Hop

Hop: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Herbaceous twining climber that winds 4–8 m up a support every year and dies back in autumn; it overwinters as a rootstock and spreads by runners.

Leaf

Opposite, 10–15 cm, palmately 3–5-lobed (sometimes unlobed near the top), coarsely toothed and rough.

Stems

Angular stems with hooked hairs that feel rough; they die back in autumn and regrow from the rootstock every spring.

Flower

Dioecious: male plants with loose panicles of small yellowish-green flowers, female plants with green, cone-shaped flower heads, July–August.

Fruit

Hop cones: pale green little cones (2–4 cm) of overlapping scales with yellow, bitter-smelling glands (lupulin), August–September.

Difference from white bryony

White bryony climbs with curly tendrils and has alternate leaves and red berries.

Difference from grapevine

Grapevine is woody, with alternate leaves, tendrils opposite the leaves and grapes.

Flowering: July–August · Harvest and fruit: March–April and August–September · Pruning: November–March

Identify by feature: Twining climbers

Looks like it, but isn’t

• White bryony Bryonia dioica: climbs with curly tendrils and has alternate leaves and red berries. Difference from white bryony
• Grapevine Vitis vinifera: woody, with alternate leaves, tendrils opposite the leaves and grapes. Difference from grapevine

Why grow it?

• Every summer, within a few months, it forms a dense green screen or shade over a pergola.
• Native and fully hardy; it dies back every winter, so it does not put a permanent load on its support.
• Decorative hop cones in late summer, fresh or dried.
• Food plant of the comma butterfly; the dense stems give shelter to insects and birds.
• The young shoots are edible: hop shoots, a delicacy from Poperinge.

Hop: where does it grow best?

• Sun to partial shade; in sun it grows fastest and produces the most hop cones.
• Rich soil that doesn’t dry out.
• It twines its rough stems around a string, post, wires or pergola and has no aerial roots: it does not damage walls. A strong string or vertical wires are enough.
• It dies back every winter, but grows fast in summer: keep it out of gutters and away from small shrubs and young trees, which it smothers.
• It spreads underground by runners: give it a spot where that does no harm.

Light

Sun or partial shade

Legal basis

Any garden soil

Moisture

Normal

Size

6 m tall, 2 m wide

Hardiness

Throughout Belgium, no protection needed

Goes well with

• Hazel: Hop twines through hazel in a natural hedgerow, just as in the wild.
• Osier: Together in a damp, natural hedge or along a stream or pond.
• Elder: Another native of moist, rich soil: together, blossom, berries and hop cones in a wild hedge.

Good and bad companions

Goes well with

• Can climb into old, large trees: english oak, scots pine, sycamore, large-leaved lime

Hop: when and how to plant it?

1. Plant in spring (March–April) or in autumn.
2. Plant at the foot of a post, pergola or string; allow one plant per post or per 1–2 m of fence.
3. Work compost or well-rotted manure into the soil.
4. If you want hop cones, buy a female plant: seedlings may be male. ‘Aureus’ is a garden form with yellowish-green leaves.

Care

Watering

In dry spells, especially in summer, when it is growing fast.

Feeding

Compost or well-rotted manure around the base in spring.

Training

In April–May, choose 3–4 strong shoots per plant, wind them around the string and cut off the rest.

Runners

Every spring, chop off runners that spread too far.

Hop cones

Pick them in late August–September, when they feel papery and release a yellow powder (lupulin).

Tip: Grow hop up a strong string between the ground and a hook or pergola: in winter you cut down string and stems together, and in spring you hang up a new string.

Hop: when to prune it?

Pruning months: November–March.

When: In late autumn or winter (November–March), once the stems have died back.

How:

• Cut all dead stems off just above the ground and pull them off the support.
• New shoots appear in spring: keep a few per plant and train them up a string or wire.
• You can leave some of the dead stems until February: they give winter shelter to insects.

Caution: The rough stems scratch the skin: wear gloves and long sleeves.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Division

In spring, cut off a piece of rootstock with a few buds and replant it straight away in its new spot.

Cuttings

Young shoots root as cuttings in a small pot in spring or early summer.

Hop: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy throughout Belgium: no protection needed.

