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Digging wild hops

Ingredients
#1

I know of some wild hops near my home and they smelled wonderful this summer, crushed in my hands. I’ve followed the bines back to the source and have a good southern exposure selected, with a trellis system planned that should go up the side of my wife’s studio, 20+ feet at the roof peak.

The ground is not frozen yet, and I was wondering if I could dig the rhizomes this week and transplant them with any realistic hope of growth for next year. I know the commercially grown hops ship in the spring for planting, but I have the time right now. Will they survive a winter after digging, or could I dig them now, dry them in the garage and plant in the spring?

The patch I’m planning to dig from is pretty good sized, so it shouldn’t hurt the system any.

#2

yes dig them now and store them in a cool dry place for the winter.

#3

I agree you can dig them now.

Are you able to plant them where you want them as well?
Seems to me
if watered in and planted deeper than normal they would survive the winter in the ground.

#4

Yeah, dig them up and plant them. They’ll be fine.
A few years ago I dug up a few of my hop plants and gave them to a friend who did this. The following spring he had great plants.

#5

Hops seem to be very robust organisms. I’ve dug them and planted them in the fall, even with semi-frozen ground, they all came up the following spring with great growth. I have even dug them up, put them bare root in a plastic garbage bag, put them in a root cellar, and forgot about them until mid-late June! They, were fine, they all grew, although setback due to late planting. Now I wouldn’t recommend you do that, but if just in case you do, chances are they will be fine.

#6

Where are you located? I have best results with digging early spring and planting right away. I don’t think you’ll have any issues digging now, plant in some top soil and store outside so it stays cold then spring you should be good to go.

#7

I’m in South Central Iowa, on the MO border. I’ll plan to dig them today and get them in the ground unless it’s more frozen than I think- We’ve had only a few nights of temps in the teens. The ground’s cold, but probably not frozen.

Thanks to all for the advice!

#8

Agreed on all counts. If it was me, I’d wait until spring and do it, but I don’t th8ink you’ll have problems doing it now.

#9

I’d dig and transplant now, what have you got to lose? You can always go back next Spring and dig some more. By moving some now you’ll know whether it will work or not - just in case someone asks in the future. Good luck!

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