My hops have seeds

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BWN

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I planted 1 columbus, 2 cascade, and 1 centennial this spring. My columbus did awesome, grew way faster than the others and I harvested it last weekend. It seemed to have just as many clusters of seeds as it did cones. Will this be a problem in the future or even now?
 
"clusters of seeds"?

The seeds form inside of the cones (which are really the female flowers).

Hop plants often throw clusters of male flowers on female plants. Here is an image I took: http://twitpic.com/62n8a8 These are not a problem - though they can be an indication that the plant is stressed.

If you have true seeds inside the female cones, I would love for you to send me a few. Would gladly trade for a few onces of cones from my garden.
 
here is what I have

P1090697.jpg


P1090695.jpg


P1090693.jpg
 
A little hard to tell from the photos, but those look like clusters of male flowers and deformed cones that couldn't decide if they wanted to be male or female. The hop seeds will form inside of the female cones. They are small, hard, brownish-black and look like ... ahem ... hemp seeds.

Let me know if you find any.
 
Like nabmay said, if it is truly 1 plant with both cones and male flowers, its a sign that the plant was somehow stressed this year. Many varieties will do that. The stress could be from heat, lack of water, to small of a pot, any number of things. Those male flowers should be sterile and if the stress is removed, will not return next year.

The only way you could be screwed, and I've heard of this happening, is if you dropped two rhizomes into the same hill at the time of planting. If one was male and the other female, you will need to kill both. Their roots are completely entangled and can't be separated.
 
I think I put 2 rhizomes in together. i hope that is not the case. I think that there were cones and seeds on the same bine though.
 
"The only way you could be screwed, and I've heard of this happening, is if you dropped two rhizomes into the same hill at the time of planting. If one was male and the other female..."

BWN - don't stress it. This is not what happened. Here's why:
1) You can't purchase male rhizomes. If you did put two in at once, I can guarantee that they were both female.
2) Even if they were a male and female, they would send up separate bines. You wouldn't find both cones and male flowers on the same plant.

Your plant is a hermaphrodite. It's OK. It's a natural part of hop sexuality. You need to accept your plant for who they are... now that they're, ahem, "out of the closet".

My cascade plant constantly throws male flowers. It must me a little stressed, but I've never been too concerned - it still produces a ton of cones. This year we picked over 8 pounds (wet) from that one plant.

If you look close, you can see some of the male flowers near the bottom of the pile.

IMG_8449.jpg
 
In before anyone jumps on my use of the word "hermaphrodite".
Yes, yes. Technically the plant is "monoecious". In general, hops are considered "dioecious".
 
Nagmay, how old our your plats ? Them cones are huge, I just planted Cascades this spring and added some fertilizer 3 times and watered every day and they grew and produced a lot.
 
ok thanks that makes me feel better. I had read that it may have been stressed but the funny thing is it grew way more than any of my other varieties and produced almost all of the hops I harvested.
 
Tombraider2,
"how old our your plats ?"

This is the 3rd year for the cascades. It has always been a big producer, but this year was the best so far.
 
My CTZ hops have done that for the last two years. They grow seed pods alongside the cones. Yes, the pods have seeds in them, and they fall all over the place. CTZ is my biggest producer. I've added too much of this hop in my brew in the past years and they taste like grapefruit IPA's. Has anyone figured out a good recipe with these hops that isn't an IPA? I"m tempted to do a light lager with maybe just an oz of these.
 
They grow seed pods alongside the cones. Yes, the pods have seeds in them, and they fall all over the place.

Just to keep things clear for people who look back on this thread...
The cones we use for brewing are the female part of the plant. Hops only produce seeds inside of these cones. When pollinated, a seed will develop at the base of each bract (petal) against the strig (core structure).

The pods you see are actually the male flowers. They are usually sterile when found on female hops and will readily drop their anthers (pollen sacks). I believe this is what you are mistaking for seeds.

All that said, I would be happy to find out that I am wrong. can you post pics of the CTZ seeds?

old-hops.jpg
Seeds.jpg
 
The seeds actually develop at the base of the bracteole. The bracteoles are formed in pairs and are protected/covered by a single bract. Just me I guess?
 
In before anyone jumps on my use of the word "hermaphrodite".
Yes, yes. Technically the plant is "monoecious". In general, hops are considered "dioecious".

Thank you.

A little fire in me is lit every time I see hops called "hermaphrodites". Though I have found one article describing truly hermaphroditic hops, with staminate cones and pistillate male flowers, this is never what people refer to when using that term. Further aggravation by the fact that these are stamen-sterile.

My CTZ hops have done that for the last two years. They grow seed pods alongside the cones. Yes, the pods have seeds in them, and they fall all over the place. CTZ is my biggest producer. I've added too much of this hop in my brew in the past years and they taste like grapefruit IPA's. Has anyone figured out a good recipe with these hops that isn't an IPA? I"m tempted to do a light lager with maybe just an oz of these.

Hops do not grow seed pods. As others have stated, seeds grow individually packed in the bracteoles of the female inflorescence. The small organs growing in tight clusters, as you can see in my profile picture, are male flowers, which have a rather short lifespan. After opening up to expose their stamens, they release their pollen (if any) and fall off shortly afterwards.
 
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