Withering hops - cold damage?

[suregork]

I ordered some rhizomes about a month ago and they arrived at my home about two weeks ago. The weather was quite cold then here in Finland, so I decided to start them in pots indoors. All rhizomes (five different varieties) started growing really well and shoots (? is that the correct word) started pushing through the soil after a couple of days. The shoots/bines started to get so long and the weather was warming up, so I decided to move them outside. The transfer went smoothly, and I tried to be as careful as possible, in order to not break any of the shoots and roots. I planted the rhizomes in 21 gallon tubs and used the same soil as I did indoors. The first day or so everything was looking good, but now 5 days after moving the hops outside, they have 'withered' and are looking quite dead (the leaves have also turned white). I suspect one of the reasons for this, is that the nights have been quite cold. Temperatures have varied from about 15 - 20C (59 - 68F) during the day to -2 - 1C (28 - 34F). Could it be that the cold nights have caused this damage, or do you think there is some other problem (over-/underwatering)? I assume if it is cold damage, I should just leave them the rhizomes in the ground and hope they produce new shoots?

Here are some picture (sorry about the poor quality, taken with the phone in strong sunlight):

 

[bionut]

The hops like the cold, but they need a little "harndening" before you take them from inside to the ground. You should harden them for 3-4 days by taking the pots outside for a short period of time every day. I don't speak english very well, so i can't explain you better than that, here you can read about seedlings hardening
They withered from the thermal shock, not because of the cold temperatures.
I think that they will grow another shoots soon though.

 

[suregork]

Thanks for the reply. Thermal shock could be a very plausible explanation. Now I just have to hope the poor rhizomes send up some new shoots

 

[bionut]

I hope that too. Good luck!

From where did you bought rhizomes in Finland? I live in Romania and i bought hops from eickelmann.de and willingham-nurseries.co.uk. Now i want to buy some slovenia hops rhizomes from Hopsi. We really need a list with the hops sellers in EU

 

[wbarber69]

Your also gonna want to put some mulch down to insulate the root beds