Hops Winter Season – Winterizing and Pruning Hops
A little end-of-season care and some judicious root-pruning will help your hop plants come back stronger from year to year. The hop plant is a perennial in most climate zones.
Beginning at the first frost, the hop bine will begin to die back to the ground. Only the rhizome survives over the winter. Until the first frost, you should leave your hops standing, as they are still storing energy in the rhizome for the winter.
After the first frost, preparing the bines for winter is straightforward:
Cut the bines down to the ground and compost or discard them. Be careful where you place them, however; almost any large, live section of stem will sprout in the spring.
Add fertilizer or manure to each hill. The hop bine's explosive growth can exhaust the nutrients of the surrounding soil.
Cover each hill with a generous portion of mulch to protect the roots over the winter, especially in colder climates.
At the end of the season healthy bottom vines can be buried for the propagation of new plants the next spring. Simply bury the vines in a shallow trench and mark their location. In spring dig them up and cut them into pieces about 4 inches long. Make sure each new cutting has an eye or bud.
The Hop root requires 6 weeks at or below 38 degrees to reinvigorate them for next spring.
