Propagating from Hop Cuttings

[ThreeDogsNE]

JMaslar, I don't quite follow. Are you burying bines over to the edge of the bucket, then cutting them off near the crown? Or are you seeing come up on their own that far from the crown? If the latter, how old are the plants giving off the shoots? I have only second year plants, and have not seen remote shoots arising, but my plants are in a mulched garden, not pots.

 

[JMaslar]

... Or are you seeing come up on their own that far from the crown?

Yes, they are not terribly deep, but we had quite a few.

If the latter, how old are the plants giving off the shoots?

They are all second years - all 3. We have also had an immense amount of heat and rain - 70s to high 80s for a week with huge rain and thunder storms. Some hops it would cause root rot, but our buckets drain well so the plants LOVED it; they are vigorously growing.

 

[B-Hoppy]

Along in the outer edge, where the soil meets the plastic wall, shoots grow up, and it is a super easy spot to take cuttings from. I can pull back the soil, cut all the way back to the white root, and transplant.

Never mind. I was under the impression you were taking 'tip' cuttings which is what Jagdad is talking about. Essentially you are taking cuttings from shoots which are emerging from the main crown - that's what I was trying to (unsuccessfully) explain in an earlier post. It's a very rudimentary but a very simple way to propagate. You just don't get the benefit of the clones being assured to be virus-free. Now I'll go have a beer. Clip On!

 

[birvine]

Interesting thread - I clipped a few of the bine tips (back to a cluster of leaves) and planed them in a spot that receives good sun. At least to this point they are not wilting so I take this as a good sign.

B

 

[Carolina_Kid]

Cut a trimming at an angle any angle just not 90 degrees from the bine. Length must be atleast 4 inches. Take a coffee cup and fill it one inch above the cut with regular tap water. Set trimmings in the coffee cup and place in window. Check back in about a week. Congrats you've got roots! Now here's the important part. Ensure that the roots are atleast 1 inch long and plant the new plants in a mixture 1/2 potting soil (Miracle Grow or other it doesn't matter) and 1/2 playground sand. It should be a very lose soil. Plant them in used Jello cups or fruit cups with 10-15 holes drilled in the bottom. Water daily and feed with nitro once at the beginning of the second week. Again it has given me a 90% success rate with my Goldings. Expect dead leaves and a little bit of wither starting at the top and working it's way down. All is well it's be fine. Good luck. Attached are pictures of the trimmings after about three weeks and two days of hard rain. Still alive and giving new growth.

 

[Smashing]

I tried a few differnt ways. I took a few cuttings, dipped in rooting enzime, then planted in small pots and I took a cutting and put in water on the window sill. All but one are doing very well.

 

[RustyMusket]

Layering works great I did a bunch that way. And Rooting horomone works great to if you use it exactly how the directions suggest. The very first cutting i did i didnt use anything it was a very vigorous shoot. just cut it at a 45 degree angle and stuck it into some potting soil about 4-5 inches, it took.

 

[E_mott09]

So I think I've got the process down, but my question is, is it too late to do this? Some friends I have who live in MI are driving through south of Chicago where I live and they offered to bring me clippings and rhizomes. Can I shove the roots in the ground and expect to see something next year? Can I start to tend to the clippings now and get them to root and put them in the ground? Of course I know I won't see much, if any growth if I put them out side now, but will they be ok until the spring?

 

[ThreeDogsNE]

I hope it's not too late! Yesterday I took a bunch of cuttings Carolina Kid style, but I dipped them in rooting hormone, then put them in well rinsed beer bottles filled with tap water. I put them under fluorescent grow lights on a timer to give 18 hours of light per day. All but one look good today, so I just cut a replacement for it. I suspect it's rather late to put them in the ground outside at this latitude, which is nearly the same as yours. I plan to grow these under lights for a week or more until I see decent roots, then pot them in soil under the lights for a while. When they look like they are big enough to go dormant and survive, I'll put them outside for the rest of the winter.

 

[ForerunnerBrewer]

Carolina Kid
I agree how easy it is to propagate cuttings. In fact I've gone overboard with mine! I had to trim back a few laterals that weren't actively growing and lightly shaved the stalk about 2 inches up, dunked them in powdered root hormone and out of 10 or 12 only 1 died. Anyone who wants to try this I recommend starting them in your house by a window! I believe the constant temperature and indirect sunlight made a huge difference. I've done this in water and soil.

Unfortunately 2 of my first shoots/bines (begining of season) were having some more serious trouble with the heat and weren't going anywhere so I cut them at the base. I did however take about 18 inches(the thickest part at the base) and I sunk them in some mounds to see if I can make rhizomes out of them!

Carolina Kid, would you be in the Charlotte area sometime soon? I would be interested in trading a few shoots if you are interested. I have Northern Brewer and Cascade.

 

[E_mott09]

Any insight to my question? Am I too late for this year?

