Hops are growing very early

[BugAC]

I have some 3rd year hops growing right now (south Louisiana). My chinook and centennial are on the same pace as last year, however my cascade is already at 12-15 feet and growing and it’s already producing cones. Does cascade mature early the older it gets? I guess it’s a good problem to have but I’m concerned that the cones are coming in too early. Thoughts?

 

[HBT_Admin]

Got any pics?

 

[BugAC]

None right now, but i'll take some pictures after work.

Got any pics?

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

I have some 3rd year hops growing right now (south Louisiana). My chinook and centennial are on the same pace as last year, however my cascade is already at 12-15 feet and growing and it’s already producing cones. Does cascade mature early the older it gets? I guess it’s a good problem to have but I’m concerned that the cones are coming in too early. Thoughts?

Up here in Wisconsin you wouldn't see cones till in the fall, nor would the hops be that high. But with the wacky weather it's anyone's guess plus you're farther south.

Is there a nuclear plant nearby?

 

[jtgoral]

Mine are 6 ft tall in Chicagoland....

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

Mine are 6 ft tall in Chicagoland....

Six foot is about right, I got dandelions almost that high.

 

[BugAC]

Got any pics?

Here are some pics from yesterday.

Big one is cascade.

You can see some cones growing:

And these are the shoots coming out the ground. None of them are purple looking nor particularly thick, so i don't think they are bull shoots.

Would y'all advise i cut these down to make room for a fall harvest?

 

[HBT_Admin]

Beautiful. Thanks for sharing!

 

[BugAC]

Back to the point of the thread, would you recommend cutting these back? Im afraid i'm going to screw up my fall harvest with this growth right now.

Thanks

 

[scrap iron]

Back to the point of the thread, would you recommend cutting these back? Im afraid i'm going to screw up my fall harvest with this growth right now.

Thanks

I've read that Cascade hops are usually harvested mid- August with about a 90-day growth period. That would back up the start date to early to mid-May. I'm in the Heartland and cut mine back until early May. I don't have any Cascades now but have in the past. You are quite a bit south of me so I'm not sure of your growing season. I grow Mt Hood, Sterling, Nugget, and Vojvodina now and cut all back until after the last frost [ April 21] in my area. The ones I cut back were bull shoots, so needed cut anyway. I would cut one back check if it's a hollow shoot, that's a sign of the bull shoots.
Good luck

 

[capt82]

And these are the shoots coming out the ground. None of them are purple looking nor particularly thick, so i don't think they are bull shoots.

Would y'all advise i cut these down to make room for a fall harvest?

I grow in NW MT. Totally different here. In the past I had large harvests by letting 3 bines of each hop to grow without cutting the bulls off early on. They always turned to a tangled overgrown mess and the thick upper growth made for a all inclusive resort for aphids. This year I've cut the bulls down and will continue to cut down until about mid June. I'm hoping for a stronger, healthier, thinner crop with bigger hops cones that are more exposed to the sun and wind. Hopefully aphids don't overtake the crop again.

Maybe let your Cascade keep going and cut down the bulls from the other hops and take note for next year. I read to note how long it takes for bines to grow to top of trellis and when the harvest happens. In my case that time was 10 weeks to grow and a mid Sept harvest. Just to be safe I'm going back 12 weeks to mid June to let them start growing. I still used the cones that grew from the earlier growth bines but the Cascade were always small cones. I'm hoping for for a healthier and larger cone. BTW...we are only two weeks ahead of last year in MT as far as hop growth.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

Back to the point of the thread, would you recommend cutting these back? Im afraid i'm going to screw up my fall harvest with this growth right now.

Thanks

I only have 4 seasons of hop growing under my belt, but I cut all my hops back to the ground on Saturday (Mother's Day Weekend). (in Northern Virginia)

In a year where I did not cut them back, I ended up with a situation where when I got to harvesting where 1/3 of my hop cone were dried out, 1/3 were in picking condition, and 1/3 were too young. Cutting them back around Mother's Day last year led to more consistent growth and flowering. My yield was down a bit last year, but I heard the same from 2 other friends that grow hops, so I attribute that mostly to the weather.