common hop
Humulus lupulus
Last edited on January 23, 2021. View history
Hops
Humulus lupulus
How to sow hops: Transplant seedlings or rhizomes/rootstock
Sun requirement for hops: Plant in Full Sun
Hops are the flowers (also known as seed cones or strobiles) of the hop plant. They are primarily used as a flavoring and stability agent in beer, giving it a bitter, zesty, or citric flavor, but have additional medicinal and beverage uses. The hop plant is a vigorous climber that can grow to heights of 10m. It is trained to grow up trellises made from strings or wires.
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Hops facts
Lifespan
Annual
living and reproducing in a single year or less
Height × spread
600cm × 500cmRow Spacing
120cm
Optimal temperature
15–19 °C
Absolute temperature
8–35 °C
FAO EcoCrop
Optimal rainfall
400–700 mm/year
Absolute rainfall
300–1300 mm/year
FAO EcoCrop
Optimal soil pH
5.5–6.5
Absolute soil pH
5–8
FAO EcoCrop
Crop cycle
150–210 days
FAO EcoCrop
Max altitude
1600 m
FAO EcoCrop
Optimal light
very bright to clear skies
FAO EcoCrop
What are growing degree days?
A plant grows with warmth, not with days. A growing degree day is one day's worth of useful warmth: how many degrees the day's average temperature is above the lowest temperature the crop grows at. Add them up from planting and you know how far along the crop is, whatever the calendar says.
Say that lowest temperature is 10°C. A day averaging 17°C gives 7 growing degree days. A day averaging 8°C gives none, as it is too cold for the crop to grow. That is why the same lettuce takes about 50 days in a summer and 90 in an autumn: it needs the same total warmth either way.
For hops, the FAO EcoCrop database gives a lowest growing temperature of 8°C and a shortest growing cycle of 150 days at its best temperature, about 1350 growing degree days to a first harvest.
Where you've told us where your garden is, we use this and the weather there to predict when your hops will be ready to harvest. We don't use it for how long a plant lives or when it finishes: we go by what members have logged for that.
Varieties of hops
Photos
Photos
Hops crops
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Time to harvest
If sown now, expect a first harvest in about 150 to 210 days.
From the growing cycle in the FAO EcoCrop database, which is the same wherever it is grown.
Ecological requirements
Data from the FAO EcoCrop database for Humulus lupulus L.
| Family / Taxonomy | Magnoliopsida Dilleniidae Urticales Cannabaceae |
|---|---|
| Life form | vine |
| Life span | perennial |
| Habit | climber/scrambler/scadent |
| Optimal soil depth | medium (50-150 cm) |
| Optimal soil texture | medium |
| Optimal soil fertility | high |
| Optimal soil drainage | well (dry spells) |
| Optimal soil salinity | low (<4 dS/m) |
| Photoperiod | short day (<12 hours), neutral day (12-14 hours), long day (>14 hours) |
Learn more about hops
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