Herb · Cannabaceae
Hops
Humulus lupulus
Hand them full sun, deep soil, and something tall to climb, and hop bines shoot for the sky and a brewing harvest.
Full sun
Every 2–4 days
120–150 days
USDA 3–8
Overview
Hops are the climbing perennial that powers the bitterness and aroma in beer. The plant launches fast-growing shoots called bines that spiral clockwise up any string or trellis you rig, storming as high as 25 feet (7.5 m) in one season before dying back to the ground each fall. Those papery green cones that swell in late summer are the whole payoff.
Get one thing straight from the start: hops are dioecious, so each crown runs male or female, and only the females load up on the cones brewers want. The bines climb by wrapping their rough, hooked stems around a support instead of grabbing with tendrils, so a tall trellis or a run of twine is non-negotiable. Below the soil, tough rhizomes push the plant outward, which is exactly why hops can seize a corner of the garden the moment you look away.
Best of all, hops turn hardy and long-lived once they settle in, laughing off winters as cold as -29°F (-34°C). The first year pours its energy into roots, and full cone production usually kicks in by the second or third season. Plant a female cultivar, give it height and steady water, and one crown keeps cranking out crops for years.
Care
The short version: load hops with full sun, deep and rich well-drained soil, and steady moisture through the heat of summer, plus a tall support for the bines and a wide berth so the rhizomes do not run.
Light
Hops demand full sun, and the more the better, since the bines run on long days and strong light to fuel their explosive climb and set good cones. They will take a touch of partial sun, but anything shadier hands you weaker bines and a thinner harvest.
Water
These plants drink hard in summer, guzzling through June and July while the bines rocket upward. Keep the soil consistently moist but never waterlogged, then throttle back on the water as the plant dies back in fall.
Soil
Feed hops a deep, rich, well-drained sandy loam stacked with organic matter, since the roots plunge deep and the plant eats hard. A pH between 6.0 and 6.5 keeps them charging.
Temperature
Hops power through a wide range, riding out winter lows near -29°F (-34°C) and climbing happily up to about 90°F (32°C). Cold barely dents an established crown, which dies back and rebounds each spring.
Humidity
Outdoor humidity rides the season, so there is no number to hit. Airflow is the real key, because crowded, damp foliage is exactly where downy and powdery mildew dig in.
Feeding
Feed monthly from spring through midsummer with a balanced fertilizer carrying nitrogen while the bines surge, then ease off before the cones set. All that fast growth makes for a ravenous plant.
Pruning
In spring, slash second- and third-year crowns to the ground once the bines hit 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 skip container life, so forget repotting. Instead, lift and divide the crowns every few years if the center jams up, the shoots lose steam, or the rhizomes start roaming past their patch.
Size & spacing
A single season can rocket the bines up to 25 feet (7.5 m) tall, sprawling 3 to 6 feet (91 to 183 cm) wide at the base. Hand each crown plenty of room and a tall, sturdy support so air moves freely and the rhizomes have somewhere to run.
When to plant
Hops charge through a clear annual rhythm. Plant rhizomes or crowns in early spring the moment the soil can be worked, train the bines up through the long days of summer, and cut the cones in late August and September before the plant 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 hits the leaves, striking either as a fungal disease in damp weather or as a pest in the summer heat. Pounce early, because a problem that reaches the cones costs you the harvest. Match what you see below, then move while it still does some good.
Yellow patches on top, gray-purple fuzz below, and stunted shoots
Spot this pattern and you have caught downy mildew, which moves in during cool, wet weather and holds on tight once it lands. Jump on it: yank the pale, brittle spikes rising from the crown and strip out any marked leaves the moment you see them. Then throw the planting open for airflow, aim your water at the base, and keep it guarded through every damp spell.
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
That white, felt-like dusting on the leaves and new shoots is powdery mildew, and it will chase the cones and warp them if it gets going. Get ahead of it: snip out the first infected tissue in spring and keep those bines flung open to sun and moving air. When the weather swings the fungus's way, hit it with sulfur or another labeled fungicide and hold the line.
Fix:
- Prune to remove early infected tissue in spring
- Improve air movement and sun exposure
- Apply sulfur or another labeled fungicide per extension guidance
Stippled, bronzed leaves with fine webbing in hot weather
When summer turns hot and dry, twospotted spider mites surge and freckle the leaves until they bronze and drop. Grab a leaf, tap it over white paper, and watch the tiny mites scramble to confirm. Then blast the plants often with a strong stream of water, keep them from drying out, and back the predatory mites that hunt the pests down for you.
