Herb · Cannabaceae
Hops
Humulus lupulus
Give them full sun, deep soil, and something tall to climb, and your hop bines will happily race skyward toward a brewing harvest.
Full sun
Every 2–4 days
120–150 days
USDA 3–8
Overview
Hops are the climbing perennial that gives beer its bitterness and aroma, and they're more approachable than they look. Each plant throws up fast shoots called bines that spiral clockwise up whatever string or trellis you offer, and in one season they can reach as much as 25 feet (7.5 m) before dying back to the ground in fall. Those papery green cones that come in late summer are the whole reward.
One thing worth knowing early: hops are dioecious, so each crown is either male or female, and only the females give you the cones brewers want. The bines climb by wrapping their rough, hooked stems around a support rather than clinging with tendrils, so a tall trellis or a run of twine really does need to be part of the plan. Down below, sturdy rhizomes creep outward, which is simply why hops can fill a corner of the garden if you let them.
Take comfort in how tough and long-lived hops are once they settle in, shrugging off winters as cold as -29°F (-34°C). The first year quietly goes into building roots, and a full flush of cones usually waits until the second or third season, so there's no rush. Plant a female cultivar, offer it some height and steady water, and one crown will reward you for years.
Care
The short version: give hops full sun, deep and rich well-drained soil, and steady moisture through the summer heat, along with a tall support for the bines and plenty of elbow room so the rhizomes don't wander.
Light
Hops truly want full sun, and the more they get the happier they are, since the bines lean on long days and strong light to fuel that explosive climb and set good cones. They'll tolerate a little partial sun, but shadier spots leave you with weaker bines and a slimmer harvest.
Water
In summer these are thirsty plants, drinking hard through June and July while the bines shoot upward. Keep the soil consistently moist but never waterlogged, and simply ease back on the water as the plant dies down in fall.
Soil
Give hops a deep, rich, well-drained sandy loam full of organic matter, because the roots reach down and the plant feeds hard. A pH somewhere between 6.0 and 6.5 keeps them content.
Temperature
Hops are wonderfully tough across a wide range, riding out winter lows near -29°F (-34°C) and growing happily up to around 90°F (32°C). Cold rarely bothers an established crown, which dies back and returns each spring.
Humidity
Outdoors the humidity is simply whatever the season hands you, so there's no number to chase. Airflow is what really matters, since crowded, damp foliage is exactly where downy and powdery mildew like to settle.
Feeding
Feed monthly from spring through midsummer with a balanced fertilizer that carries nitrogen while the bines are growing hard, then ease off before the cones set. All that fast growth makes for a hungry plant, and that's perfectly normal.
Pruning
In spring, cut second- and third-year crowns right back to the ground once the bines reach about 2 feet, then keep only a few strong shoots and train them clockwise up your strings. Strip the lower leaves for airflow, and cut the bines to the ground after harvest as the plant dies back.
Repotting
Hops aren't really a container plant, so there's no repotting to fuss over. Instead, lift and divide the crowns every few years if the center gets crowded, the shoots lose their vigor, or the rhizomes begin wandering past their patch.
Size & spacing
In a single season the bines can climb as high as 25 feet (7.5 m), spreading 3 to 6 feet (91 to 183 cm) wide at the base. Give each crown plenty of room and a tall, sturdy support so air moves freely and the rhizomes have somewhere to go.
When to plant
Hops follow a clear yearly rhythm you can settle into. Set rhizomes or crowns in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, train the bines up through the long summer days, and gather the cones in late August and September before the plant slips back down 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 worries show up on the leaves, either as a fungal disease when the weather turns damp or as a pest during the summer heat. Try to catch things early, since a problem that reaches the cones is what costs you the harvest. Match what you're seeing to the notes below, then step in while it can still do some good.
Yellow patches up top, gray-purple fuzz below, and stubby stunted shoots
Don't panic if you spot this, but do act: it points to downy mildew, which settles in during cool, wet spells and can be tough to shake once it arrives. The pale, brittle spikes rising from the crown are the tell, so pull them and any spotted leaves the moment you notice. Then open the plant up for airflow, water low at the base, and give it protective care while things stay damp.
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 film on leaves, shoots, and cones
That white, felt-like dusting on the young growth is powdery mildew, and it will chase the cones too and leave them misshapen. You can get ahead of it by snipping out the first infected bits in spring and keeping the bines open to sun and moving air. When the weather turns its way, a sulfur spray or another labeled fungicide gives you a gentle helping hand.
Fix:
- Prune to remove early infected tissue in spring
- Improve air movement and sun exposure
- Apply sulfur or another labeled fungicide per extension guidance
Speckled, bronzing leaves with fine webbing when it turns hot
In a hot, dry summer you may find twospotted spider mites at work, freckling the leaves until they bronze and fall. Hold a leaf over a sheet of white paper and give it a tap, and you'll see the little mites moving, so you'll know for sure. A frequent, strong rinse with the hose, steady moisture, and a kind eye toward the predatory mites that keep them down will usually turn things around.
