Worth knowing:
The Common Hop is a climbing plant with neatly toothed leaves and beautiful greenish-yellow cones. It grows rather quickly a couple of meters tall with a climbing aid, but doesn’t cause any damage to the house front since it draws back in autumn and shoots again next spring. Hop is commonly known as an ingredient for brewing beer, but only few people know it as a medicinal plant.
Natural Location:
The wild variety of the Common Hop grows mainly in alluvial forests, but also at the edge of forests and shrubberies in more dry areas.
Cultivation:
The Common Hop is a cold and light germinator. Outdoors you can start seeding already in early spring, but it is better to start the propagation indoors beforehand. For that, you should initially keep the seeds in the refrigerator for about three weeks to increase the germinability. Then, spread and gently press the seeds onto moist potting compost in a bowl and place it somewhere sheltered, but bright with average room temperature. Keep the earth moist, but avoid waterlogging. Ideally, you may cover the seed container with clear film to prevent the earth from drying out, but don’t forget to make some holes in the clear film and take it every second or third day completely off for about 2 hours. That way you avoid mold formation on your potting compost. In late spring, the seedlings can be planted out in the garden or in a tub.
Place:
The Common Hop needs plenty of water and sunlight. A climbing aid with wire ropes will support the growth of the plant.
Care:
The resilient Common Hop is particularly suited for tub cultivation, where it can become a natural shade provider during summer due to its rapidly growing shoots with a growth rate of up to one meter in one week. For planting out, it is recommended using a rhizome barrier to keep the plant from encroaching. During harvesting you can slide your fingers up the stalk and bend it slightly be doing so. From the point where it breaks, the sprout is still soft further up.
During the winter:
In autumn, the Common Hop draws back until ground level, and dead parts of the plant should now be removed. It will sprout again in early spring.
Picture credits:
- © © Liana.salanta - CC-BY-SA-4.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
- © Frank Laue - © Saflax - http://www.saflax.de/copyright
- © Frank Laue - © Saflax - http://www.saflax.de/copyright
- © Liana.salanta - CC-BY-SA-4.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
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