How to keep Hops short?

So I am wondering if there is a way to keep hops short and still produce. I have some new rhizomes coming and two are going outside on my may pole but I would like to try and grow on on a deck. Large enough pots and sunlight are not a problem so put that aside. I know keeping plants short can increase potency in the buds... I had a special roommate in college. So I am wondering if the same can be done with hops? Keep them low to like 5-6' and still have a decent yield.

It would be an interesting experiment to see if the potency would increase, by keeping the plants low in height. However, I am inclined to think that the hops will just continue growing sideways in just the same length as if it were growing vertical.

5 to 6 feet is 2 short as the plants usually produce nothing below 4',you could grow to 8 or 10'.What u do is break of the climbing tip when they reach the desired height.This will prompt the plant into putting out laterals and cease its upward growth.Now a way to make a even shorter plant would be to lower the plants after you strip the bottom 4' off the bine and lower it.Look on my web site and you will see the results of the hail damage.We are doing some short trellis experiments with WSU over the next 5 years. No known potency increases,the plants the plants have a alpha range and thats it.Lack of N can cause higher alphas.Cheers Glen

What do you mean by strip the bottom 4 feet?

What u do is strip the leaves off the bines for the 1st 4' of the plant,say u do this when the bine is 6'.Then lower it down,so you would need extra rope.The plant thinks its taller the stripped bine is wrapped at the base in a circle and what you are growing up is in the production zone of the plant

Cool. I will try this on one of my plants this year. I recently moved and want them in a more restrictive areamat the new house.

Why does the plant only flower after 6' or so? why cant I cut that out and cause it to grow short? You can go in to technical terms because I have a good friend with a degree in Biology specifically Horticulture and he can explain.

My Cascades are 8 years old (helps) but been growing on a 7 to 8 foot arbor the entire time.

In the spring I cut back all but the most hearty shoots but within a few weeks, I can't keep up. I trim off the lower leaves and some inner bines to allow air and avoid molds and that is about it. By the end of the summer it is a big tangled mess of bines.

I get more yield than I need...I harvested over 28 ounces and left over half on the bines this year.

My point, try it and see what type of yield you get...I bet you are surprised by the results!

Should I just keep cutting it short at about 5' and hope that it flowers that short? I dont see why it wouldn't flower that short because the plant wants to live and would have to flower anyways right?

PurpleJeepXJ said:

Should I just keep cutting it short at about 5' and hope that it flowers that short? I dont see why it wouldn't flower that short because the plant wants to live and would have to flower anyways right?

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I'd not keep cutting it short...I think that would be relatively detrimental to the plant.

If you were asking me, I cut back "shoots" at first growth and just let the strong ones grow up normally and tangle amongst each other on the arbor.

I used to "train" the shoots up and over the arbor but now just leave some of the previous year bines in place...the new shoots wrap themselves on the old dried bines.

You could train the bine to go along the deck railing, for instance. It does not necessarily need to grow "up".

Good suggestion. I normally grow my hops at my parents house since they have a large yard and I have a large may pole system set up there. The reason I want to try and keep a plant short is for growing on my porch at my apartment. I cant have vines growing on the railing per my lease so I was thinking like a fan shaped trellis totaling like 6'. It is a good point though that i can just let them tangle.

I think this is from 2009 and only mid-season....

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So it looks like there's a plant on each side of the trellis there... is that accurate? You're able to keep it under control there just on the trellis? I have a small back yard... this might be a good solution to my desire for hop growing.

byproxy said:

So it looks like there's a plant on each side of the trellis there... is that accurate? You're able to keep it under control there just on the trellis? I have a small back yard... this might be a good solution to my desire for hop growing.

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I think I orginally planted one or more on each side of the trellis (front and back), and one or more on each side of the wings (front and back). Probably 12 small rhizomes 8 years ago.

I cut A LOT of shoots in the Spring, and train everything to go over the wings and up the trellis...once there, they just flop.

They grow like weeds (Cascade and 8 years old) and all over the place. My wife constantly weeds them out of the surrounding mulch area and plants, and I constantly mow them down in the lawn with the grass.

I also have 6 cuttings growing up strings on a telepone pole in my yard that are two years old. They reached 15 feet this year but little fruit because it is very shady.

I also made an arbor in the backyard over a potting bench that is slightly bigger than the trellis...I probably have 8 cuttings there that are only one year old...they practically covered the arbor this summer, which is in full sun.

Again, you need to maintain but should have no problem getting plenty of hops growing in a mass vs. straight up a pole.

I have had some decent luck growing them in a long lateral along a 4' wooden fence. I run my twine from the base, up at 60 degree angles for 4' (two twine in each direction), then spread along the top rail of the fence for around ten feet in both directions. This seems to be hit and miss so far. They grow up and over the top of my fence, but I try to keep them trained to grow along the top. My cascades and Willamette do O.K., but yield around 1/3 of my plants growing 8' vertical before spreading.

I haven't tried dropping them, and thus making them think they are taller...I am going to give that a shot...sounds like a great idea.

Ok new question... Can I make them grow up an down in an "S" shaped pattern? or will the bines want to curl back upwards and not grow down along twine even once trained? for example: in a large pot growing up 3' then over 1' then down 3' then over 1' then up 3'? this would total 11' and only take up a total of 3 vertical feet... What do yall think?