Need advice

[2BeerSpeer]

This is my first year cutting rhizomes from my crowns. They are 3 years old and I'm wondering when is the best time to do it and if there mat be any secrets to making it easier on me. I don't want to screw it up. ..thanks in advance for any info!

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[HALIFAXHOPS]

Make sure the ground is defrosted first. Dig up the largest lateral roots an cut 5-6 in segments from the rhizomes. I treat the cut ends with rootone or similar products. If you plant them right away great, if not store them in the fridge in a ziplock with moist not wet material. You should be fine hard to screw it up.

 

[B-Hoppy]

Halifax is right, you can't screw it up no matter how hard you try. Getting out as soon as you can will help as you want to cut them before the buds begin to push out. Basically you can just dig all the way around the crown, like you're digging a moat. As you go along, you'll see the rhizomes creeping outward from the crown like spokes on a bicycle wheel. I usually start about 8 inches out from the crown and you'll most likely chop up some roots, but not to worry as there are plenty of roots that you didn't hit. Again, very hard to screw up. Hop On.

 

[2BeerSpeer]

Any lateral roots I find need to be removed to keep from getting sprouts coming up away from my crowns, correct? I don't want them to take over my back yard..HA

 

[B-Hoppy]

There's a huge difference between roots and rhizomes. Rhizomes have buds on them and can produce new plants. Roots have no buds and cannot produce new plants. The best way to learn the difference is to actually dig the whole crown up and take a look. It seems pretty harsh but it's the best way to learn and the fact that it's a 3rd year plant makes it a good candidate for this procedure. By the 3rd year, if the plant has been growing well, you'll see little if any reduction in vigor after pruning it back.

The alternative will be years of experience digging. As you dig, you'll find what looks like roots, but once you look a little closer you'll see rings of buds anywhere from 4-8 inch intervals along the structure. If you see buds, it's a rhizome. If you don't see buds, it's a root and can safely be left in the ground without worrying about new growth coming from it. I'll try to dig up some pictures when I have time.

edit: Better than pictures. I remember seeing this a few days ago. Please don't watch if you're not handy with sharp objects: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=637559506293579&set=vb.156268764422658&type=2&theater

 

[2BeerSpeer]

Thanks for the reply

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[PapaBearJay]

There's a huge difference between roots and rhizomes. Rhizomes have buds on them and can produce new plants. Roots have no buds and cannot produce new plants. The best way to learn the difference is to actually dig the whole crown up and take a look. It seems pretty harsh but it's the best way to learn and the fact that it's a 3rd year plant makes it a good candidate for this procedure. By the 3rd year, if the plant has been growing well, you'll see little if any reduction in vigor after pruning it back.

The alternative will be years of experience digging. As you dig, you'll find what looks like roots, but once you look a little closer you'll see rings of buds anywhere from 4-8 inch intervals along the structure. If you see buds, it's a rhizome. If you don't see buds, it's a root and can safely be left in the ground without worrying about new growth coming from it. I'll try to dig up some pictures when I have time.

edit: Better than pictures. I remember seeing this a few days ago. Please don't watch if you're not handy with sharp objects: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=637559506293579&set=vb.156268764422658&type=2&theater

You're half right. Roots will actually form a new plant, but the process for this to occur requires a great deal more effort and time than rhizomes.

For instance, think of a SWEET potato, it is actually a root. It will form an entirely new plant if given the proper conditions, and so would a hop root.

Again, this isn't propagating rhizomes, and commercially isn't a sensible decision, but it is quite possible.



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[B-Hoppy]

My bad. Just curious as to what all is involved to grow a hop plant from a root? I'm suggesting that a backyard gardner will be fine once they can distinguish the difference between the two as there seems to be a notion that if you plant a hop in the ground as opposed to a bucket/planter that you'll never be able to get rid of it? All I'm saying is that from all the years that I've been playing with them, I've never seen a root regenerate any above-ground vegetation after extracting a crown. Could be wrong, it's happened plenty of times before, hahaha!

 

[HALIFAXHOPS]

B-
Nice video, I thought I was the only one to use a knife on the crowns!

 

[B-Hoppy]

Yeah, a stealthy knife works well to cut them away from the crown and out of the ground due to the possibility of mucking the blade up if you hit some rocks. For long term storage I like to use a nice sharp hand pruner, makes for very clean end cuts.