• Fully hardy: the rootstock survives every winter.
• Above ground it dies back completely in autumn; the new shoots come up in March–April.

Diseases and pests

• Aphids: Aphids on the undersides of leaves and the shoot tips in summer. Spray with water; ladybirds do the rest.
• Powdery mildew: White, powdery coating on leaves and hop cones, especially in dry weather or in a stuffy spot. Cut off affected parts and water.
• Red spider mite: Finely mottled, dull leaves with webbing in hot, dry summers. Spray the leaves with water.
• Rampant spread: Runners popping up all over the border. Chop them off with a spade every spring.

Through the year

• January: Pruning: cut off dead stems and pull them off the support.
• February: Pruning: remove the last dead stems; check strings and wires.
• March: Last pruning before the new shoots appear; harvest hop shoots; planting.
• April: Choose 3–4 strong shoots per plant and wind them around the string; chop off runners.
• June: Rapid growth; water in dry spells.
• August: The hop cones form.
• September: Pick and dry the hop cones.
• November: The stems die back: prune, or leave some for insects.
• December: Pruning: cut off dead stems.

What can you use it for?

Food and drink

Hop shoots: the young white shoots in March, a delicacy from Poperinge.

Also used for

The cones give beer its bitterness and aroma; in a small pillow they are said to help you fall asleep.

For wildlife

Food plant of the comma butterfly; the dense stems give shelter to insects and birds.

Garden and landscape

Fast-growing green summer screen for a pergola or fence; dies back every winter.

Caution: The cones, including spent ones from brewing, are poisonous to dogs.

Edible and useful

Young shoots (March–April)

Pick or cut the young shoots in March and April, when they are 15–25 cm long and the tip is still closed and firm. Take only a few shoots per plant so it can keep growing. For pale shoots, let them come up under an upturned bucket or a layer of soil. Cut them just above the ground and snap off the tough base. Never eat them raw: always cook them, much like asparagus.

Flowers (August–September)

Pick the hop cones in late August and in September, when they are light green to yellowish green, feel light and papery, are sticky with yellow lupulin glands and smell strongly bitter. If they are brown or limp, you are too late. Cut them with a short piece of stalk and use them at once or dry them. Hop cones are very bitter: a handful is enough for most recipes.

Storing

Fresh hop shoots keep in a damp cloth in the fridge and should be used within 2 days; blanch them for 2 minutes and freeze them if you want to keep them longer. Dry the cones in a thin layer on a rack somewhere airy and shady (5–7 days) or in a dehydrator at 40 °C at most, until the bracts crackle. Keep them dry, dark and airtight; they hold their aroma for about a year.

Fermenting

Hop cones are the spice of beer: they give it bitterness and aroma and help it keep longer. Anyone brewing their own beer boils the cones with the wort. That takes malt, yeast and carefully cleaned equipment, and falls outside these recipes.

Caution: Eat hop shoots only cooked and only if you recognise them with certainty. Do not confuse them with the shoots of white bryony (Bryonia dioica) and black bryony (Tamus communis), which are poisonous. Hop has a rough, angular stem with tiny hooks and opposite leaves, and twines round its supports without tendrils; white bryony has spiral tendrils and alternate leaves, black bryony glossy, heart-shaped leaves. The hairs and lupulin glands of hop can irritate sensitive skin: wear gloves. Hop tea is strong and bitter: do not drink large amounts. Hops are poisonous to dogs, including the spent cones from brewing: keep them out of reach. Do not pick in nature reserves, keep well away from busy roads and sprayed fields, and never eat anything you have not identified with certainty.

Eating and using is at your own risk: see the terms of use.

Recipes

• Hop shoots with poached egg (Dish · 4 servings · 30 min)
• Hop shoot soup (Dish · 4 servings · 35 min)
• Hop cone tea (Tea · 1 large cup (250 ml) · 10 min)
• Hop bitters (Liqueur · ± 500 ml · 20 min + 1 week steeping)

Did you know?

• In the Hoppeland around Poperinge, hop shoots are a prized spring vegetable: the young white shoots are dug from the ground in March and rank among the most expensive vegetables.
• Hop is a relative of hemp: both belong to the hemp family (Cannabaceae).
• A small pillow filled with hop cones is said to help you fall asleep.