To trim or not to trim

I've read different post and online articles and I still can't decide what to do.
I got my centennial hops last year from greatlakeshops. Since I got them as a crown I guess they would technically be 3rd year hops this year. My question is do I cut back all the first growth and let it sprout again or do I just trim them all back except for 3 or 4 bines? Thanks in advance!

And by ^that^ he means cut everything back to the ground, then when the new shoots develop, pick the best 3 or 4 to train...

Cheers!

Thanks for the info!

So can I take a lawn mower to them to level them out with the ground? Haha I know, cheap and lazy solution, but will it be effective?

So chopping off all the bines that have emerged will not kill it? New bines will grow this spring?

"So chopping off all the bines that have emerged will not kill it? New bines will grow this spring?"

Exactly. Hops keep a lot of energy stored in the rhizome. As long as the rhizome is healthy, trimming back the first growth will not have a negative effect on the plant. According to commercial growers, the bines that form later in the spring are stronger, more uniform and likely to put off cones all at once.

"So can I take a lawn mower to them to level them out with the ground? Haha I know, cheap and lazy solution, but will it be effective?"

This is essentially what some commercial growers do (see B-Hoppy's link). However, there have been recent studies that show this won't work well for all varieties. Nugget, for instance typically creates the strongest bines from nodes above the surface:

"Nugget is a hybrid variety that has been selected to produce just a few main primary crown buds; which are formed quite high on the plant stem... The plant root system has survived intact (didn't increase in size, though). Note there are still no crown buds visible! Will it ever resprout? Not sure"
From: https://www.facebook.com/notes/great-lakes-hops/hop-pruning-bine-removal/417792784966633

LBA4ME said:

So chopping off all the bines that have emerged will not kill it? New bines will grow this spring?

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If you dig up a crown that's been in the ground for a year or more, what you see will probably scare you if you remember back to the little thing that you originally planted! As it develops it gains more and more mass and all that mass is usually covered with buds, not to mention any rhizomes that have formed (these will also usually have bunches of buds). Those buds found very close to the surface have first dibs on most all of the simple carbs that were sent back down to the crown after flowering was complete in the previous year. When temps warm up in the Spring, those buds explode with sometimes uneven/unnatural growth due to the ready supply of easily utilized energy. This, plus the fact that most disease spores (if any are present) are usually found on those upper buds. By removing the first growth and allowing the later emerging buds to produce your crop, you help eliminate much of the inoculum for potential disease problems while promoting a more even growth. This also helps to make sure most all of your hops come ripe around the same time. Hope that makes some sense.

If you have 15-20 fat juicy shoots popping out of one plant, how do you decide what stays and what gets chopped? Do you just say, "Oh cool, healthy crown..." chop, chop, chop? Because they are all strong shoots, you won't go wrong? Or is there another indicator?

choose 3-4 and cut the rest off. You'll get a better yeild with the plant focusing on cones rather than foilage, it hurts I know.

Bierliebhaber said:

If you have 15-20 fat juicy shoots popping out of one plant, how do you decide what stays and what gets chopped? Do you just say, "Oh cool, healthy crown..." chop, chop, chop? Because they are all strong shoots, you won't go wrong?

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Exactly.

Cheers!

ArrowheadHops said:

choose 3-4 and cut the rest off. You'll get a better yeild with the plant focusing on cones rather than foilage, it hurts I know.

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Is this before or after you chop them all down? So when you have 20 popping up, do you cut them all down and then they pop up again and then cut down all except 3-4? Or save 3-4 from the original shoots? I know the answer may be repetitive but just wanted to make sure I understood your responses.

Just to make sure I am crystal clear, here are pics of my 2nd year Columbus and chinook plants. As you can see they have sprouted big time. We are agreeing that I should cut all these shoots off and better, healthier ones will grow and bear fruit (cones) this season?









Sorry to be such a worry, I am just scared that I will kill or severely limit my 2nd year plants. Thanks.

Bill

LBA4ME said:

Just to make sure I am crystal clear, here are pics of my 2nd year Columbus and chinook plants. As you can see they have sprouted big time. We are agreeing that I should cut all these shoots off and better, healthier ones will grow and bear fruit (cones) this season?




Sorry to be such a worry, I am just scared that I will kill or severely limit my 2nd year plants. Thanks.

Bill

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I'm also looking for an answer on this. I have a bush coming in for my 3rd year cascade, which had some mildew or spider mites going on last year. My second year saaz, colombus, and centennial all have single shoots coming up.

So I should trim everything back to the ground?

I don't think it would make a difference either way.

View attachment 113482

Sorry to be such a worry, I am just scared that I will kill or severely limit my 2nd year plants. Thanks.

