hops

Hi everyone, long-time lurker here.

I have a question about some hops plants that I planted last fall. I'm planning on using them for the typical dual-purpose shade in the summer and beer-making. When I bought them, the guy gave me a bunch extra, intimating that I could plan on a bunch of the plants dying. Counting on that, I planted them pretty close together, figuring the survivors would be more spread out. Welp, here spring comes, and not a single one is dead. Whoops.

So, my questions:
1. How close is too close for hops plants? I do plan on trellising them to spread across the back of the house and keep the bines apart, but the root systems will still be pretty close (currently about 2 ft).
2. Can I move them in the spring? Should I dig up some of them now before they all compete for resources?

Should I know anything else?
thanks.
jon

Jon, I don't think you have anything to be concerned about. They reproduce via rhizomes - usually pretty vigorously. You'll just have new starts to give or to expand your trellises a bit sooner. My issue is always keeping them under control.