I dug out six of the twelve crowns that I planted last fall. I could not believe how big the Santiam crowns had grown in just one season, especially considering how intolerant the cultivar was of my climate (Santiam does not like heat and humidity). I also could not believe how difficult the crowns were to dig out even after hitting the plants with glyphosate (a.k.a. Roundup) a month ago.
What's amazing is that the cultivar I was certain would not make the cut going into the growing season was spared the same fate as Santiam, Horizon, and Fuggle. For some reason, Spalt Select is more heat tolerant, less photoperiod sensitive, and more insect resistant than the other latitude 48 cultivars that I have worked with in the past. The Spalt Select hills performed surprisingly well considering that they started out as smaller field-grade plants, not whole crowns.