer]

So how late in the season can these go in the ground and establish enough to survive till next year? And if I took cuttings again later in the season(towards fall after harvest) rooted them and potted them and kept them inside for the winter would try continue to grow, and be able to be planted the following summer?


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[B-Hoppy]

The sooner you get them in the ground, the healthier they'll be when it comes to overwintering. Rather than making cuttings and trying to keep them over winter, why not just take any shoots that emerge this year and keep burying them as they try to grow? This will cause them to basically turn into rhizomes such that you can dig them up next spring and divide/cut them.

 

[kilohertz]

I have been following this thread for a while now...very cool. I have tried it both ways in the last month, both in the glass of water and directly into the soil...with disappointing results. They croaked. Last week I tried taking a few shoots from the lives plants, but cut them right back to the crown, and found they had a little bit of root below the soil surface where I cut them, and replanted those. So far those ones are doing better and look like they might take.

My question is, if these shoots are taken from a 3+ year old plant that has been producing very well, and the shoots take off and do well, do you think they would have a decent production of hops, or would they be like a first year rhizome?

Thanks

Paul

 

[emyers]

I've had great success breaking off new bines making sure to dig out and detach it from the rhizome crown. There are always some roots on the new bines. I plant them and place them inside near a indirect sunlight window. After a week I water and place them outside.

 

[emyers]

Pics

 

[MathiasMicrobrew]

I took 6 cuttings that were about 6" long and dipped them in root hormone and placed them in bottles full of water. Only 1 took root, and I planted that in a small pot and it is doing well.

Just to try, I took another small cutting, a few inches long, and dug a small hole along side my chain link fence and planted it with 3 leaves out of the ground. I sprinkled some miracle grow on the little guy and it is actually doing well! I am seeing some new growth.

 

[user 190343]

I cut off a 8" shoot after pruning 2nd year Cascade and put it into a 32oz growler with about 1.5" of water in it as an experiment. I put it in my East facing windowsill, kept up the water, and after about 2 weeks it finally sprouted some roots. I transplanted it outside a little over a week ago and it's doing great so far.

 

[rgauthier20420]

I think it awesome that this thread has come back to life. I've got 4 Golding, 5 Mt Hood, and 1 Chinook that were transplanted into soil after sitting and sprouting in water on the window sill. I also have 7 Golding and 6 Nugget that are sitting in water on the window sill that are ALL sprouting roots. Now I just need to figure out where I should plant them....I don't have space for all these plants!

 

[kilohertz]

I think it awesome that this thread has come back to life. I've got 4 Golding, 5 Mt Hood, and 1 Chinook that were transplanted into soil after sitting and sprouting in water on the window sill. I also have 7 Golding and 6 Nugget that are sitting in water on the window sill that are ALL sprouting roots. Now I just need to figure out where I should plant them....I don't have space for all these plants!

That's great! All the shoots I put into water, just rotted into a mushy mess. I must be doing something wrong. After 2 weeks the water gets cloudy and the stocks just disintegrate. The last shoots I cut right back to the crown and they seem to be hanging in. I put them straight into the ground with all the other plants. Maybe they like the company.

Good thread....learning lots.

Cheers

Paul

 

[OakPond]

I got about a 4-5 inch Columbus clipping that I put in a waterbottle and started shooting roots about 3 days ago. Roots have taken off and are about in inch long or so. Gave it a whirl. No root hormone, nothing. Just cut close to the rhizome and dunked it in the water.

How long should I leave it in the water before I pot it? I'm contemplating putting it in a starter thing with a dome over it for a few days to keep the humidity up to stay safe. But that would allow me to get it in some dirt and begin growing an actual root system.

My other cuttings are began with a similar size, and they're all very much alive. They just haven't started shooting roots yet, so I don't want to move them. Changing the water and stuff seemed to help.

 

[rgauthier20420]

I got about a 4-5 inch Columbus clipping that I put in a waterbottle and started shooting roots about 3 days ago. Roots have taken off and are about in inch long or so. Gave it a whirl. No root hormone, nothing. Just cut close to the rhizome and dunked it in the water.