Bill[/QUOTE]

I can't really tell what you have going on there (growth trays) ~ are they bottomless so the roots can grow into the ground?

How about this. I would have no problem removing at least half of them, that way you still have the other half to let climb. Not knowing how well they like where they are growing, it's hard to say what has grown below ground. Also, vigor is a varietal thing meaning that some varieties grow like nuts and others never seem to produce very well at all. I'm sure you'll have great success so keep us posted.

I highly doubt that you'll cause serious harm by whacking them all off so leave a few to climb and see what else comes up over the next month or so. USUALLY, there's so many excess shoots that come up by the third(sometimes second) year, that you're really scrambling for ways to keep them in check.

B-Hoppy said:

Sorry to be such a worry, I am just scared that I will kill or severely limit my 2nd year plants. Thanks.

Bill

Click to expand...

I can't really tell what you have going on there (growth trays) ~ are they bottomless so the roots can grow into the ground?

How about this. I would have no problem removing at least half of them, that way you still have the other half to let climb. Not knowing how well they like where they are growing, it's hard to say what has grown below ground. Also, vigor is a varietal thing meaning that some varieties grow like nuts and others never seem to produce very well at all. I'm sure you'll have great success so keep us posted.

I highly doubt that you'll cause serious harm by whacking them all off so leave a few to climb and see what else comes up over the next month or so. USUALLY, there's so many excess shoots that come up by the third(sometimes second) year, that you're really scrambling for ways to keep them in check.[/QUOTE]

They are in earthbox containers. No roots in the ground. Each container holds about 2cf of soil.

They are in earthbox containers. No roots in the ground. Each container holds about 2cf of soil.[/QUOTE]

Tough call with the earthbox set up. I just saw a video about them and to me it's kind of like bringing an elephant into the china shop. You're probably asking for some problems. No experience with container growing other than starting rhizomes in 5 gal buckets. By the end of the growing season there's usually 1/2 inch diameter roots anchoring the buckets into the ground and the bucket is almost all roots. You're severely restricting that plant's potential for optimal rooting so that means it's growing in a stressed environment. Sure, you may have success for a year or two but I feel that you'll be cheating yourself because you'll never actually see what that plant can do in a less stressful growing situation. Again, I can't say what will happen because I've never grown them in containers for more than one season but they can produce some massive root systems.

Now that I understand your set up a little better, I'd say you may want to knock back about half the shoots and let the others go and see what happens. Keep us posted and good luck!

cincybrewer said:

Is this before or after you chop them all down? So when you have 20 popping up, do you cut them all down and then they pop up again and then cut down all except 3-4? Or save 3-4 from the original shoots? I know the answer may be repetitive but just wanted to make sure I understood your responses.

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Well, I just trimmed everything back on my 3rd year cascade and 2nd year centennial, so I hope your first question is the right way. I'm going to let my 2nd year colombus and saaz grow a little more before I trim them back.

LBA4ME said:

I can't really tell what you have going on there (growth trays) ~ are they bottomless so the roots can grow into the ground?

How about this. I would have no problem removing at least half of them, that way you still have the other half to let climb. Not knowing how well they like where they are growing, it's hard to say what has grown below ground. Also, vigor is a varietal thing meaning that some varieties grow like nuts and others never seem to produce very well at all. I'm sure you'll have great success so keep us posted.

I highly doubt that you'll cause serious harm by whacking them all off so leave a few to climb and see what else comes up over the next month or so. USUALLY, there's so many excess shoots that come up by the third(sometimes second) year, that you're really scrambling for ways to keep them in check.

Click to expand...

They are in earthbox containers. No roots in the ground. Each container holds about 2cf of soil.[/QUOTE]

I'd be a little concerned about pests with the earth box containers - never used them for hops but my tomatoes had massive aphid problems on account of the rapid growth from over fertilization. That and at $40/pop, I'd hate to see the hops shred my boxes! How did it work for you last year?

brewguyver said:

They are in earthbox containers. No roots in the ground. Each container holds about 2cf of soil.

Click to expand...

I'd be a little concerned about pests with the earth box containers - never used them for hops but my tomatoes had massive aphid problems on account of the rapid growth from over fertilization. That and at $40/pop, I'd hate to see the hops shred my boxes! How did it work for you last year?[/QUOTE]

They did great. Grew to the full height of my 10' trellis and produced a modest amount of cones. Was very excited to see such a strong growth from the crowns at the beginning of this year 2. No issues with pests, and the boxes seem to have held up fine. The plan is to build a pergola for the hops to grow on over a patio in the backyard, and to put the hops in the ground. Unfortunately, that plan hasn't gotten started, so it looks like they will spend this season in the containers.