Hops not doing too well

[GNU]

Hi,

First time trying to grow hops, I've done a bit of reading. Short version, stuck the root in the pot with some soil and it started growing. I've been watering once a day here in melbourne if it hasn't rained. Sunshine for at least half the day.

Took off, then stopped and now it looks like it's dying. Any suggestions on what I did wrong and how to save it?

 

[GNU]

Planning on putting up some wire for them this weekend

 

[Camo6]

Does the pot drain well? The soil should feel damp to the touch but not wet. Wet feet will hinder and eventually kill most plants in my experience.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

The pot will need drainage.

Check the soil PH as well

 

[GNU]

I drilled a heap of holes in the bottom of the tub, so don't think drainage would be an issue. Will test the ph on the weekend when I have some time

 

[Mardoo]

No need to water once s day until they start to send out laterals. 3-4 times a week should be plenty at this point. I always do a water if it's going to be very hot, relative to what it usually is.

 

[Rocker1986]

I planted a couple of rhizomes about a week ago - one Hallertau, one Fuggle, in separate pots with new potting mix etc. I'm not expecting that they'd be shooting up all over the place in that amount of time of course, but the Fuggle has produced one little shoot so far, which had two tiny leaves on it. Yesterday I gave it some water after not watering it since Friday, and then a couple of hours later the leaves drooped; today they've basically shrivelled up. The shoot itself still looks ok, I'm guessing anyway.

Is it normal for them to behave like that or is the thing gonna die before it even gets going? I have a picture of it if that helps.

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Have you put any high nitrogen fertilizer near it? Definitely something wrong.

 

[Rocker1986]

I sprinkled a teaspoon of that Osmocote herb fertiliser over the pot (500mm size) which I wouldn't think would be overkill, that was on the day I planted them. Other than that, no fertilisers.

Should mention that the shoot wasn't there on Friday, it must have come up some time over the weekend while I wasn't here.

 

[louistoo]

To me that looks like burn due to overfertilising. Next time if you use osmocote mix it with your potting mix...

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Initially looked like it had been burnt but also looks like damping off, a fungal disease which with a hop plant will only affect the initial shoot I would assume, I am not a great advocate for a wood chip mulch, more of a sugar cane mulch, I wouldn't worry to much, it should send up new shoots and shouldn't affect the root stock.
I would mention that you must have applied the fertilizer before the shoot had even emerged, a no no, checking the NPK is a good idea before you apply any fertilizer.

 

[kunfaced]

Personally when my hops have been at that stage of growth I only use really small, but frequent (like every 3 days) doses of seasol. After about 3 weeks in the ground I start using liquid fertilizers. That bud looks like it has too much phosphorus around it, or it has been burned. You said you had longs times between watering, have you felt the soil in the pot like an inch or two down? See how dry it is and if it ain't damp, then it needs watering. Something that gets overlooked about plants in pots is the side of the pot is exposed to sun and air, which dry and cooks the soil 2 inches in from the outside of the pot. Pots dry quick in other words. So what i'm getting at is I think you could possibly be under watering.

 

[sstacey]

It looks like a fungal disease or media problem. I'm almost certain it is not fertiliser burn. Did you plant in 100% pine bark potting media or mix in soil, or is it soil with a mulch over the top.

If 100% media, was it new media or reused from a previous pot or planting?

No, the symptoms you see are not normal for healthy hops.

 

[Rocker1986]

Thanks for your replies guys.

I did notice some small white dots on the rhizome when I opened the package, but didn't think much of it at the time. Maybe fungus?

I haven't checked the soil dampness as yet (looking like a bit of rain tonight so it'll probably be wet tomorrow now anyway), but the plant did look healthier before I gave it that water yesterday. Prior to Friday (or Saturday really) I'd been watering it each day, not over the top but just enough to keep the soil moist.

They are planted in this potting mix I got from Bunnings: http://www.bunnings.com.au/searles-65l-premium-potting-mix_p3011230 so yeah it is new media, and in truth probably didn't need anything added to it at this stage but it's too late now I guess. No mulch or anything was added, just the potting mix.

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Here is a good article from BYO but it would pay to get more information from sites used by professional hop growers.

When planting make sure your pH is right, don't fertilise until the hop starts taking off, Seasol and Blood & Bone won't hurt a plant, try not to grow in a pot, hop rhizomes are lateral movers, and as in the article, make sure when you do start to fertilize use a fertilizer close to the hops liking.
https://byo.com/stories/issue/item/3221-hop-growing-roundtable

 

[Rocker1986]

Thanks for that mate, I gave it a read earlier. Seems as though I possibly need to water a little less and also not use any more fertiliser until they start really growing. We have afternoon storms predicted for the next 3-4 days, so I'll leave it to the rain to water them for now. Will also test the soil pH, there is a meter in the laundry for it, I don't know how accurate it is but I'll see what it says anyway. pH tester says it's between 6 and 7, I assume that's ok.

I noticed also just before that it has sprouted a second shoot, this one is pushing a lump of soil up out of the way to poke through, there might be hope yet!

The Hallertau is still doing nothing as yet.

Edit: photo of the new one and other info.

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Yes, you won't have killed the rhizome, so you will still get shoots, even when you know there are things that should not be done to young plants it is still easy to fall into the trap of impatience, I did some damage to my zucchini plants even killed one by putting the fertilizer on to early, I already had slow release fertilizer in the ground but I couldn't help myself, had some soluble left in the watering can and let them have it as soon as I had done it I regretted it.

 

[Rocker1986]

Yep seems like that's exactly what I did. :lol: Hopefully this shoot goes a bit better. They pop up quick though, this morning before I left for work there was no sign of it, about 5 hours later when I got home there it was. I'll definitely hold off on the fertiliser for a while now, and yeah I guess wait and see what happens.

 

[Rocker1986]

Bit of an update, that second shoot that I posted in the photo yesterday is looking better today. It has grown more and looks healthy, unlike the first one which is all but dead now. There is also a second shoot poking up next to it, and another one in the foreground there (blurred). Also the Hallertau in the other pot has sprouted its first shoot too, so things are looking up at this stage.

 

[Benn]

My Chinook is struggling as is my Victoria but not quite as bad. I gave them some Seasol a few days ago after reading around this forum.
I potted both zomes towards the end of the ideal period with bunnings cheap potting mix then gave a light sprinkling of 'Hortico - Flower,Fruit & Veg fertiliser' as per instructions before mulching. Soil is always moist but not "wet"
Both pots receive around 6 hours of sunlight per day and are sheltered from the wind.
Growth since potting has been minimal, with the new green leaves slowly yellowing during the course of a week.

Any feedback welcome,

Cheers