Spider Mites? Nutrition Deficiency? Heat?

[Pocket]

Hello!

So I've had hops growing out of containers for about 3 years or so now and each year the pattern is the same. They shoot up, they are really happy, they need a ton of water (I'm in Zone 7, pretty hot and humid during the summers), but they seem to be doing fine.

Then some time early in the summer they seem to be infested by what I have come to assume are spider mites (see pictures below). I've tried every spray known to man, even purchased some special sprays that are intended for spider mites (this stuff: https://www.flyingskull.net/NukeEm.html) aimed at those growing...alternative...crops. And despite being diligent about spraying every couple of days for a couple of weeks and varying intensity nothing seems to stop them. They keep coming, and eventually just seem to take over the plant and slowly kill the leaves, working their way up.

I do live in an area where there are people cultivating marijuana, and I've heard that can actually make the spider mites pretty resistant to any sort of control, so that could be a possibility here?

I'm also wondering whether I have another problem like nutritional deficiency. I have slow-release fertilizer in the containers, but maybe that isn't enough?

Finally I suppose the heat and humidity is a concern. This year there was also a side effect of my automatic watering system failing during a very hot week so a bunch of the leaves died off, so you will see that in the pictures below too.

Right then, my question: Are these actually spider mite infestations, or is this something else? And does anyone have any particular recommendations?

Attached are some pictures showing the poor hops in question. Thanks for reading!

 

[Marty50]

In order for hops to develop into strong healthy plants, they develop deep tap roots. Real deep. Your pot will not provide enough healthy plant material to overcome SM infestation. If you can, get them in the ground.

 

[dmtaylor]

I do NOT see any spider mites on your leaves. Spider mites will always collect on the undersides of the leaves and will make small fuzzy webs, and you'll see little black dots where you killed any of them with spray. I don't see any of that at all. My guess is you're just seeing a slight nutrient deficiency and just should add some more nitrogen probably. I use Milorganite. My hops have been very happy since adding Milorganite. Cheap at Menard's. No bugs recently either. IF you do ever get mites, make sure you are only spraying the undersides of the leaves, and don't waste any on the tops, otherwise it won't work at all. But I really don't see an issue to be honest. Looks pretty normal overall to me.

 

[cswis86]

The speckling on the leaves makes me think it is spider mites. Plus, they typically become a problem in July when the weather gets hot and dry so the timing leads me to believe they're spider mites. The damage doesn't look too bad so you can probably get away without doing anything yet. If you notice the damage progressing up your hops you might have to take some action.

 

[Pathogen07]

Alternative to pesticides is soapy water and get some lady bugs from your local nursery