The Sorry Condition of My Hops
Answered by: Inge Poot
Question from: Heather E. Belle
Posted on: July 13, 2007

Last year was the third year of our hop growing adventure on our pergola. They were just beautiful. In early August we were hit by a devastating hail storm. This year none of my hops seem to be growing from the main root plants which appear to be dead. The new hops are very thin, will these plants fill out with time as the parent plants did? Also, even before the hail hit last year we noticed that the lower leaves of the hops were brown and dried out. Any information would be appreciated.

Hops like damp rich soil and by August the "damp" may no longer be true. This stressed the plants and they dried out from the bottom up. If they were kept moist, then it could have been a nutrient deficiency and a repeat can be avoided by using a complete fertilizer with micronutrients.

Hops should not be cut down until spring, so the hail damage acted like an early cutting down and severely weakened the plants. Some parts of the plants had obviously dies, but bits of root survived and sprouted in the spring. When I see how our little cuttings in pots all of a sudden start to grow really fast, I feel sure your sprouts will take off too.

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