Purple Hops

We must have photos of this alien invasion.

/ subscribed / very interesting !

Ok finally got some picks... the cones are not in good shape now since the temp dropped close to freezing but here they are.

Um, are you sure those are hops? They could be a relative.

Can you use those for brewing once they turn purple like that?

those sure look like japonicus. a few years back, while working on the railroad, i noticed a bunch growing along a siding track and brought some home for further investigation. never got around to planting the seeds but the info. i've found on the internet about invasive species sure points to the jap. hop. also, they burn about the same as lupulus! i wouldn't spend the time to try to brew with them as my efforts using wild hops turned out somewhat drinkable but with some very interesting flavors like garlic and B.O.!!

I'd guess those are wild, I don't think Cascadean have any purple tendency. Many plants will become purple or reddish if they get exposed to cold weather. But within the same species some are more likely to do so, and I don't think Cascade is a likely one at all.
If they have seeds, I'd be interested in the genetics. A cross with a mainstream hop could yield a nifty plant.
Have you harvested any yet? I would suggest brewing with some, but only in a small batch first (as they may have the flavor of ass).

Not going to harvest this crop this year. They are far from mature and bloomed too late in the season. Hell, they bloomed in the wrong season. Hopefully next year I will get it blooming early so I may finally get some fuggles to brew our pumpkin ale since we can't find anyone selling them anywhere.

Oh, it had better be fuggles since it is what I paid for and the rhisome package said fuggles.

My Willamette only seeded this year and grew late also. Think I have to just cross my fingers for next year.

Schmutz said:

Not going to harvest this crop this year. They are far from mature and bloomed too late in the season. Hell, they bloomed in the wrong season. Hopefully next year I will get it blooming early so I may finally get some fuggles to brew our pumpkin ale since we can't find anyone selling them anywhere.

Oh, it had better be fuggles since it is what I paid for and the rhizome package said fuggles.

My Willamette only seeded this year and grew late also. Think I have to just cross my fingers for next year.

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If you don't get a hard frost down there soon, they could reach maturity, or nearly so.
Hops first year's growth it a little finicky, so next year will likely be much different.

From the "CENTRAL JERSEY INVASIVE SPECIES STRIKE TEAM" web site, Invasive Plant Fact Sheet, Japanese Hops (Humulus japonica)
The pictures do look a lot like your pictures. But, at the end of the write up, a warning.
"WARNING: This plant can cause rashes or blistering. Handle with gloves." Should be easy to figure out if this is common hops or Japanese Hops. And anything that can cause blistering or rashes is not likely to be an addition to my beer.....

It's a phosphorus (P) deficiency. Not usually caused by lack of P, but by cool temps. Cool temps in the root zone cause P to be locked up and not available for transport into the roots. Some plants (strains/cultivated varieties (cultivars)) are more susceptible to this than others, which is why you see it more in some plants than others, even when they share the same envirinment. Cool temps above ground can have an effect as well.

It can be caused by pH being out of an accepted range as well, when P bonds to other ions in the electrolyte, those ions depending on which side of the scale you are off. If this is the case, you will see other deficiencies as well, and is a way to identify the source of the problem.

Is Humulus lupulus an invasive species? If I plant these will they eventually spread and start to take out the native plant life? I love home brewing but I also love keeping an ecosystem running properly.

I'm not talking about the Japanese Hops, I asking about the hops rhizomes you can buy on the internet (Casscase, Nugget, etc...)

iamdaph said:

Is Humulus lupulus an invasive species? If I plant these will they eventually spread and start to take out the native plant life? I love home brewing but I also love keeping an ecosystem running properly.

I'm not talking about the Japanese Hops, I asking about the hops rhizomes you can buy on the internet (Casscase, Nugget, etc...)

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You can expect that it will behave like most rhizomes - so it will pop out new shoots a short distance from the root crown. What many people do is to shovel around the plant seasonally to cut the further roots and dig the out (you can "clone" that way). Also - and perhaps easier, contain them with bricks, wood or some other underground barrier. they mostly go horizontal so cutting bands out of a garbage can that are 15" deep circles would likely prevent them from going beyond that.

Oaky said:

You can expect that it will behave like most rhizomes - so it will pop out new shoots a short distance from the root crown. What many people do is to shovel around the plant seasonally to cut the further roots and dig the out (you can "clone" that way). Also - and perhaps easier, contain them with bricks, wood or some other underground barrier. they mostly go horizontal so cutting bands out of a garbage can that are 15" deep circles would likely prevent them from going beyond that.

Click to expand...

I've only ever run into Humulus japonica outside cultivation, and since lupulus wouldn't likely be able to reproduce sexually, it's not a great candidate for becoming an invasive. It's also dependent on us for a lot of water (though they do grow without watering, just not as well) and pest control. They do have pest problems...

Will it take over your yard? yeah, if there's enough light.

buds for you