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 small soft-bodied insects
The hop aphid breaks out in spring and rides the whole season, packing onto leaf undersides and shoot tips and smearing everything with sticky honeydew that draws sooty mold. Check those tips every week and strike early, because aphids that reach the cones wreck the crop. Rally the lady beetles and lacewings and they will chew through most of the problem for you.
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 chewed down to a lacy skeleton in midsummer
Japanese beetles swarm in and gnaw away the soft leaf tissue, leaving only a lacy web of veins where full leaves once stood. Beat them at dawn while they are sluggish and flick them into soapy water. It looks rough, sure, but a strong, established bine powers right through it.
Fix:
- Hand-pick beetles into soapy water in the early morning
- Apply a labeled insecticide during heavy adult flights if needed
Toxicity
Hops are dangerous to dogs, and that warning carries real weight. Both fresh cones and the spent hops left over from brewing can fire off a sudden, life-threatening fever in a dog, so keep every part of the plant and all brewing waste well out of reach. Keep cats, horses, and other animals clear too, while the cones themselves are what people use to brew beer.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds · People
Cats Moderate
Cats land on the at-risk list too, and while cases run behind those in dogs, hops can still drive a cat's temperature up and turn its stomach. Stash the cones, dried hops, and brewing waste somewhere a cat simply cannot get.
Dogs Severe
This is the big, serious one. Hops can throw a dog into a malignant hyperthermia crisis, with heavy panting, a dangerously high fever, a racing heart, restlessness, vomiting, and seizures that can turn fatal within hours. Spent brewing hops set this off again and again, sighthounds such as greyhounds carry an even higher risk, and any ingestion means racing to the vet.
Horses Moderate
Horses count among the vulnerable as well. A horse that gets into hops may show clear distress and a climbing body temperature, so keep the plant and every scrap of brewing waste away from pasture and feed.
Rabbits Caution
The evidence on rabbits stays thin either way, so play it safe and keep hops off their menu. Hand them no cones, no foliage, and no trimmings.
Livestock Caution
Cattle, goats, and sheep are best kept clear of hops as a precaution, since the same heat-driven reaction that hits dogs cannot be ruled out. Fence off any plantings, and never fling spent hops where grazing animals can reach them.
Birds Caution
How birds handle hops barely shows up in the records, so the safe move is to keep cones and dried hops well away from them.
People Caution
For grown-ups, hops are low-risk, and adults brew beer with the cones and steep them into calming teas. Even so, keep it away from children, and expect the bines to raise 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 pick a hop for its brewing punch, from bright citrus aromas to heavy bittering muscle, and one earns its spot on looks alone. These are the names worth chasing.
Cascade
Cascade fires off bright citrus and floral notes as a favorite American aroma hop, and it has become a staple for home and craft brewers alike.
Centennial
Centennial pulls double duty in the kettle and packs a bold citrus punch that won it the nickname super Cascade.
Chinook
Chinook drives a distinct spicy, piney character as a high-alpha bittering hop.
Nugget
Nugget grows with real vigor as a high-alpha bittering cultivar and throws a heavy, herbal aroma.
Aureus
Aureus lights up the garden with bright chartreuse foliage as an ornamental golden hop grown for looks rather than for brewing cones.
How to propagate
Hops almost always spring from the parent plant rather than from seed, which keeps a named female cultivar true and slams you to a brewing crop years sooner.
DivisionEasy
Early spring while dormant · One growing season to establish; full cone production typically by the second or third year
The quickest win for more hops is to split the perennial crown of an established female plant in early spring while it still sleeps, which locks in the named cultivar true to type. A division digs in over one growing season, though a full crop of cones tends to arrive in the second or third year, so the payoff builds fast once it gets rolling.
LayeringModerate
Spring through early summer · One season to root before separating
Rhizome cuttings and layered stretches of bine root eagerly when you set them out from spring through early summer, taking about a season to root before you cut them loose. Commercial growers kick off with clean, disease-free transplants instead of field rhizomes, a sharp move that shuts mildew out of a fresh planting.
SeedDemanding
Spring · Two or more years to flower and reveal sex
Seed rarely earns the effort, since seedlings will not come true to a named cultivar and split into males and females. Sow them in spring and they drag out two years or more before they flower and finally reveal their sex, so you gamble on a long wait for a mystery plant.
Myths
Any hop plant will give you cones to brew with.
Not so fast, because hops are dioecious, so only the female plants pump out the papery cones, the strobiles, that brewers chase. Growers hang onto a male or two for breeding and pollination and pull the rest, since pollinated, seeded cones spell trouble for most brewing.
Only beer made from hops is dangerous to dogs, not the plant.
Wrong on that one, because the hops themselves carry the danger and no beer is needed. Fresh cones, dried hops, and above all the spent hops from brewing can fire off a life-threatening high-fever reaction in dogs with zero alcohol involved.