Rhizome/root cutting question

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

asabspade

New Member
Joined
Jan 12, 2011
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Location
Fort Bragg
Will root cuttings grow like rhizomes do? I'm having a difficult time figuring out if they are the same thing or not. I did an image search and not all "rhizomes" pictures had buds.
I'm right on the coast and the soil never freezes hard here. I grew some rhizomes in 1 gallon pots and today I ripped them out of the ground. There were lots of roots outside the pot that I cut off. They don't have buds, presumably because they were not near the soil surface. I'm wondering if I plant these root cuttings will they sprout like rhizomes?
 
Will root cuttings grow like rhizomes do? I'm having a difficult time figuring out if they are the same thing or not. I did an image search and not all "rhizomes" pictures had buds.
I'm right on the coast and the soil never freezes hard here. I grew some rhizomes in 1 gallon pots and today I ripped them out of the ground. There were lots of roots outside the pot that I cut off. They don't have buds, presumably because they were not near the soil surface. I'm wondering if I plant these root cuttings will they sprout like rhizomes?

Yes, rhizomes are root cuttings. When selecting a rhizome it's good to find a bit of root with a few growth buds on it, but depending on the time of year this may be hard. Even if there is no budding, they can still put out some once replanted, so don't worry about it.
 
It was my understanding that not all roots are rhizomes. You don't want to try and plant some of the little side roots or the deep, straight down tap roots as a rhizome. Please correct me if I'm wrong but I thought it was basically the thicker roots that you want to cut\plant. These are the rhizomes that will then send out bines and smaller roots.

Again, someone please correct me if I'm wrong as I would like to know for sure.
 
"In botany, a rhizome (from Ancient Greek: rhízōma "mass of roots",[1] from rhizóō "cause to strike root")[2] is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes may also be referred to as creeping rootstalks or rootstocks."
 
roots and rhizomes are two different structures and sometimes are used interchangeably. a true root is a structure that enables the plant to obtain water and nutrients from the soil and has no vegetative buds. a rhizome is an underground vegetative shoot that will provide the plant a means of vegetative reproduction. check this link out: http://www.oregonhops.org/culture2.html

read closely the overview of the plant for the description of roots/rhizomes. hope this helps.
 
Yes, you do not want the tiny little roots at the perimeter of the plant. There is just not enough energy stored up for it to survive sending out growth above and below ground. Roots larger than the diameter of a pencil work best.

Come spring you can also take cuttings from the growing plant. Dip the cut end in rooting hormone and plant in moist potting soil.
 
Good information all. I had several root-bound pots that I ripped up. For the most part I'll repot any parts with a diameter larger than a pencil (I left smaller roots attached to the larger ones anyway). I'll use the crowns (with some roots still attached) for planting out in hills.
I wanted to give some rhizomes to a couple friends and make sure they were ones that would grow.
Is there a maximum size that the cuttings should be? Some of the roots are as round as my thumb and 18 inches long. Should I cut them down to 6 inch pieces or will they become stronger plants sooner if I leave them long?
hopsrhizomes1.jpg

hopsrhizomes2.jpg
 
The bigger they are the more energy they have stored up, so the faster they will sprout, grow, produce cones, etc...
 
by the looks of that crown, you should easily be able to discern the rhizomes from the roots. rhizomes originate at the base of the crown, grow outward and then tend to turn upward. usually they have rings of buds (eyes) about every 6 inches along the rhizome. the true roots originate just below the rhizomes and tend to grow downward and have no vegetative buds on them thus cannot produce new plants. theoretically, any portion/size of rhizome that has a bud on it is capable of regeneration and can produce a new plant. a standard rhizome in the industry usually contains two rings of buds. when i make cuttings i stick by the two sets of buds rule but sometimes you get some pretty big clusters very close to the crown and those generally take off a little quicker than the regular cuttings.
 
great pictures!

thats a lot of mass there.

how old are these from when you originally planted them as rhizomes?
 
I put up some root pics also,you can really see the nodes and get a good idea where to cut .Cheers glen
 

Latest posts

Back
Top