First Year Hop Plant Growth is Lackluster - WTF?

[ultravista]

This year I planted three hop varieties (Cascade, Chinook, and Columbus) from Great Lakes Hops 'crowns'. Each plant is in a well drained 5 gallon plastic bucket with regular watering.

The plants were 'bucketed' two months ago and have grown very little. The Chinook put out a two foot bine then stopped. The tip is there so it was not compromised but it looks as if it just stopped growing.

As an avid gardener, I am capable and confident that my growing practices are OK.

Should I expect more out of two month old plants? Will they start to grow foliage, stop growing, then pickup again?

 

[PapaBearJay]

Have pictures?

 

[krackin]

Plant energy is going to root development at this stage.

 

[ultravista]

Photos posted. These are sad looking plants. Something is eating the leaves of the Chinook. I just sprayed Sevin Spray Bug Killer on it.

The leaves of the cascade look burnt, as if something is in the water. As you can see with the tomato leafs in the same photo, that plant is doing awesome.

 

[Apimyces]

What kind of fertilization?

What's that on the soil?

At least some of that looks like insect damage. Got japanese beetles on there?

 

[brewcat]

Hops aren't going to grow well in 5 gallon buckets. The roots don't like hot soil. So I would guess soil temp may be an issue especially in Las Vegas.

 

[PapaBearJay]

Those are rice hulls, it's what GLH uses in their potting media and for shipment. Also, from afar it looks like potential salt/insect damage, but better (up-close) pictures are needed.

 

[Ruint]

Got a jewelers magnifying glass? You might need it to see the insects that are eating off of your plants. If you put Seven dust down on them sufficiently, it should be evident in a week or so with plant growth starting to pick up again. You might want to look for a pesticide that targets spider mites. That is most likely causing the yellow spots on the leaves. Not sure what is eating the leaf matter off of them though....I think it's a little too early for Japanese beetles to be out and about...but I don't reside in Nevada either. You'd be able to spot them without using any spectacles, the other bugs like mites, thrips, and leaf hoppers however...you'll need help seeing them, at least until you get used to seeing what you are looking for.

 

[ultravista]

Standard potting soil with a little steer manure and rice hulls. The plants get water twice a day along with the other plants in the garden. I have tomatoes on the vine already. Everything in the garden is growing well, vigorous in fact, with the exception of these three hop plants.

There are plants in between and behind these buckets - they too are growing well. No issues.

I hit all of the plants occasionally with Miracle Grow plant food - not too much.

Its not too hot yet so I doubt the soil is too warm right now. Nonetheless, I will repot in larger containers this weekend. I have something like a 20 gallon nursery pot, big and black, with plenty of drainage.

I am surprised at how these look two months after being potted. The crowns were small but did have buds or bines when I planted them.

So what's wrong with buckets & hops? Is it just the smaller volume or something else?

I grow tomatoes and peppers in buckets and they grow like I owe them money

 

[Ruint]

Hops have large root systems. The taproot is capable of going down any wheres from 14 to 18 feet. You won't get that in a bucket. Stop watering them twice a day...they are not large enough yet to accommodate that much water. Light doses of miracle grow are fine. Don't underestimate what insect damage/feeding will do to your plants.


When they get to 6 feet tall...then you can start to water/feed them more vigorously.

 

[ultravista]

I will certainly move them into larger bucket this weekend. Regarding watering & fertilization, water is a drip system for 2 minutes, not too much - and the Miracle Grow was applied once about a month ago.

 

[Ruint]

What size emitters are you using on the drip system? Try another dose of miracle grow or something with n/p/k of 15/2/2 or there abouts. I saturate the soil and then leave it for a couple of days until it looks to be getting dry on top, then repeat the process. When I said don't underestimate the bugs, that's coming from hard learned lesson. They will stunt your growth bad.

 

[ultravista]

You can see the emitters in the photo, they are a broadcast pattern and I have them turned down to a slow trickle.

Here's a photo of the buckets in contrast to a few other plants. The tomato to the right and peppers behind.

As I mentioned, all of the plants are doing well, except the hops

The second photo is my youngest a few feet from the hop plants.

 

[Ruint]

Your other plants look to be flourishing well...not so much for your hops...sorry. Hops like water, but they don't like to be wet. Every once in a while, soak them, but for the most part I would move the sprinkler head away from the crown and maybe put it towards the side of the bucket. You can leave them in the bucket for a few more weeks without worrying. Try letting them have no water for 2 days, and watch their color. If getting to much water they tend to look like what you have, they'll actually start getting a darker green color when you stop giving them to much. Young hop plants are pretty finicky with water issues. As they get larger, that's when you start to give them more. Try it and see. It's what I found to be true when I had young hops plants, but I had 2000 of them to tend to.

Also get a quality humic acid concentrate and at the next feeding, do a recommended dose level. I very highly suggest this!

 

[ultravista]

I spoke with Carrie @ Great Lake Hops today. She suggested that the hops may have gone dormant - they arrived in early February from Michigan where they were dug out of the hard ground while dormant. When I received them, they were planted within a few days.

Carrie thinks that perhaps because they were in a cycle of dormancy, forced out of dormancy (by planting), then went dormant again.

This theory does explain why there was a small growth spurt then nothing since ...

Does this sound plausible? If yes, and these are indeed dormant, what can I do, if anything, to break the dormancy and start them growing again?

 

[brewcat]

I will certainly move them into larger bucket this weekend. Regarding watering & fertilization, water is a drip system for 2 minutes, not too much - and the Miracle Grow was applied once about a month ago.

The other thing is to make sure the water isn't hot when watering. Drip systems can be very hot.

 

[ultravista]

Any comments about dormancy?

 

[ultravista]

Anyone?

 

[crane]

Any comments about dormancy?

Had a similar situation this year. I'm in San Diego and I planted some Cascade rhizomes in January. Didn't know much about hop growing and what triggers them to grow vs stay dormant at the time. Anyway they initially took off and produced several shoots but stopped growing after a month or so. In March I trimmed back all the shoots and some new ones came up in April. After a few weeks they stopped growing. I didn't trim the shoots this second time but in the last week they have started growing again. So maybe you just need to wait a little longer and they will start growing again.

 

[ultravista]

crane - your experience and mine are about the same

As these were removed while dormant, perhaps planting forced them out of dormancy and into a growing phase. It makes sense that all three plants stopped growing entirely. I mean there's nothing there and the leaves are dying back as you would expect at the end of the season.

One of mine is like a bonsai hop bush - short compact plant with a canopy.

Thank you for the reply!

 

[Senormac]

I think you should just let them be for a season. They are probably checking out their new environment before they decide to make a move. The dormancy idea fits. Also, does your soil have earthworms? I mean naturally ? I can't dig anyplace in my yard without digging up a bunch of earthworms..... which is a good thing