hops in north west florida

I just ordered 2 cent and 1 cascade rhyzome. I don't have much of a green thumb so I didn't think about this but, does hop cone production require 2 plants for polination?

I'd like to know more about this too, I'm gonna try growing for the first time this year.

You do not need 2 plants for pollination.Hop cones are the female flower of the plant and you want no males.Here is some older Hop info http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/humulus_lupulus.html

Cheers Glen

JBrady said:

I'd like to know more about this too, I'm gonna try growing for the first time this year.

Click to expand...

Saw your post from last May. Did you try your hand at hops growing? I'm in Pensacola and am considering Cascade for my south-exposure wall of my house. Any advice?
Thanks,
Michael

Yes I did start a small hop yard. I planted 3 cascade and 2 cent. on my back yard fence with more sun coming from the south, and unfortunatly the 2 cents are a bit too far under some oak trees. I had a few problems but it has made me want to plant more at my parents house with more space. First when they sprouted I had some kind of bug eating them, sevens dust took care of that after I tried several organic things. Second I was only fertilizing with compost juice, I don't think I had the mix right. Third I put them on field fence witch is only about 4 feet high, they kept wanting to grow up after they reached the top of the fence and not wrap around. So when I tried to wrap them they broke and the part after the break died, they are preaty tender so plant on a trellis. All in all I want to plant more a lot more. I did get a few hops off the cascades though. Ill post some pics when I get a chance.

To the best of my knowledge the growing season has passed. I am in Tampa and in my first year grow from 3 rhizomes only got 0.5 oz of cascades. Hop harvest is august-september.

I am interested in what to do with the hops out of season. Obviously in the north the plants die when it gets cold but it doesn't really get cold here. Anyone have experience?

Hey,
Up here in Jax, and plan on ordering some rizomes this winter. My LHBS will order them for regulars, and they even had a couple cascades growing... Said they got 4oz out of em. I think it is too hot here in FL for them to really thrive, but they apparently will grow just for nostalgia.

Andrew,
It will be interesting to see what happens to your plants, as much of your "winter" will be like a summer in Washington (where a lot of hops are grown).

Good luck to all!

From a grower -
Since your plants do not go through a true dormancy period you need to force new growth that is not flower initiated. You can do this by cutting the bines back to near ground level about 6 weeks before whenever your "Spring" starts. This will force new shoots from the crown which will intiate flowering when your daylength reaches about 14 hours of light; producing a new set of cones. Up North, the freezing temps do this for us.

Thanks GreatLakes!

Hey, 8 months later and I've got two strong Cascade plants on trellis lines, both of which are flowering. They are the two survivors, as one Zeus didn't survive a late freeze here in Pensacola. I've got questions about what to do with the plants come harvest time and how to manage them over the winter which I hope to hear back from High Hops about soon.

By 28 July, all of the leaves from both vines had "disappeared" due to insects, I think. Both vines started to show missing leaves mid way up the run, and then this spread both upwards and downwards. I harvested what I could (see pic) which is at about the right time. I understand that growth stops in mid July and harvest is done in mid-August. Being that the sprout and growth cycles start earlier here in Pensacola, FL, I'm guessing that I'm OK. Even though this first year's production is small, the aroma is powerful! Sticking my nose into the bowl it smells like a nice IPA. So, I'll trim back and try to split my two original rhizomes into three each, keeping sprouted vines in tact to prepare for next season.

Anyone have any thoughts on the next step???

I was wondering if there is an update to how hops are growing in the Pensacola area. I'm also local to the area and I have a green thumb.