Hop Vine To Rhizome Over Winter?

[wabster]

Hi folks, I subscribe to Bill Velek's "Grow hops" group and a member there has posted a response to question that left me quite curious. I hope it is OK to post the whole thread but I have included the origins and author for attribution.

In short has anyone done this and has it worked? If the hop distributors say it works then surely it must? I might give it a try as the cold weather is about to arrive here in Sydney and I might bury some vine to see what happens.

Cheerz Wab.


"ola.rickardsson" <ola.rickardsson@*****.com>
Date: Wed, 02 Apr 2008 08:20:31 -0000
Subject: [Grow-Hops] Re: making rhizomes

--- In Grow-Hops@yahoogrou ps.com, "kenneth sigler" <kensig62@.. .>
wrote:
>
> hi guys I got my rhizomes from freshops, and have read and reread the
>pamphlet they came with. it says you can bury your vines in a trench in the
>fall and dig them up and use the for rhizomes in the spring. or am i
>reading it wrong. just thinking for next year. if it works we could have
>alot of rhizomes ken

Hi, Yes it is true. If you cut your vines before they stop growing
in autumn and bury them some 10-20 cm deep in your yard, the vines
will start growing again in spring! All you have to do is dig them
up carefully and cut them so you get sprouts on all pieces. Then you
plant those in pots and let them establish themselves with roots and
stuff until you finally plant them in the yard. From my experience
only vines with a diameter of 0.8 mm < will produce sprouts, so you
don't have to bury all organic material, only the bigger stems.

It is important that the soild is moist all winter. Preferbly you
bury the vines in a soil that has good water content as clay soil. I
don't know how much ground frost they will take during winter, but
it shouldn't be a problem adding som straw or something to insulate
the ground.

 

[Lukes]

Yes.
Did the Ornamental Hall from Tassie last year.
Use the lowest part just above ground that is quite woody and a few nodes and not the higher green part of the bine. Instead of the node throwing a branch it will grow a root and your in business.
Well drained soil so they don't rot. I chucked them in a pot.

BTW: I subscribe to Bill Velek's "Grow hops" group too but most are the opposite time of cultivation to us.

Luke

 

[wabster]

Thanks Luke, yeah the reverse season thing means a lot of advice is 6 months out for us, which is why I thought it fortuitous that this issue of Autumnal "burying the vine" has been raised.

It's nice to know it works, I have a few window box type planters free and will put the vine in those with some good potting mix for the winter and see what happens, Thanks again, and Cheerz Wab