10 year old hop bines

[Biergarden]

I've got several half barrels with hops going back at least ten years. Last year it occurred to me that I should dig them out of the container, put in some good fresh soil and re plant some of the rhizomes. I'm sure by now the whole barrel is just packed full of root.
My question is, does anyone have any experience in this to let me know if I'm on the right track?
Thanks

 

[GVH_Dan]

I had the same experience with one I kept in a barrel sized pot. When I pulled it out, the only soil I had was what was sitting on top of the roots.

Pull it out an lay it out on a tarp in the spring before it starts sprouting. Look for the rhizome roots and trim those first. They will be up towards the top and should have the little potato bud like eyes on them. If you still have a lot of root, you could split it in half and propagate or get rid of the other half. Either way, its a hardy plant so hacking into it a bit won't hurt.

 

[Biergarden]

I had the same experience with one I kept in a barrel sized pot. When I pulled it out, the only soil I had was what was sitting on top of the roots.

Pull it out an lay it out on a tarp in the spring before it starts sprouting. Look for the rhizome roots and trim those first. They will be up towards the top and should have the little potato bud like eyes on them. If you still have a lot of root, you could split it in half and propagate or get rid of the other half. Either way, its a hardy plant so hacking into it a bit won't hurt.

That's the kind of answer I was looking for. Thanks so much for that!
Cheers pal!

 

[friarsmith]

After digging up, splitting and transplanting many a beachball-sized root crown planted in open soil over the years, I'd bet my last dollar that whole barrel will be full of roots. Your plants will be happier and produce more in containers if you split them every 3 years. You have drainage holes drilled in the bottom or sides, right?

 

[Biergarden]

After digging up, splitting and transplanting many a beachball-sized root crown planted in open soil over the years, I'd bet my last dollar that whole barrel will be full of roots. Your plants will be happier and produce more in containers if you split them every 3 years. You have drainage holes drilled in the bottom or sides, right?

Thank you very much!

 

[samandbekah]

What do you do in the winter with the barrels? I'm in upstate ny and the winters here are harsh, I heard I have to be concerned with the extreme cold killing the root.

 

[samandbekah]

I thought about just bringing them in my garage - not heard but would be somewhat shielded from the extreme cold temperatures

 

[ba-brewer]

I have some hops in fake half whiskey barrels, they put root through the drainage hole and into the soil below. I broke them off when I tried moving them, so I put some pavers under the pots but it felt like they found a path around them. Figure it was better to allow them access to deep water than to break them off again so I dug out the outside edge of soil and some of the top soil and replaces that. My plants are only 4 years old though.