My plants have hit maturatiy....now what

[crash568]

Hey guys its been a while since I have been on the forum and I know if anyone can help me you guys can.

So here's what I am dealing with. I have 3 plants, one cascade, one sorachi, one chinook. Cascade is in its 4th season and the other two are in their 3rd and so after doing some research I have seen people talking about pruning the crown and doing root management. I am very confused how I am supposed to do that with out hurting the plant, also what negative effects will I see if I just let it do its thing? Any tips, tricks, or advice you can offer is very much appreciated so thank you in advance.

 

[GVH_Dan]

If it is 3 years old and has been properly cared for, that crown (root ball) will be massive and can handle a cut back. I don't know where you are at but now would be a good time to grab the 20 or so bines that should be popping out and hack them all off. When they grow back, train 3 or 4 and whack off the rest.

 

[crash568]

I am growing in Maine and I do cut everything back each year before training 4 per plant. I am wondering about trimming the roots of rhyzomes though is this something I HAVE to do?

 

[Yooper]

I am growing in Maine and I do cut everything back each year before training 4 per plant. I am wondering about trimming the roots of rhyzomes though is this something I HAVE to do?

My cascade is about 10 years old- I don't trim the crown or dig rhizomes. It's a massive plant, out of control really. I don't mind that, as I like it. I get a ton of hops off of it, but I would probably get a lot more if I did the work. I can't trim back to 4 bines per plant. Well, I guess I could but it's a major undertaking to even try. Hops are pretty invasive, and without trimming it back it really grows like a weed. For me, it's awesome because the plant is next to my deck and it's a beautiful plant that goes up and around and through an arbor.

I haven't even harvested hops off it it some years, since pounds and pounds of hops are overkill even for me.

If you want to maximize production, I'd suggest trimming it back a bit and either plant new rhizomes from the plant or give them away. If you're like me, and getting plenty of hops and like the massive plant as a decorative planting in the yard, you can be lazy. I'm all about the lazy, and I'm happy.

 

[jleiii]

I've found that some plants seem to grow differently. I was given some Cascade rhizomes about 5 years ago, and I added Nugget the next year and 4 more the following year, for a total of 10 plants.
The original Cascades came from a club member that was trying to get them beaten into submission in his yard. Given that they do tend to spread, I planted all mine in 5 gallon landscaping buckets and buried them to the rim. Each of the last 3 years I've found that those 2 Cascades grow roots in circles in the pots, and sometimes escape. I've pulled out nearly 30 feet of roots from those 2 that are just below the surface and cut them off, the last 2 years. While other plants have sent out a root or 2, it's nothing like what these 2 do. This cutting has had no measurable impact on the plants that I can tell. They are the biggest every year.

I have 2 other Cascades from a different source, and they don't have the same root overload as these 2. Now I understand why the guy was giving them away by the bagful!

Here in Central NJ, I had to prune new bines significantly more than a week ago. I probably cut off 100 shoots that were over 1 foot (some 2+) , and there are probably twice that left, under a foot. I'll do the same again soon, then thin them again when I get my strings up to select the final ones. With the crazy warm weather we've been having so far this year, they've gotten a really early and vigorous start. Eventually they stop sending out new shoots so the need to prune stops. Some people will prune all of the initial ones back then let the second round grow out. Based on what I've read over the years you don't want the big shoots that shoot up early (bull shoots I think they are called), but the less aggressive ones that come later.

I wonder what is going on under ground with the root balls since they are in pots, but don't plan to find out until I'm ready to move. I suspect that they will eventually find the drain holes in the bottom and escape that way. At least on top they are easy to find. They have not mounded up in any way so that I suspect the crowns are not growing significantly.

 

[crash568]

Ok so this is all very helpful and as always this forum never disappoints! I am going to let these guys just do their thing and see how it goes but I am feeling like it wont be a problem. Thanks again!

 

[TeeJo]

I have 8 mature crowns of varying sizes right now, and I have never bothered to cut back or mine for rhizomes, other than to rototill around the garden plot they are in.

I dunno how all you compulsively tidy types do it, preventing your plants from taking over like triffids, but I CAN attest that the crop of hop shoots this year was worth picking (even though I only nibbled on a few).

Never figured I was shorting myself on the amount of hops they produced.

My management pretty much consists of whipping through between types with a machete, when they satrt trying to invade the other type's space, running over the wandering bines with a lawnmower, and pointing the odd one towards the direction I want it to go down the fence.

Works for me.