Side Arm Grouth

[uechikid]

I have four Hop plants. Two Chinook, one is a forth year and the other is a third year and two Cascade, same ages.
My forth year Chinook is going really strong with side arms growing like crazy. Non of the other plants have side arms, only stems with flowers starting to grow. What's the deal with this plant as opposed to the others? I thought my forth year cascade would really take off this year. It sprouted early but then just kind off stalled.

 

[cyclogenesis]

Your hops are looking healthy man! I had plenty of cones on my branches...

 

[uechikid]

I know that most of the usable hops that come from mature plants, come from side arms, but why are my other three and four year old plants not producing side arms? I have been very disappointed with my Cascade the last couple of years. I really expected more this year.

 

[B-Hoppy]

Were they all trained at the same time? Early training can lead to early hops. Not always a good thing for some varieties.

 

[uechikid]

The Chinook came up at the same time and I trained them as the bines got long enough. Same with the Cascade but with the Cascade it sprouted early and then stalled for a few weeks. Then when the bines got long enough to train I trained them.

 

[B-Hoppy]

I don't know what your weather has been like but ours has been up and down to extremes for the past 6 months and I'm seeing a lot of strange stuff going on with mine. In your case you may be able to rule out varietal difference due to the performance of the Chinook. About all you can do is wait and see and then chalk it up to a lesson learned - even if you can't come up with a definitive answer. Plants are strange