Growing Hop Rhizomes

I'm a bit of a gardener (tomatoes, cucumbers etc) and I was thinking about planting 4 hop rhizomes in the garden. Does anyone have experience growing them? Also can they be transplanted because I'm looking to move in about two years.

There's a whole section of this forum devoted to growing hops. There's a lot of good knowledge there, and there are plenty of books on the subject if you're serious about growing them.

The hop rhizomes that you buy are pretty much just root cuttings, so I imagine if you dug up the plant in the fall and took a main section of the root network with you, they would be transportable. That being said, they typically don't produce hops in the first (or even second) years, so you'd have to let the plant establish itself again before getting any kind of usable yield at the new place. It may just be better to wait and buy the rhizomes after your move.

There is an entire section below dedicated to this very topic. I would HIGHLY recommend checking it out as it will answer all your questions for you.

In a nutshell: yes you can plant them and then move them years later. Hops produce little if any cones the 1st year.

Yes they can be transplanted, best to try and wait until after "harvest".
They are easy to grow in just about any soil much like it's cousin (marijuana) but to get the most out fo your hops and best production there are things you can do to enrich the soil, watering schedule and sunlight maximization as with any plant.

Thanks everyone. I think I'm going to wait until after we move being that it can take upwards of two years for the plants to mature.

Why not grow some in a container? You'll have mature plants when you get to your new place.

+1 on the container.

I've got a centennial in a (very large) pot on my balcony that produced enough cones in its first year to brew a five-gallon fresh hop batch; just re-strung the twine for the second year, and am seriously considering picking up a cascade to keep it company.

Worst-case scenario, you start out at your new place with big, robust crowns rarin' to go instead of rhizomes you're not even sure are gonna come up. But if you've got a sunny spot and take moderately good care of 'em, you can count on getting at least a couple dry ounces to add a home-grown touch to whatever you're brewing in late Fall.

I may try the container method because I really want to try this and I don't want to wait 2-3 years before doing so. My only concern is what if I sell my house say during the Spring or Summer months after the hop vines have begun to grow. What do I do then? It would be some sight with me trying to move these containers back east with plants that are established and growing.

If you go the container method let me suggest smart pots! www.smartpots.com. I currently have 2 45 gallon ones and they are working out great!

"It would be some sight with me trying to move these containers back east with plants that are established and growing."
You would not be the first person to move a large house plant in a pot. Think about potted ficus trees. Its very do-able. Worst case scenerio is that you loose years worth of growth. Best case scenerio is that you would wind up the vines and re-string them with no harm.

Why wouldn't you just cut them back when you move... YOu have to cut them back each fall anyway, right? I don't know much about it as I've never grown any but having read a bit it would seem that when you move you just lose out on a year of hops. Big deal. The root should sprout again next year... right?

Do you really need containers as large as 45 gallons?

tomitillo26 said:

Do you really need containers as large as 45 gallons?

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Yes, you cant really get too big of a container with hops.

They act pretty much like an invasive species. I am currently renting my place and I planted them in some large planters from Costco which were pretty cheap. They look like 1/4 of a barrel but I believe they were ~12$ each. But here is a link to how I grew them in planters: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f92/my-solution-growing-hops-while-living-rented-duplex-409321/

You can move 45 gallon pots with pipe, I see knuckle heads moving pot plants down the 101 all the time, 6ft tall and blowing in the wind. haha... Anyways, these plants love nitrogen early/middle of summer then bloom formula or phosphorus and potassium towards mid august. You need a short term and longer term source of each and if you really want to get into it, amend with compost in the fall and prepare area for spring planting then til in amendments in spring. These plants love to grow, love water, they are a dream to grow, you shouldn't have much trouble. I just got my rhizomes not too long ago from arrowlake or whoever I bought them from as sticks, just rhizomes, they are now 6" and growing, some are just breaking ground but all of the 10 or so varieties only 2 have not sprouted yet but I'm confident they will soon. Rhizomes are simple and dependable, you can count on plants sprouting by 3rd week of may most likely.

You can sometimes ask nurseries for free larger pots, especially if they sell large trees, clean debris with soap, then with spray bleach in a tub or something. This will kill any problematic fungus' and bacteria. Then give it some aerated potting soil, maybe mix in some rice hulls instead of perlite, because perlite floats and causes soil to compress, rice hulls do not move. Much better. Much cheaper.

tomitillo26 said:

Do you really need containers as large as 45 gallons?

Click to expand...

Do you need them that large? No.

Will you benefit? Probably, especially if this is a multi-year project. More space = bigger root system = ability to support a greater number of larger bines = more cones.

The "very large" pot I'm growing in is something like 10 or 12 gallons, and it was fine for the first year -- my results, in terms of growth and harvest, were about par for course for a first-year plant. But now that I'm in the second year, I'm sure the space is gonna be an issue, and I'm not gonna get as many cones as I would if I were in the ground, or a monstrous 45-gallon pot. Heck, in order to compensate for the limited space, I'm only growing three bines instead of the usual six, so, that's cutting the harvest in half right there.

I move hops that I had going for 5 years last spring and last year was the best year ever. 2# per plant dried. (cascade, centennials)