Herb · Cannabaceae
Hops
Humulus lupulus
Give them full sun, deep soil, and a tall support to climb, and the rough green bines twist upward toward their papery cones.
Full sun
Every 2–4 days
120–150 days
USDA 3–8
Overview
Hops climb as a perennial whose green, twining shoots, the bines, spiral clockwise up any string or trellis, gripping with rough, hooked stems that catch on skin. In one season those bines run as much as 25 feet (7.5 m) of length before the whole tangle browns and dies back to the ground each fall. Late summer swells the reward: soft, papery green cones, packed in overlapping scales, hanging in loose clusters from the vine.
The plant is dioecious, so each crown grows male or female, and only the female bines hang those cones, the ones brewers cut. Rather than reaching with slender tendrils, the bine hauls itself upward by wrapping its bristly, hook-toothed stem tight around a support. Below the soil, thick, pale rhizomes creep sideways through the ground, the runners that let a hop plant sprawl into a whole corner of the garden.
Hardy and long-lived, the crown survives underground through winters as cold as -29°F (-34°C) while the top growth dies away to nothing. The first year builds a deep root system, and the vine does not hang a full flush of cones until the second or third season. Give a female cultivar height and steady water, and one crown throws up fresh green bines year after year.
Care
The short version: hops want full sun, deep and rich well-drained soil, and steady moisture through the heat of summer, plus a tall support for the rough climbing bines and a wide berth so the pale rhizomes do not run.
Light
Hops need full sun, and the more they get the better, since the bines rely on long days and strong light to power their fast climb and swell good cones. A little partial sun is tolerated, but shadier spots leave thinner, weaker bines and a leaner set of cones.
Water
Hops drink heavily through summer, pulling up plenty of water in June and July while the green bines lengthen. The soil stays consistently moist but never waterlogged, and watering eases off as the vine browns and dies back in fall.
Soil
Hops root deepest in a deep, rich, well-drained sandy loam dark with organic matter, since the roots plunge far down and the plant feeds hard. A soil pH between 6.0 and 6.5 suits them.
Temperature
The underground crown holds up across a wide range, surviving winter lows near -29°F (-34°C) and pushing green growth up to about 90°F (32°C). Cold rarely harms an established crown, which dies back to bare ground and regrows each spring.
Humidity
Outdoor humidity is whatever the season brings, so there is no set point. Airflow through the bines is what counts, because crowded, damp leaves are exactly where the pale films of downy and powdery mildew take hold.
Feeding
Hops feed monthly from spring through midsummer on a balanced fertilizer carrying nitrogen while the green bines lengthen, then taper before the cones set. The fast growth makes for a hungry plant.
Pruning
In spring the second- and third-year crowns are cut to bare ground once the bines reach about 2 feet, and only a few strong shoots stay to twist clockwise up the strings. The lower leaves come off for airflow, and the bines are cut to the ground after harvest as the whole vine browns and dies back.
Repotting
Hops are not a container plant, so there is no repotting. The crowns are lifted and divided every few years when the center knots up, the shoots weaken, or the pale rhizomes wander past their patch.
Size & spacing
In one season the green bines run up to 25 feet (7.5 m) in length and the crown spreads 3 to 6 feet (91 to 183 cm) wide at the base. Each crown needs plenty of room and a tall, sturdy support so air moves freely and the rhizomes have somewhere to run.
When to plant
Hops move through a clear annual rhythm written on the plant itself. The bare rhizomes or crowns go in during early spring once the soil can be worked, the green bines twist upward through the long days of summer, and the papery cones are cut in late August and September before the whole vine browns and dies back for winter.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Plant: Plant rhizomes or crowns in early spring after the soil can be worked
- Harvest: Cones harvested late August through September (late summer to fall)
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 3–8
Temperature: down to -40°C
Troubleshooting
Most hop trouble writes itself across the leaves, showing up as a fungal film or blotch in damp weather or as a pest that stipples and chews in the summer heat. Reading the leaf early matters, because damage that climbs onto the cones costs the harvest. The look of each symptom below points to its cause.
Yellow patches above, gray-purple fuzz beneath, and curled brittle spikes
Downy mildew paints angular yellow blotches across the tops of the leaves and mats a gray-to-purple fuzz over the undersides, while stunted shoots curl downward and stiffen into pale, brittle spikes at the crown. Those basal spikes and any blotched foliage should come off first. Opening the bines for airflow, watering low at the base, and treating through cool, damp weather all hold the fungus in check.
Fix:
- Remove and destroy infected basal spikes and diseased foliage promptly
- Improve air circulation by stripping lower leaves and thinning bines
- Avoid overhead irrigation; water at the base
- Apply a labeled fungicide preventively during cool, wet periods following extension recommendations
White powdery coating on leaves, shoots, and cones
Powdery mildew spreads a chalky white, felt-like coat over the leaf surfaces, the young shoots, and the swelling cones, twisting the cones into deformed, browning shapes. The earliest coated tissue should be clipped in spring, and bines held open to sun and moving air stay drier and cleaner. A sulfur spray or another labeled fungicide keeps the white film from spreading once conditions favor it.
Fix:
- Prune to remove early infected tissue in spring
- Improve air movement and sun exposure
- Apply sulfur or another labeled fungicide per extension guidance
Fine stippling and bronzed leaves veiled in webbing during heat
Twospotted spider mites freckle the leaves with fine pale stippling that deepens into a dry, coppery bronze, and a thin webbing veils the surface as the foliage crisps and drops. A leaf held over white paper and tapped shows the specks of mites crawling loose. Frequent rinsing with a hard stream of water, soil kept from baking dry, and the predatory mites left to patrol all pull the numbers back down.