 

[BetterSense]

I think it's probably too late for this year to plant outside. I also found that it's impossible to find rhizomes for sale. However if I could get cuttings from an established plant, it looks like I could start them in pots in the house and let them grow all winter, and then transfer them to the outdoors in the spring. Does anyone in the Dallas are have established hops that they would let me have/buy some cuttings?

 

[ThreeDogsNE]

Any insight to my question? Am I too late for this year?

Once again:

I suspect it's rather late to put them in the ground outside at this latitude, which is nearly the same as yours.

Unfortunately, it's too late to just put them in the ground and expect much. I've not seen anyone advocate Fall plantings for hops. All of my current bines are from rhizomes planted in Springtime. Unfortunately, as noted, rhizome season is over for this year. Can you spare a window ledge, or better yet set up a grow light anywhere? You can grow some from the available cuttings, but they'll have to be indoors for a while before you move them out. My first plants grew well in 5 gallon buckets under grow lights in my basement during the winter (at least until I drowned some of them from overly enthusiastic watering). I did put them outside eventually to go dormant before Spring. Doing this will give you a head start on next year's growth, giving them more root mass with which to start out next Spring.

I'm growing from cuttings now to give some plants to my son and some local fellow brewers. I was burying laterals in 5 gallon buckets planning to accomplish this, but my puppy thought those buckets really had to be dug out!:cross: And she likes beer!

 

[BetterSense]

I did put them outside eventually to go dormant before Spring.

Is this important? Could you just wait till the last frost (you hope) and then plant them outside in the spring?

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

This is what I'm wondering. I have a few cuttings I'm growing on a window ledge indoors. A couple are doing so well I've already had to give them support to grow up.

I know hops are supposed to go dormant during the winter to grow root mass and build energy to go in the spring but I don't know if that's the case for hops grown from cuttings that have very little root mass. I'm not sure whether I should move them outside in the winter to go dormant or keep them indoors growing through the spring and plant them around March or April.

 

[Jagdad]

It's maybe too late to plant if you live in Alaska . . . I am a professional grower of hop starts and crowns and we are in full shipping mode for starts and crowns til November for Northern tier states. We shipped ME, MA, OR, PA, NY yesterday. If planted and mulched properly; fall planted hops perform better than those done from rhizomes in the spring. Our spring contracts are almost full; as are our contracts for crowns next fall. We have growers putting in 2 to 15 acre yards in mid September. I don't think they would spend $45,000 on the plants if it didn't work.

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

When you say "starts" what does that mean? How would that compare to a cutting of a single piece of bine the length of two nodes?

 

[ThreeDogsNE]

It's maybe too late to plant if you live in Alaska . . . I am a professional grower of hop starts and crowns

As I understood it, the question asked was: Can you just put a cutting in the ground now and have it make it? Most folks here buy rhizomes, and plant them in the Spring when they are available. They're not available now. I thought the remaining growing season was too short for a cutting to have favorable odds, so encouraged starting them under grow lights, as I am currently doing. However, I am an amateur at this. We are here to learn from each others experience, and certainly welcome your expertise. You mention putting in starts, which I presume are rooted plants. Should we plant our fresh cuttings now? I have mine in bottles under lights, as mentioned, but would be happy to take an easier route.

I've not seen anyone advocate Fall plantings for hops.

Now I have.

 

[Jagdad]

My apologies 3dog- re-read the thread and realized I sounded a bit harsh (gotta work on that). There isn't much presence of professional growers (guys that make a living at it) on the net. I try to help where I can -
Starts are an 8 week old cutting started from a single node. I don't root in water because the roots formed are physiologically diff. from those formed in soil (no hair roots). But it is a "clean" method that does dependably produce roots.
Fall planting works well because soil temps are still warm, moisture levels more even, and pest levels are low. It isn't talked about much online because spring rhizomes pretty well dominant the internet. But the internet isn't necessarily the real world.

 

[ThreeDogsNE]

No sweat, Jagdad. I find electronic communication much more tricky than verbal or face to face, where tone and inflection are missing, or worse, inferred (and often incorrectly). Again, we are all here to learn, and I am glad to see someone with your experience posting here to be learned from.

I did cuttings with a few inches of bine and a single node, usually with only one small leaf attached. The bine segment is in the bottle, and the leaf hooked over the top. I planned to move my cuttings into potting soil in about a week. The water method appealed to me, in part because then I don't have to wonder if I am underwatering or overwatering them. Should I skip this step and just put them in potting soil? If so, can I set them in small pots in a tray of water to provide adequate watering without drowning them?

 

[Jagdad]

No, I would stick with the bottle method if it is working for you. I"ve got to do 15m starts over the next two weeks and I can't find that many empty bottles. I don't prop in soil because is isn't sterile - I use a special rooting plug system with peroxide/ peracetic acid. They resemble little sponges made of peat fiber. They don't fall apart in handling/ shipping so they transplant very well. My gallery has a couple pics. You can take cuttings pretty much any time as long as it is not floral initiated. I mess up the initation process by lighting them a couple hours at mid night so they think they are in short days.