 

[PapaBearJay]

My bad. Just curious as to what all is involved to grow a hop plant from a root? I'm suggesting that a backyard gardner will be fine once they can distinguish the difference between the two as there seems to be a notion that if you plant a hop in the ground as opposed to a bucket/planter that you'll never be able to get rid of it? All I'm saying is that from all the years that I've been playing with them, I've never seen a root regenerate any above-ground vegetation after extracting a crown. Could be wrong, it's happened plenty of times before, hahaha!

Much like a home gardener might dip some cuttings into RooTone (contains a plant hormone IBA from a family of hormones called auxins) to form roots, there are other hormones that can be applied to different segments/portions of the plants. One that would work in this situation comes from the family of plant hormones called cytokinins. You would find your roots that you wanted to turn into a new plant, give it a dose of said cytokinin, and watch it become a new plant. Cytokinins are actually produced within the root and travel upward (through the root to the shoot), but what generally happens when people cleave off those roots is cover them back up under soil. The roots will need sunlight to undergo the photomorphogenic response needed to promote new shoot growth.

 

[2BeerSpeer]

I had planned on removing all the lateral roots as it is my understanding that the crown will not be damaged if I don't bother the bottom roots. Any rhizomes on the lateral roots will be cut and planted for fellow Homebrewers. I just don't want the plants spreading too far as they may be moved in the future.

 

[PapaBearJay]

I had planned on removing all the lateral roots as it is my understanding that the crown will not be damaged if I don't bother the bottom roots. Any rhizomes on the lateral roots will be cut and planted for fellow Homebrewers. I just don't want the plants spreading too far as they may be moved in the future.

Of course!

 

[PJM]

Great thread

 

[2BeerSpeer]

Well after 7 plants I only got rhizomes off of 1 plant...The Mt. Hood....will get to the nugget later today. I imagined each plant would have a couple but mine didn't.

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[B-Hoppy]

Are you getting the hang of being able to tell what's what when you dig? I know that certain varieties tend to produce more than others with some putting out 'big fatties' (Hers/Tett/Centennial) and others never get much thicker than a shoelace (Canadian Redvine). It all takes time.

 

[2BeerSpeer]

It was a noticeable difference between them on the plants I have. Most only had lateral roots that were what I'd call slick and cord like. The ones I kept were obviously rhizomes because they had little sprouts in areas close to what looks like a growth ring on the root. My brewers gold, cascade, centennial, Columbus, Chinook, and magnum had none...only roots which I cut back. The Mt Hood and Nugget had a few nice ones though. I'm wondering if location has anything to do with it. ..my mt hood and nugget plants are in the wettest area because they get runoff water after it rains. When I planted them I was afraid it was too wet but they have done fine so I never moved them.

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[B-Hoppy]

Maybe the plants need a little more water in your area. Once mine are established, they seem to grow well no matter how much rainfall there is.

One big difference between the roots and rhizomes is that the roots seem to be a lot more flexible/flaccid (like limp celery) where the rhizomes are a little more stiff/turgid (like fresh celery) ~ that's the best I can come up with, ha.

This was the take from one hill today. I grow some Redvines for a friend and these were little scrawny shoelace sized cuttings last year so I stuck them back in the ground to plump up.

 

[2BeerSpeer]

Thanks for all the replies hoppy...I only saved the ones that had buds/sprouts. the other roots are in my fire pit in back. I guess I could have cut them into pieces and covered them to see if they would root. Oh well...maybe next year. I don't need any more plants just planning on donating them to fellow Homebrewers.....or finding someone who is willing to trade for Heady and/or zombie dust! I'm having a hell of a time scoring those 2.....

 

[HALIFAXHOPS]

Maybe the plants need a little more water in your area. Once mine are established, they seem to grow well no matter how much rainfall there is.

One big difference between the roots and rhizomes is that the roots seem to be a lot more flexible/flaccid (like limp celery) where the rhizomes are a little more stiff/turgid (like fresh celery) ~ that's the best I can come up with, ha.

This was the take from one hill today. I grow some Redvines for a friend and these were little scrawny shoelace sized cuttings last year so I stuck them back in the ground to plump up.

Wow, I wish all of mine looked like that!

 

[B-Hoppy]

Me too! The dude they're bound for is going to sell them and I like to make sure they have nice clean end cuts and no rips in them as they'll store for a long time if they're in good shape. Plus the fact that lots of buyers can be pretty particular about the condition and I don't want him to have any complaints/call-backs. The pile of 'rejects' was about triple that size and will go to the bad kids in the neighborhood, hahaha!