How long should I leave it in the water before I pot it? I'm contemplating putting it in a starter thing with a dome over it for a few days to keep the humidity up to stay safe. But that would allow me to get it in some dirt and begin growing an actual root system.

My other cuttings are began with a similar size, and they're all very much alive. They just haven't started shooting roots yet, so I don't want to move them. Changing the water and stuff seemed to help.

I think after the roots get to around 1 inch in length you'd be safe to plant it in some soil. I've used that as a general length. I've planted them into Miracle Grow soil and put them on a sunny ledge and kept them watered. I haven't covered them or anything like that though. However, it will continue to grow roots even if you leave it in the water longer. The roots will grow and then roots will grow off those roots. It's pretty amazing how they do it.

 

[OakPond]

Edit: Sorry about the crooked pictures, they looked straight when I uploaded them on my computer. Tinypic didn't like them I guess....

Columbus cutting.

Cascade cutting.

So both of these are roughly 3 weeks post cutting. Columbus has been in a pot for about 2 weeks, Cascade has been in for about 5-6 days. Columbus shot one root, vigioursly very fast in my water bottle (since have checked and it out grew my first pot it was in). My Cascade took about 2 weeks to shoot roots, but when it did, it shot about 50.

My question is, should I put these guys in the ground where I want them to return next year? I was thinking 5 gallon buckets could hold them this year. But their root system is taking off quite fast...

Also, you may notice my Cascade does not have the top cut off of him, will that continue to grow up straight like a regular bine? Should they shoot more bines up by the rest of the year? Or will they just build their root system this year, and come back next year. Obviously I don't expect hop production from them this year, their parents should handle that just fine lol

 

[rgauthier20420]

Looking good. Isn't doing this fun

If you think they've got a nice root system, I would put them in the ground as soon as possible so they can get a hold before any cold comes. I purposefully pick off the tip of the bine, to prompt another fresh bine to be produced at the nodes. I've got a few of my cuttings that have bines approaching 12" already. I've got to get them into the ground soon.

 

[OakPond]

The top of that Columbus has been sitting in a waterbottle for 3 weeks with no shoots. Looked alive, so just kept changing the water. 2 days ago, I added a cap-full of liquid 6-4-4 fertilizer to it to just see if that propted any growth 2 days later the root system went from nothing to this.

 

[rgauthier20420]

Nice! I've got a few new bines from my plants that need to be trimmed away, so maybe I'll add some of the dis solvable fertilizer to the water this time. Good job.

BTW, you should remove all leaves but 1 or 2 when doing this. The leaves are sucking up what nutrients could be used for growing a root system. You should see faster results by doing this.

 

[OakPond]

Nice! I've got a few new bines from my plants that need to be trimmed away, so maybe I'll add some of the dis solvable fertilizer to the water this time. Good job.

BTW, you should remove all leaves but 1 or 2 when doing this. The leaves are sucking up what nutrients could be used for growing a root system. You should see faster results by doing this.

Yeah I just was guessing with this project, first year hop grower and first time trying any of this. I didn't know how much to reasonably cut, but overall it has been a success.

Basically, I took a few clippings of hops that I dropped off at my dads (thankfully I did... they're not looking so pretty over there) just as a precautionary measure in case he neglected them and to just experiment and play around with some plants and what not and get a feel for growing, propagating and plating in general.

 

[MathiasMicrobrew]

Here is one of my cuttings that I put in the ground and it's starting to take off! I just added some miracle grow when I planted. The browning leaves on bottom are the original leaves that seemed to do that with my other cuttings as well

 

[mpghm]

This has been a very interesting read. Great info. Now I'm waiting for my existing crowns to put out lots of shoots

 

[NicoleBrewer]

I kill every plant that I've ever tried to grow, including the most invasive like mint or green onion! But hops I can grow. I took tons of trimmings last year and just stuck them in a cup of plain tap water and placed them in my kitchen garden window. Every single one rooted. You just can't kill a hop plant