My hops are growing too fast.

[roastinrich]

They are already at the top of my 5m trellis and I fear they will be swinging in the breeze and potentially snap off if I let them keep going .
Can I tip them (cut the tips) to restrain vertical growth and promote more vertical bines or could this introduce infections. I haven't fertilised since the start of the season either.

 

[idzy]

Might need to post this in here too: http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/64618-first-world-problems-thread/

 

[Yob]

Either let the fly or tip them, anecdotally, tipping will promote more lateral growth, which is good.

I've got 3 vertical lines for my chinook and I intend on tipping them.

You don't have to though, they'll just flop over eventually

 

[Spohaw]

Kind of seems like a "my wallet is too small for my fifties" sort of problem

Good luck but

 

[earle]

I don't bother tipping. They soon figure out they can't go out any higher and shoot laterals. The tips seem to curl back down and not do too much else.

 

[roastinrich]

Yeah I know a real 1st world problem. I f I did tip them could I propagate the tips with rooting gel to start new plants to share the love around or does propagating (cloning) only work with more woody cuttings and rhizomes?

 

[Spohaw]

There's different gel for different types of cuttings

I took a whole heap of 5cm first shoot cuttings that didn't take but I've read you get better luck with semi ripe cuttings

I think a member here has taken cuttings with out gel

Might be worth scrolling through the show us your hops thread to find out who he was and ask him how he is going with it

You could also try googling taking semi ripe cuttings of humulus lupulus or just hops and you should find some info on it

 

[Tilt]

Hops are tough plants. I've grown dozens of new plants from cuttings chucked straight into potting mix and kept well watered . No rooting gel in sight and they took off like rockets.

 

[Spohaw]

Hops are tough plants. I've grown dozens of new plants from cuttings chucked straight into potting mix and kept well watered . No rooting gel in sight and they took off like rockets.

At what stage of growth did you take cuttings and from which part of the bine ???

Would be some great info

 

[Tilt]

I've taken cuttings from different places- unwanted weedy looking bines that don't make the cut (before they hit 6" long), laterals that I've taken off the base of a bine to keep weeding easy and the airflow good at ground level plus tips once they reach my trellis capacity (about 5m from ground. All of them have taken with minimal work( minus the odd dud). Some I plonked into straight water to grow roots and then into pots. Root growth starts from a couple of days and it's cool to see it happening.