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 with clusters of tiny soft-bodied insects
The hop aphid turns up in spring and lingers for the season, gathering on leaf undersides and shoot tips and leaving a sticky honeydew that draws sooty mold. A quick weekly peek at the tips lets you treat early, which really matters, because aphids that reach the cones will spoil your harvest. Better still, lady beetles and lacewings will handle much of it for you if you make them welcome.
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 eaten down to a lacy skeleton in midsummer
Japanese beetles arrive in groups and graze away the soft leaf tissue, leaving a lacy tracery of veins that looks worse than it is. In the cool of early morning they move slowly, so you can simply pick them off into soapy water. Take heart: a well-rooted plant almost always brushes off the damage and carries on.
Fix:
- Hand-pick beetles into soapy water in the early morning
- Apply a labeled insecticide during heavy adult flights if needed
Toxicity
Hops are genuinely dangerous to dogs, and this isn't a warning to gloss over. Both fresh cones and the spent hops left behind after brewing can spark a sudden, life-threatening fever in a dog, so keep every part of the plant and all brewing waste well out of paw's reach. It's wise to keep cats, horses, and other animals away too, while the cones are what people safely use to brew beer.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds · People
Cats Moderate
Cats are counted among the animals at risk here, and though the reports are thinner than for dogs, a cat that eats hops can run a fever and get an upset stomach. Play it safe and keep cones, dried hops, and brewing leftovers where a cat can't reach.
Dogs Severe
This is the one to take most seriously. In dogs, hops can set off a malignant hyperthermia crisis, with heavy panting, a dangerously high fever, a racing heart, restlessness, vomiting, and seizures that can turn fatal within hours. The spent hops from brewing are a common culprit, and sighthounds like greyhounds face an even greater risk, so treat any ingestion as an emergency.
Horses Moderate
Horses are considered vulnerable as well. A horse that gets into hops may look clearly distressed with a climbing body temperature, so keep the plant and every scrap of brewing waste well away from pasture and feed.
Rabbits Caution
The evidence for rabbits just isn't clear either way, so the kind and cautious choice is to leave hops off the menu. Skip the cones, the leaves, and the trimmings entirely.
Livestock Caution
Cattle, goats, and sheep are best kept clear of hops to be safe, since the same heat-driven reaction seen in dogs can't be ruled out for them. Fence off any plantings, and never toss spent hops where grazing animals might find them.
Birds Caution
How birds cope with hops just isn't well recorded, so the gentle, sensible move is to keep cones and dried hops away from them altogether.
People Caution
For grown-ups, hops are low-risk, and adults use the cones to brew beer and steep them into calming teas. Still, they aren't a snack for children, and handling the bines can leave a skin rash on some people, so a little care goes a long way.
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 its brewing character, from bright citrus aromas to a heavy bittering punch, and one is grown purely for looks. Here are the names worth getting to know.
Cascade
If you're just starting out, Cascade is a friendly American aroma hop, all bright citrus and flowers, and a favorite among home and craft brewers alike.
Centennial
Centennial pulls double duty in the kettle and is loved for a bold citrus scent that has earned it the affectionate nickname super Cascade.
Chinook
Chinook is a high-alpha bittering hop, and it brings a distinct spicy, piney character all its own.
Nugget
Nugget grows with real vigor as a high-alpha bittering cultivar, and it's known for a heavy, herbal aroma.
Aureus
Aureus is the ornamental golden hop, grown chiefly for its cheerful chartreuse foliage rather than for brewing cones.
How to propagate
Hops are almost always started from the parent plant rather than from seed, which keeps a named female cultivar true and brings you to a brewing crop years sooner, and it's an easy win for a new grower.
DivisionEasy
Early spring while dormant · One growing season to establish; full cone production typically by the second or third year
The simplest and most forgiving way to make more hops is to split the perennial crown of an established female plant in early spring while it's still dormant, which keeps your chosen cultivar true to type. The new division settles in over a single growing season, so be patient: a full crop of cones usually holds off until the second or third year.
LayeringModerate
Spring through early summer · One season to root before separating
Rhizome cuttings and layered lengths of bine root willingly when set out from spring through early summer, taking roughly a season to root before you separate them. Commercial growers tend to begin with clean, disease-free transplants instead of field rhizomes, which is a smart way to keep mildew out of a fresh planting.
SeedDemanding
Spring · Two or more years to flower and reveal sex
Seed is rarely the road to choose, since seedlings won't come true to a named cultivar and will split into males and females. Sown in spring, they take two years or more to flower and finally show their sex, so you'd be waiting a long while for a plant you can't yet know.
Myths
Any hop plant will give you cones to brew with.
It's an easy thing to assume, but hops are dioecious, which means only the female plants carry the papery cones, the strobiles, that brewers are after. Growers usually keep a male or two just for breeding and pollination and pull the rest, because pollinated, seeded cones cause problems for most brewing.
Only beer made from hops is dangerous to dogs, not the plant.
Sadly, the hops themselves are the danger, and no beer needs to be involved at all. Fresh cones, dried hops, and above all the spent hops left over from brewing can trigger a life-threatening high-fever reaction in dogs with no alcohol whatsoever.