 

[ThreeDogsNE]

Well, the bottle method is not working very well. After >10 days very few of the cutting show any roots, and several have died. I've topped up the bottles every 2-3 days. Only one got dry. They are under fluorescent grow lights, just a few inches away. I'm wondering if I should bake some soil or some peat to (more or less) sterilize it, and put these or fresh cuttings in cups of that. Perhaps with a fresh dip in rooting hormone? Opinions?

 

[Greatlakeshops]

3D,
Try lowering the water level to about half full and only stick about 1" of the cutting into the water. Back off the lights to 12 " away. Lay a cheap thermostat on the shelf and do not exceed 85 deg. (Raise the lights more if you have to) Make the cutting 6-10 " long with two to 3 nodes max with no growing tip. Pick your cuttings from a part of the plant that is not bearing cones (a newer side shoot). The cutting should be greenwood stems with leaves that appear to be almost fully expanded. (Cuttings with brown stems typically take longer to root because the root primordia have a hard time penetrating the thicker stem walls). Also, you can precondition your cuttings by pinching off the growing tip about a week before you take the cutting - wait until you can see little buds forming where the leaves meet the stems. Propagation is an art, just like brewing a great beer; once you know the nuances it is a piece of cake!

 

[mdmiller1]

....... I spray weekly with peroxide to control disease. 99% root within 2 weeks.

Can you share what the dilution rate of the peroxide is ?
assuming you are diluting it with water ?
is this regular hydrogen peroxide like I get at the local drug store ?

many thanks !!

 

[Greatlakeshops]

The peroxide / peracetic acid mix we use is a commercial product that is very strong and we dilute it down to 1:100 -500 or less. I would guess diluting household peroxide by 10X would be close. Try it on a couple of leaves first before you spray the whole plant.
A tip for rooting without growth hormone - put a little sugar cane molasses in the water source. It is high in plant sugars, nutrients, chelates , and has a low level of Giberellic acid (a plant hormone) that induces rooting. Cheap but effective!

 

[mdmiller1]

.... put a little sugar cane molasses in the water source. It is high in plant sugars, nutrients, chelates , and has a low level of Giberellic acid (a plant hormone) that induces rooting. Cheap but effective!

The peroxide is intriguing, after searching a bit I ran onto a table of suggested peroxide/water ratios==> http://www.using-hydrogen-peroxide.com/gardening-with-hydrogen-peroxide.html. 4oz peroxide per gallon for 3% peroxide this article says. So a ratio of 1:32. If you are using 35% acid (just guessing), or about 12X stronger, then a 1:370 concentration of 35% peroxide would approximate a 1:32 concentration of 3% peroxide.

I have used molasses, it is definitely a wonder drug for most any plant. I suppose a single mix of water/peroxide/molasses could be used for watering my green cuttings or as a foliar spray.
Appreciate the advice..

 

[mdmiller1]

.....Cut the bine into single node cuttings (cut stem 1" above and below leaf set) and stick into propagating media up to leaf node. This node is the beginnings of the new crown.......

Do you strip the leaves from this remaining leaf set, or do you let them poke out of the propagating media ??

 

[Greatlakeshops]

Do you strip the leaves from this remaining leaf set, or do you let them poke out of the propagating media ??

Leave the hop leaves on - sticking the cutting into the media until the node touches the media surface. The more leaf area you have on the cutting; the better your humidity and mist control has to be.
You also can make multiple node/leaf cuttings - by sticking the second node into the media but usually the internode length is too far apart. The the buried node will send out "mini rhizome" shoots that will emerge; but this takes about a month longer than just top cuttings.

 

[mdmiller1]

Leave the hop leaves on - sticking the cutting into the media until the node touches the media surface. The more leaf area you have on the cutting; the better your humidity and mist control has to be.
You also can make multiple node/leaf cuttings - by sticking the second node into the media but usually the internode length is too far apart. The the buried node will send out "mini rhizome" shoots that will emerge; but this takes about a month longer than just top cuttings.

Thanks for sharing your experience, I appreciate it. !​

 

[mdmiller1]

Leave the hop leaves on - sticking the cutting into the media until the node touches the media surface. The more leaf area you have on the cutting; the better your humidity and mist control has to be. ......

Excellent technique, you are obviously a master of the art. I've tried several varieties of hops using your process, they all look like the picture below after a week; the little buds have emerged to start forming bines. I used a soil block mix with a lot of sand and peat which is holding together well. I don't have bench misting, so a bit of water is poured at the stem once a day; seems to work. Apparently these are tough little cowgirls that just want to ride on. THANKS AGAIN !!