Hops Seeds

People grow hops primarily to produce the essential aroma, flavor, and bitterness for homebrewed and commercial beer, but they also serve as a beautiful ornamental plant, a source for a rare seasonal vegetable (hop shoots), and a culinary ingredient for sleep pillows and teas. Hops are a hardy, perennial vine that can be relatively easy to grow, requiring a long growing season, full sun, rich soil, and a strong vertical structure to climb. Whether you live in the Northwest, Northeast, Midwest, South or California does not matter, hops can be grown in any moderate climate with proper care.

Useful gardening information

Requirements: Plenty of space. Since healthy hop plants can grow up to 1 ft in a day, space is definitely an element to consider before planting a hop yard.
The ideal hop area must have direct sunlight, easy access to water, and plenty of room for vertical growth. Space along fences, garages, or property lines hold potential as hop yards. Hop vines also need a strong support system to grow successfully; tall poles and strong twine are commonly used to support the growing vines. Growers should avoid sites with electrical wires nearby because of potential problems caused by sprawling vines.

The soil must be loamy and well drained with a pH of 6.5-8.0. Because hops use large quantities of water and nutrients, the soil needs fertilizers rich in potassium, phosphates, and nitrogen. Home growers can use manure compost and commercial fertilizer for this purpose.

Wherever the hops are planted, a minimum of 120 frost-free days are needed for hop vines to produce flowers. When the stems break soil, you must support vines off the ground to prevent disease and ensure proper growth. The vines keep growing until mid-July, when most hops are either in full bloom or past bloom, depending on the variety and location. Healthy vines can produce 1-21/2 pounds of dried flowers per plant.

Links to useful information on the web:

Best Hop Techniques for Homebrewing

2903 Hops ( Humulus lupulus )

Humulus lupulus ( aka Hops, Japanese Hops ), is a perennial climber growing to almost 20 feet high at a medium rate. It is hardy to zone 5 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from Jul to August, and the seeds ripen from September to October. Hops are noted for attracting wildlife, pharmaceuticals, and beverage flavoring such as beer.

Hops produce rich, heavily scented, green-golden fruit that is harvested in autumn. The flowers of Humulus lupulus contain the chemicals myrcene, myrcenol, resin, linalool, humulene and tannins, all used extensively in the pharmaceutical industy. Also, another common usage is flavoring for the beer industry.

Hops seeds can be slow to germinate. Use a process called "cold scarification" to encourage hop seed germination. A good method is to put seeds in an equal amount of moist sand and refrigerate from one to three months at about 41 degrees F. After that, plant the seeds at 68 degrees F. for one to two months. If the hops seeds have not germinated, put them back in the refrigerator and repeat the cycle.

Decorative fast growing vine, excellent for porches and screens.

All seed packets listed on this page are in stock and ready to ship.