Winter Hop Growing Op.

Can you grow me some good strawberries in the winter too?

 

I think what this comes down to is that these plants have an inner biological programming that tells them to grow and to produce flowers/seeds so that they can procreate and have survival of the species. Once that process is complete, the plant's programming will cause it to go dormant in the case of a perennial, or to die in the case of an annual plant. Some perennials will die back to the ground (but the roots will survive), but some just 'reboot' until dormancy is complete (trees). If winter gets in the way of this process before flowers/seeds are produced, then dormancy is forced upon the plant (or death in the case of an annual) and the procreation cycle will restart from the beginning when climatic growing conditions bring the plant out of dormancy.

If you fool that plant by placing it in a greenhouse, I think it will still go dormant eventually after those flowers/seeds are produced to completion. What I'm not so sure about is whether the plant has the capability to continue to produce if those flowers/seeds are picked before maturity which causes the plant to continue to try to make more of them because the process is not complete. But are hop cones complete enough in the maturation process to allow the grower to harvest them before maturity and force continuous production? I don't know, but I doubt it.

 

I'm glad you put this to a vote. Because my opinion should trump science. I personally think hops could grow in the Arctic Circle if only someone had the dedication.

 

Grow It like people grow cannabis indoors with high pressure sodium bulbs ....

 

I think if you are looking for fun little project as a sort of joke you are on the right track. I think if your goal is hops you are in first class seating on the train to disappointment.

 

I've been moving/transplanting/propagating hops in the fall since the late 90's. The first time was a situation where I had to dig one up to open up a spot one fall, and didn't want to throw the plant away. I buried it in a shallow trench with some leaves thrown over it for insulation from the cold. The next spring when I went to dig it up to see if it had survived, it was pretty much rooted solid? Maybe what a lot of folks don't understand is that they'll produce a ton of roots when planted in the ground in the fall which gives you a tremendous head start for the next season. The soil is still very warm (from a root growth perspective) and the rooting will continue until the soil freezes, then will commence once it warms back up to initiate more growth in the spring. Hoppy experimenting~

 

ive done it from rhizomes a grow lamp and a plastic dome to recapture the moisture from watering and return it back into the soil. got about a foot growth before placing them in the ground and training them up a line of jute post frost. a lot of hassle for a first year yield.
I would place the rhizomes in the ground now while there is still plenty of warmth and let them hang out until spring.

 

oh yeah, it totally wouldn't be cost effective...but if you get rich and have some free time..you're all set!

 

I think you'll have to add 6 extra minutes of grow light each day to fool that plant into thinking that the days are getting longer. Those plants are pretty smart about their mission in life.