[morticaixavier]

I planted mine in rows next to the south side of the house to try to provide a little shade in those blistering hot summer months. Planted about 5 feet apart, centenial (5, only 4 up so far) along one section separated from the rest as they seem to spread and tangle alot underground. Cascade (5, all 5 are up)along the sunniest wall because I have heard that they are prolific on the foliage front and one single sterling (no sign yet but it's only been a week, the guy who gave me the rhyzomes only had 1 sterling and it was only 3 years old so there wasn't really much pruning to do) on the west side of the house in front of the bedroom window so it will help us sleep when we have the window open.

we have had a couple light frosts since they broke ground but no one seems to mind. I would guess that right next to the house they are probably kept a little warmer than they would be in the middle of the yard.

I couple tricks for early spring emerging plants in colder climates:

Plant on a north facing slope if you have one. This will discourage early growth and decrease the chance that they will emerge/bud(for trees) before the last killing frost has happened. You might also be able to build up a bit of a mound of earth (or earth and logs: google hugelkulture) and plant on the north side of that. I don't know if that would work or not though.

Place large dark colored rocks near the base of your planting. If you are getting warm sunny weather the rocks will heat up a little during the day and help buffer night time temp swings a bit. Also think about prevailing winds and try to figure out a way to block them a bit to further moderate night time temps.

And as several others have mentioned you can mulch with straw, cover with pots or even mulch with slightly under finished compost.

[tschmidlin]

How many rhizomes do you guys normally plant per hop variety? Ive heard 4 rhizomes per hill is the way to go from hopsdirect, but thats in a farming setting.  Is 1 rhizome sufficient to get decent yields of each hop after 3 years or so? What kind of yields do you see from 1 single rhizome after year 1, 2, 3 etc?

One rhizome is plenty if you are patient and have a good planting spot.  After a few years in the new house I wasn't getting a crop so I ripped them out, but they were not planted in a good sunny place, just the best place I was willing to put them.

[Delo]

How many rhizomes do you guys normally plant per hop variety? Ive heard 4 rhizomes per hill is the way to go from hopsdirect, but thats in a farming setting.  Is 1 rhizome sufficient to get decent yields of each hop after 3 years or so? What kind of yields do you see from 1 single rhizome after year 1, 2, 3 etc?

For me it depended on the quality of the rhizomes. The first time I ordered hops, the rhizomes were pretty sad looking so I planted two per hill in 3 hills to increase the odds that a plant would grow.  The second time I ordered hop rhizomes, they looked pretty healthy so I planted one per hill and one rhizome in each of two large pots.  Last year I split off two Willamette hops rhizomes and planted them each in a new hill.  They didn’t produce any hops last year, but they did grow and are already growing at the same rate as my other Willamette this year.  I also planted the potted hops in the ground and got a small amount of hops in their second year.  I live in more of an urban environment so I dont have a lot of choices.

A lot of production depends on the weather, their location, and how much you take care of them. The first year I planted hops, I got hop plants to grow in all three hills and some hops to harvest the first year.   I didn’t really expect too much because the first year really establishes the plant itself.  I had a lot of hop production the second year, but the weather was great and I was diligent with their upkeep.   The third year was almost nothing because the weather was terribly hot and dry and I wasn’t keeping up with them like I should have been. Last year the weather wasn’t ideal and I was somewhere in the middle of keeping up with them and I got a decent yield.  This year I plan on being better about tending to them and I'm hoping the weather cooperates.  There is nothing like stuffing your freezer with vacuum sealed bags of your own hops.

[bluesman]

I bought 2 Centennial Rhizomes about three weeks ago.  I started them in a 16" pot inside my house, as I didn't want to take any chances with the weather.  I used Miracle Grow potting mix and buried the rhizomes about 2" below the surface vertically with the buds pointing up.  The hops have since emerged from the soil and are about 12-16" long now.  I am planning to transplant them outside very soon.

[erockrph]

Has anyone here had any luck growing their hops in pots? I haven't settled on (read: convinced my wife) a final location for my hops, so I planted my rhizomes in pots for now with the intent of trialing them in a couple of different spots for the first season or two.

[saintpierre]

Has anyone here had any luck growing their hops in pots? I haven't settled on (read: convinced my wife) a final location for my hops, so I planted my rhizomes in pots for now with the intent of trialing them in a couple of different spots for the first season or two.

When I was renting a house in Oregon, I planted cascade and chinook in half whiskey barrels.  they grew alright... I only had them 2 seasons before my wife got pregos.  The first year they were 12-15 feet tall and didn't have any useable harvest and the second year they got 15 to 20 feet tall and I harvested enought for a 5 gallon batch fresh hop beer.

If you use whiskey barrels I would recommend drilling drainage holes and proping the barrel on something to let air under the pot the wood will mold or maybe that is a PNW thing...  Also as morti mentioned try to protect from the sunniest part of the day or have a soaker on timer to keep the roots cool.

YMMV but just my 2 cents.

[ckpash88]

How deep should they be planted?


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[bluesman]

How deep should they be planted?


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Plant them a few inches below the soil vertically.  The highest part of the rhizome should be a few inches below the soil.

[ckpash88]

Why do people say plant them horizontally?


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[bluesman]

Why do people say plant them horizontally?


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They grow best vertically, according to everything I have researched.  From my personal experience they grow well when planted vertically.

[Slowbrew]

Why do people say plant them horizontally?


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They grow best vertically, according to everything I have researched.  From my personal experience they grow well when planted vertically.

It probably doesn't matter a great deal either way.  If you watch the videos from Fresh Hops they plant them vertically.  If the pros do it, there's likely a reason.  I don't know what that reason is but I don't argue with people who make a living at it.   

Paul

[morticaixavier]

Why do people say plant them horizontally?


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They grow best vertically, according to everything I have researched.  From my personal experience they grow well when planted vertically.

It probably doesn't matter a great deal either way.  If you watch the videos from Fresh Hops they plant them vertically.  If the pros do it, there's likely a reason.  I don't know what that reason is but I don't argue with people who make a living at it.   

Paul

IANAH (I Am Not A Horticulturalist) but I suspect is has to do with how well and fast it develops roots. When the crown is sending out new bits they can either be rhyzomes (so it can spread) or roots (so it can eat) I suspect that the orientation of the member has something to do with how the plant decides this. So by planting veritcally you encourage the plant to produce roots rather than more rhyzomes and since it is still getting established this could be beneficial.

[pyrite]

When I pant rhizomes, I make sure that the eye of the shoot is pointing in the vertical direction just about an inch under the soil. Usually that makes it so the rhizome is in the vertical position.

[aa7yy]

Might want to touch base with these guys.     http://snakeriverbrewers.org/index.php?action=forum

[b-hoppy]

morti is on the right track.  They'll grow even if you plant them upside down, but for easier maintenance,  vertically will help keep them from spreading too much.  If you plant horizontally, some of the buds are angled upward (at about a 45 degree angle) and others downward at the same angle.  The downward oriented buds will grow down and away from the rhizome and may emerge a couple feet away.  All along this underground shoot, there will be more rings of buds that can continue this process year after year with more shoots popping up further and further away.  So, either way will work but it helps to understand the consequences before hand.  Hop ON!