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Description:

A common and somewhat utilitarian vine, with cone-shaped clusters of yellowish fruits which are used in beer making; very tough and adaptable, good for screening or a quick cover, needs structural support, cut back to the ground each spring

Ornamental Features

Hops is primarily grown for its highly ornamental fruit. It produces abundant clusters of yellow hop-like fruit from mid summer to mid fall. It has attractive green deciduous foliage. The fuzzy lobed leaves are highly ornamental but do not develop any appreciable fall colour.

Landscape Attributes

Hops is a dense multi-stemmed deciduous woody vine with a twining and trailing habit of growth. Its relatively coarse texture can be used to stand it apart from other landscape plants with finer foliage.

This is a high maintenance woody vine that will require regular care and upkeep, and can be pruned at anytime. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;

• Invasive

Hops is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Hedges/Screening
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Hops will grow to be about 6 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 6 feet. As a climbing vine, it tends to be leggy near the base and should be underplanted with low-growing facer plants. It should be planted near a fence, trellis or other landscape structure where it can be trained to grow upwards on it, or allowed to trail off a retaining wall or slope. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 20 years.

This woody vine should only be grown in full sunlight. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type or pH, and is able to handle environmental salt. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This species is not originally from North America.

Hops makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its spreading habit of growth, it is ideally suited for use as a 'spiller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the edges where it can spill gracefully over the pot. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden. Be aware that in our climate, most plants cannot be expected to survive the winter if left in containers outdoors, and this plant is no exception. Contact our experts for more information on how to protect it over the winter months.