Fix:
- Wash plants regularly with a strong stream of water
- Conserve beneficial predatory mites and other natural enemies
- Provide adequate but not excessive water and nitrogen
- Apply a labeled miticide if populations escalate
Curled, sticky leaves crusted with dark mold over pale insect clusters
The hop aphid gathers in pale green, soft-bodied clusters along the leaf undersides and the tender shoot tips, curling and distorting the foliage and glazing it with sticky honeydew that a black sooty mold crusts over. A weekly look at the tips catches the colonies before they crawl onto the cones and leave them sticky and discolored. Lady beetles and lacewings thin the clusters when they are left to feed.
Fix:
- Encourage and conserve natural enemies such as lady beetles and lacewings
- Hose off light infestations with water
- Apply insecticidal soap or a labeled insecticide for heavy early-season or cone infestations
Leaves reduced to a lacy net of veins in midsummer
Japanese beetles, metallic green and copper, cluster over the upper leaves and strip the soft tissue between the veins, leaving a lacy net of veins hanging where whole leaves stood. Picked into soapy water in the cool of the morning, when they are slow, they come off easily. An established bine keeps pushing new growth despite the tattered look.
Fix:
- Hand-pick beetles into soapy water in the early morning
- Apply a labeled insecticide during heavy adult flights if needed
Toxicity
For all the beauty of the green bines and papery cones, hops are dangerous to dogs, and the warning is a serious one. Both the fresh cones and the spent hops left after brewing can trigger a sudden, life-threatening fever in a dog, so every part of the plant and all brewing waste belong well out of reach. Cats, horses, and other animals belong away from it too, while the cones are what people use to brew beer.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds · People
Cats Moderate
Cats are counted among the animals at risk. Reports trail those in dogs, but a cat that eats the cones or dried hops can run a fever and turn queasy. The green cones, the dried flowers, and the brewing waste all belong out of a cat's reach.
Dogs Severe
This is the grave one. In dogs the cones can set off a malignant hyperthermia crisis, with heavy panting, a soaring fever, a racing heart, restlessness, vomiting, and seizures that can turn fatal within hours. The spent hops left after brewing are a frequent source, sighthounds such as greyhounds run a higher risk, and any ingestion is an emergency.
Horses Moderate
Horses are considered susceptible too. A horse that eats hops may show clear distress and a climbing body temperature, so the plant and any brewing waste belong away from pasture and feed.
Rabbits Caution
The evidence for rabbits stays thin in either direction, so the cones, the leaves, and the trimmings are all best treated as off the menu. None of it should be offered.
Livestock Caution
Cattle, goats, and sheep are best kept clear of hops as a precaution, since the same heat-driven reaction seen in dogs cannot be ruled out. Plantings stay fenced off, and spent hops stay well away from grazing animals.
Birds Caution
How birds handle hops is poorly recorded, so the cones and the dried flowers are best kept away from them entirely.
People Caution
Adults use the papery cones to brew beer and to steep calming teas, and the plant is low-risk for grown-ups. It is not a food for children, and the rough, hooked stems of the bines can leave a skin rash on some people who handle them.
Keep all hops, including bittered/boiled spent hops from brewing, completely away from dogs. Dispose of used hops securely in a sealed, dog-proof container rather than an open compost or trash that pets can reach.
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
Poison Control: (800) 222-1222
Canada
Poison Centres: 1-844-764-7669
Varieties
Most home growers choose a hop by the character of its cones, from bright citrus to a heavy bittering note, and one is grown for its bright leaves instead. These are the names worth knowing.
Cascade
Cascade is an American aroma hop whose cones carry bright citrus and floral notes, and it has become a staple for home and craft brewers alike.
Centennial
Centennial is a dual-purpose cultivar with a bold citrus aroma pronounced enough to have earned it the nickname super Cascade.
Chinook
Chinook is a high-alpha bittering hop whose cones carry a distinct spicy, piney character.
Nugget
Nugget is a vigorous high-alpha bittering cultivar with a heavy, herbal aroma to its cones.
Aureus
Aureus is an ornamental golden hop whose bright chartreuse leaves, rather than any brewing cones, are the reason to grow it.
How to propagate
Hops are almost always raised from the parent plant rather than from seed, which keeps a named female cultivar true and brings the papery cones years sooner.
DivisionEasy
Early spring while dormant · One growing season to establish; full cone production typically by the second or third year
Division splits the woody perennial crown of an established female plant in early spring while it is still bare and dormant, and it keeps the named cultivar true to type. A division settles in over one growing season, though the crown does not fill with a full crop of cones until the second or third year.
LayeringModerate
Spring through early summer · One season to root before separating
Rhizome cuttings and layered lengths of the twining bine strike roots readily when set out from spring through early summer, taking about a season to root before they are cut from the parent. Commercial growers begin with clean, disease-free transplants rather than field rhizomes to keep mildew out of a fresh planting.
SeedDemanding
Spring · Two or more years to flower and reveal sex
Seed is rarely worth it, since seedlings will not come true to a named cultivar and split into separate male and female plants. Sown in spring, they take two years or more to flower and finally reveal their sex, a long wait for a plant of unknown character.
Myths
Any hop plant will give you cones to brew with.
Hops are dioecious, so the papery cones, the strobiles that brewers want, form only on the female plants. Growers keep a male or two for breeding and pollination and pull the rest, because pollinated, seeded cones are a problem for most brewing.
Only beer made from hops is dangerous to dogs, not the plant.
The cones themselves carry the hazard, and no beer is required. Fresh green cones, dried hops, and especially the spent hops left after brewing can trigger a life-threatening high-fever reaction in dogs with no alcohol involved.