when is it too late?

[HughBrooks]

A friend and I are going to grow hops for the first time. We ordered rhizomes from Freshops.com. We are waiting on the to arive via mail. How long do I have before it is too late to plant them. I live in VA and we ordered 2 cascade,1 centennial, 1 willamette, and 1 nugget.

 

[Mad_Milo]

You have a slightly longer warm season, so it's probably not as important.

Here in Ohio, we are told to get them in the ground mid-late April. May is the deadline to have the full summer heat to grow, flower and cone.

What is more important is how they are handled and stored before you get them in the ground.

 

[IrregularPulse]

If you're expecting crop this year then it's too late. last year would have been deadline. Just get them in around April/May. You won't see enough cones to so anything with this year anyway. I got 8 on my one plant it's first year and not even a shoot from my cascade.

 

[Waylit]

If you're expecting crop this year then it's too late.

Not true.
I planted 20 rhizomes last year on April 20th.
Every rhizome planted produced cones.
Average yield per rhizome was 12 oz dry.

 

[HughBrooks]

COOL! First year harvest would be nice of course. My main concern is for them to be healthy. Although it will not hurt my feelings to get a few ounces of fresh hops!

 

[DeathBrewer]

We got plenty of growth on our first year, too. Longer seasons here, however. The second season was triple the amount and now we have double the hops. I'm excited

 

[1stTimer]

Im with you Hugh. This is my first year planting as well and Im across the Bay on the Eastern Shore so we have pretty similar climates. Good luck.

 

[cyberbackpacker]

Not true.
I planted 20 rhizomes last year on April 20th.
Every rhizome planted produced cones.
Average yield per rhizome was 12 oz dry.

Where are you growing? I think most people would love to get 3/4lb of hops from two or three first year rhizomes... Wow! Good on ya!

 

[SnaX]

I'm a newbie to Hops growin' myself, but from what I understand from sifting through these threads... If this is your first year, as it is mine, then I don't think it's too late to plant. The reason for this, is because the first year is spent establishing a root system of the plant.

As said above in the replies, it is next year that you will start to get more desirable results, and it only gets better the year after, and so on

 

[desertbronze]

Make certain to amend the soil where you plant (if needed). There's a lot of clay in my soil, so I dug holes first - 1-2 feet in diameter and 2 feet deep. Mix sand, composted manure, top soil and my native soil and put that mixture in the holes. Plant rhizomes and stand back. I have always gotten some yield from first year plants - at least a couple of ounces.

 

[david_42]

Hops do most of their growing during June and July, so you're fine to the end of April.

 

[HughBrooks]

cool! i am just waitin for them to get here

 

[sterling214]

Last year I got 2 rhizomes in the ground on fathers day. I only got about 3' of growth, but at least they are already in the ground for this year. I am still not expecting a huge harvest this year thou because they got such a late start last year.

 

[HughBrooks]

I have decided to go ahead and plant mine in the ground,as soon as they get here that is. My friends and I are first time growers and we did not know if we wanted to put them in pots or not. We all rent our homes so we wanted to be able to take them if we moved. I have lived in the same place for a long time so I figured what the hell. I should be here for a couple more years at least. I have a pretty large back yard at get a good amount of sun. So instead of spending mony on pots and soil I am just going to till up a plot for a hop yard in my yard. When I decide to leave I will just dig them up and replant. Besides I should get a better yield in ground right? I know its first year and it will not be much but I still cant wait! By the way when would you be able to dig them up for a normal rhizome harvest or transplant?

 

[david_42]

You can dig them out any time after they go dormant for the winter. Rhizome harvesting is best done in the Spring to minimize the time out of the soil.

 

[theonecynic]

I impulsively decided to order some hops today... oops! I was worried about leaving it too late, and as I'm staying at my mum's for now, and won't be home until St. George's Day, I ordered them pre-potted, to be delivered here to my mum's. That way I can take the pots back with me and re-pot them into larger containers when I get home. I'm in rented accommodation anyway and moving in the summer, so they have to stay in containers. All this because I was thinking of trying to convince my dad to grow some hops (he lives in Worcestershire, classic hop country). Can't wait to get my fuggles and goldings!

 

[HughBrooks]

Just got my Rhizomes! Got off work today and they are here! I just need to get them in the ground! Can't wait to see them grow! My 2 cascades already have started to grow along with my willamette! The centennial and the nugget have no activity. Got to get them all in, so excited!

 

[CentralWABrewing]

Not too late. But get them in ASAP!

 

[HughBrooks]

They will be in the ground no later than saterday. That is worst case, they should be in either tomarrow or friday

 

[Getpaddled]

I looked at the 10 day forecast for central wisconsin.... high of 40's all week and lows in the 20's... Should I take the chance of planting these guys?

 

[CentralWABrewing]

I looked at the 10 day forecast for central wisconsin.... high of 40's all week and lows in the 20's... Should I take the chance of planting these guys?

Your weather is close to ours. I just planted some more rhizomes today but I layed down an extra inch of soil on top(approx 2in total).

 

[ChrisS68]

I wouldn't be in too big of a hurry to get them in. Looks like we might be in for another cool/damp spring here in the midwest. I might be concerned about rot if they go in too early. With the heavy rains last year, I lost one rhizome to rot, though the fact that it had a split on one side might have contributed to its demise. I didn't plant mine until toward the end of April last year and they did fine - actually got a few ounces. Well, the Sterlings only produced a few cones. They seemed to have a pretty rough time with all the rain early on. They didn't really begin to recover until July or so.

 

[HughBrooks]

just got my rhizomes in the ground today! tilled up a spot in the back yard. Made a trellis out of 16 foot aluminum posts. should have good weather for starting them this weekend here in VA. cant wait to see them break ground!