Hi, OK, so first of all, it's probably all my fault, because of not enough research, but anyway...I planted one rhizome about 3 months ago using some regular soil from Home Depot, nothing fancy, not the cheapest one neither. First question: should I have planted more rhizomes? Second thing I may have done incorrectly - I buried them quite deep, I would say 3-3.5in. Second question: should I move the rhizome higher or just don't touch it at this point. It started growing pretty nicely. I have it on my (California) patio, so there's plenty of burning sun. At the beginning it was in the sun all the time and it didn't look like it's to dry and hot, there were even some mushrooms (bad sign?) that were growing for like a day or two. After a month or two the leaves started drying out and became yellow. I moved the pot to shade and begun watering even more. Third question: Should it be in the shade? I read that they should have as much sun as possible, but on the other hand it looks like they would just dry out completely. So right now, in the shade it looks a little better and there is a stem growing from the other side of the rhizome (you can see it behind the main one) Here's the picture of how they look right now: Any suggestions are welcome, what should I do with the sun, how much should I water? In the mornings or in the evenings? Should I use some fertilizer? Thanks!
So May. That is part of the issue. I moved established plants last May that didn't grow much, and most were dead this Spring. A few things: You need a bigger planter. The roots go deep on hops and they grow almost as much under the surface as above. Plant in the spring in good sun. Water every few days in the beginning and then go for long and deep waterings as the plant grows, more frequent in the heat of Summer, but you don't want any standing water as you can get root rot. With using a planter you run the risk of nutrient deficiencies. The plant will take up all the nutrients in the soil and can't draw new nutrients from further away as it can't spread out of the planter. You will want to give it fertilizer or plant food every 4 weeks or so until it starts to put out cones, then stop.
If you had mushrooms growing in the pot then the soil sounds like it was always too moist, and you may be watering too much. Is there a drainage hole in the bottom of the container? I think I've read that over-watering is the #1 killer of cultivated plants, so you may be adding to that statistic.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but... 1) You can't really do hops in pots, it just doesn't work. You'll never really get a good amount of cones off of it. 2) the soil doesn't matter, bad soil might be even better as it will make the plant keep sending out roots - but in a pot that won't matter. 3) SUN, ALWAYS ! That's where the plant is getting its energy to grow tall, but in a pot that will dry everything out and then you'll play this teeter-totter game of watering. The good news is that it's alive and if you can find a sunny spot in the ground you can transplant it in spring. If you do that, however, keep in mind that it may take a year or two to get established and really start producing flowers.
More rhizomes weren't necessary if the one you planted was healthy. Planting the rhizome three to three and a half inches was the proper depth. Let it be. Mushrooms are not a problem...per se. The spores were in the bag of soil you bought suggesting the soil was rich in nutrients. Over-watering is the most likely cause for the leaves drying and becoming yellow (and the mushrooms). Too much water and the plant drowns and / or the rhizome rots. Hops require full sunlight. Maintaining a Goldilocks level of soil moisture is one key to their success. Adequate nutrients and pest control being two others. Filtered sunlight would be better than shade. Shade will only encourage weak growth. Once robust growth occurs...move the container into full sunlight and back off the intensive watering. Hops like a lot of nitrogen during their early growth stage; however...your fresh store-bought soil is plenty fertile...so I'd let it ride this year. Lastly....hops can be grown successfully in pot; however..your pot at best has too little soil and is also way too small for a bine capable of reaching 15 - 20'.
Some grow hops in pots, but the pots are half of a 50+ gallon wine or whiskey barrel. You can do it in smaller containers, but don't go too small. https://byo.com/bock/item/1872-growing-hops-in-containers
