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Author Topic: I think my hops are drowning  (Read 11186 times)

Offline ccfoo242

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I think my hops are drowning
« on: June 07, 2012, 06:42:06 am »
Are yellowing leaves a symptom of over-watering? We've had an ark-load of rain in the last few weeks and the bottom leaves on my zeus hops are yellow now.
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Offline morticaixavier

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Re: I think my hops are drowning
« Reply #1 on: June 07, 2012, 09:15:36 am »
could be. yellowing leaves could be a lot of things. not much you can really do though. keep an eye out for mildew, hope it stops raining. I suppose you could put tarps on the ground to try to redirect the water down hill from the hops but I suspect you would risk more mold/mildew problems if you did that. how are the tops looking? they probably don't need those lower leaves anyway.
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Offline theDarkSide

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Re: I think my hops are drowning
« Reply #2 on: June 07, 2012, 09:23:21 am »
It also could be a deficiency of nitrogen

http://www.freshops.com/hop-growing/hop-diseases-and-pests

But if it's like it has been around here the past week ( rain ), it's probably overwatering.

I always remove the leaves on the bottom foot of the bines to allow for air circulation anyways. 
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Offline Pinski

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Re: I think my hops are drowning
« Reply #3 on: June 07, 2012, 09:49:08 am »
It's also a typical pattern as the plant matures, most of the energy and nutrients are being pushed out to the tips where vegetative growth is active and flowers are beginning to develop. If it's more systemic yellowing I would worry about a nitrogen/fertilizer deficiency.   
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Offline ccfoo242

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Re: I think my hops are drowning
« Reply #4 on: June 07, 2012, 10:53:15 am »
I'll take a picture when I get home. The leaves on my balcony look ok, but everything below that is yellowed.
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Offline ccfoo242

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Re: I think my hops are drowning
« Reply #5 on: June 08, 2012, 03:55:21 pm »
Here's the yellowing
 

Here's the hops.  The little hairlike strands are browning (which I think is normal?)

 

So do I need to add something like nitrogen? Or is this normal?

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Offline morticaixavier

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Re: I think my hops are drowning
« Reply #6 on: June 08, 2012, 04:28:51 pm »
Those look okay, they would probably benefit from some compost or similar slow fertilization. the browning on the cones I do not know. It could be normal but I do not have enough experience with hops to know.

Is it in a pot at the ground or directly in the dirt? if in a pot it probably does need some fertilizer as they are pretty heavy feeders.
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Offline ccfoo242

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Re: I think my hops are drowning
« Reply #7 on: June 08, 2012, 04:38:11 pm »
It's a pot and I used prefertilized potting soil from miracle grow.  I think it was supposed to work for 6 months but maybe that's marketing talk for 3 months.

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Offline morticaixavier

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Re: I think my hops are drowning
« Reply #8 on: June 08, 2012, 04:48:30 pm »
It's a pot and I used prefertilized potting soil from miracle grow.  I think it was supposed to work for 6 months but maybe that's marketing talk for 3 months.

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yeah, it's probably figured for a much smaller, less hungry plant though. Try some fish emulsion and compost on top.
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Offline oly

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Re: I think my hops are drowning
« Reply #9 on: June 09, 2012, 12:30:09 am »
Yep, looks to me like they just need some nitrogen-rich fertilizer.  Like was already mentioned, liquid fish and compost.

Offline bluesman

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I think my hops are drowning
« Reply #10 on: June 09, 2012, 06:03:48 am »
Yep, looks to me like they just need some nitrogen-rich fertilizer.  Like was already mentioned, liquid fish and compost.

+1

Try some Miracle Grow, I think this will give them a boost. Compost will help in the longer term.


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Offline ccfoo242

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Re: I think my hops are drowning
« Reply #11 on: June 09, 2012, 11:21:34 am »
OK, got some miracle grow today and used some. Instructions say to use every 7 days. Still raining here, getting pretty sick of it.
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Offline euge

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Re: I think my hops are drowning
« Reply #12 on: June 09, 2012, 12:19:56 pm »
I thought it was "...my hopes are drowning" :o

While I have grown many things in containers it is substantially more difficult. They need a lot more watering but it's also a fine line between enough and overwatering. And, the prefertilized soil mixes usually aren't sufficient for heavy feeders and might not suit certain type plants like hops anyway.

I'm not sure hops are suited for containers as their root systems are most likely extensive. They would become root-bound in a pot quickly and this can result in yellowing of the leaves. If this is the case they are starving and need more room to throw the roots out. Adding more fertilizer will have a limited effect and may lock-out or burn your plant.

I suggest transplanting into the ground.
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Offline ccfoo242

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Re: I think my hops are drowning
« Reply #13 on: June 09, 2012, 01:31:35 pm »
Perhaps my hopEs are drowning!  ;D

I don't have the option to transplant them. If they grow, fine, if not then I'll use the pots for something that will. I knew it was a crap shoot when I started since I'm in Florida.
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Offline beerstache

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Re: I think my hops are drowning
« Reply #14 on: June 09, 2012, 03:33:28 pm »
Your lucky to get hops to grow in Florida!  They prefer cooler regions around the 45th pararell. 
I think with all the rain, the rain has washed out all the nutrients and like everybody else has suggested, add some compost/fertilizer.  How much sun do they get?  The leaves look a little sparse, not as bountiful as a healthy plant.