Hops in containers with lower leaves yellowing. Thoughts?

[BeyondMountains]

I have two hops plants that are growing in containers in a walled in patio, they probably get about six hours of direct sun a day. I water when the top 4 to 6 inches of soil are dry, about every day or two, and I fertilize with an organic fertilizer about every 2 to 4 weeks depending on the time of the year. I have found that the oldest growth leaves are getting spotted very finely and uniformly, and the bottom leaves are turning yellow and crumbling. They took off and grew very rapidly this spring, but they have slowed down now, the new growth still appears healthy, but it is not very rapid. My current thoughts are that the pots may just be too small, and the plants are getting root bound. I may also be over or under fertilizing, or over or under watering. I'm also not sure that this is just natural senescence of the lower leaves on the vine. Just throwing it out there for discussion and thoughts, thanks!View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1496284479.178232.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1496284503.145229.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1496284524.798628.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1496284560.471902.jpg

 

[Senormac]

weird how a nice green leaf is right next to a yellow crinkled one

 

[solidbass]

The plant on the right seems to be showing signs of a nitrogen deficiency. A nitrogen deficiency makes sense since that's the nutrient your plant is using the most of. Not sure about the one on the left lol that's strange looking. Not sure how big that container is and how long you have had the plants. If they are on their first year then the container is probably fine. If you're worried about over/under watering just check the weight of the pot before watering. If it's heavy then there's a lot of water left.

Personally, they don't look under or over watered but it's also very dependent on the soil type. I've got a dwarf jade bonsai that I water almost every day even though people say you don't need to water more than once a week. However, my soil is mostly diatomaceous earth and rocks.

 

[brewcat]

How big is that pot? It looks way too small. It looks big enough for a pepper plant at most. Planting in the ground would be best if possible. Maybe build a 2x2x2 foot planter? It might be enough...

Remember that hops are perennials that utilize two different root systems. Their permanent can go deep. Then during the growing season a root mat is formed to scavenge nutrients & water. They need quite a bit of space.

The yellowed lower leaves would suggest a possible nitrogen deficiency. But... How hot is the brick getting?

 

[BeyondMountains]

Brick might get pretty hot. The overall temp in the area is 80-100 depending on the day. I set up a misting system and fans to try to cool it down