Hey all, I recently moved and brought some nugget and cascade rhizomes from my old place. I am figuring out where I am going to plant them. I have decided to plant them along the back of my property along the metal fence. This gives southern exposure, it's far from the road so no dust and crap, and is pretty much open. I have been instructed by SWMBO to keep the hops further from the house than I wanted, so I am relegated to a spot with a pine tree about 20 feet north of the spot for the cascade, and a pine and spruce again about 20ish feet north of the nugget. Will this proximity to the fallen needles affect the hops? should I find another spot? other than the trees these are perfect as they have great sun, a fence and long dead trees to climb up while keeping me in good shape with the wife.
Growing hops beside pine and spruce trees
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ABrewingApe
Well-Known Member
Pine needles will make the soil a little more acidic, but no hop that I've ever met seems to mind that--my soil is fairly tart too, being in large part pine mulch, and my Saaz and Cascade do juuuust fine. Water and sun are a much bigger deal and you've got that covered.
hops prefer slightly acidic soil, so you're good unless the soil is very, very acidic (like immediately under the pine where there is a permanent cover of needles). i believe that you'll be fine since the pines are 20 feet away.
Greatlakeshops
Well-Known Member
Your hops will probably grow quite well near the pines, but be aware that spidermites often overwinter on evergreen pine and spruce. If you do seem to pick up a lot of spidermite activity early you will know their source. The trees could be sprayed pre-season with a dormant oil to knock down their populations if you do find them to be an issue.
