Climb clockwise or counterclockwise?

[BlackDogBrewing]

My Cascade, Chinook, Centennial and Willamette plants that I planted in front of my front portch are finally coming up. I'd like to try to have them climb string wrapped around my porch colomns, hook up aropund the gutters and then come down a straight string. Will this work wrapping them around the colomns, and if so, do hops clib clockwise or counterclockwise? Thanks.

 

[Clonefarmer]

Standing over them looking down is clockwise.

 

[BlackDogBrewing]

Standing over them looking down is clockwise.

That was a quick response- thanks!

 

[pilotdane]

When my bines were young I tried them counter clockwise and the little buggers would head the other way. Apparently they like to follow the sun.

 

[gunnyg]

Most online sources instruct solely to coil your bines clockwise. But a couple do mention that there is a debate on this for what ever reason, and most of these also provide that it is clockwise in the northern hemisphere and counterclockwise in the southern hemisphere, following the sun.

I have a few books on homebrewing and a couple of them mention the northern/southern controversy--I think the dividing line is 35 degrees longitude.

One of these books--Homebrewing For Dummies--in the same paragraph mentioned above also indicates that he, the author, doesn't know why they call them bines vice vines, and suggests maybe the author made a typo or else had been over-sampling his own brew while he was writing. I have never been quite sure if he was kidding or if he really didn't know the difference in a bine and a vine; as we all do, of course.

 

[HBHoss]

In the Brewers Gardening book it mentions clockwise for the northern hemisphere and counterclockwise for the southern hemisphere. They like to follow the sun. The hops are a sticky plant but if the columns are slick, the bines may not be able to hold on. Keep an eye on them because they are fragile. Good luck.

 

[HBHoss]

This is what the Wiki has to say:

Bine (botany)
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A bine is a climbing plant which climbs by its shoots growing in a helix around a support. It is distinct from a vine, which climbs using tendrils or suckers.

The stems of many bines are rough or have downward-pointing bristles to aid their grip.

The rotation of the shoot tip during climbing is autonomous, and does not (as sometimes imagined) derive from the shoot following the sun around the sky – the direction of twist does not therefore depend upon which side of the equator the plant is growing. This is shown by the fact that some bines always twine clockwise, including runner bean (Phaseolus coccineus) and bindweed (Convolvulaceae), while others twine anticlockwise, including French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) and climbing honeysuckles (Lonicera species).

So it sounds like hops may just have a preference to climbing clockwise so instead of fighting its natural tendency it's just best to train it clockwise.

 

[tndave]

Holy crap!! I have to go look at mine tomorrow...I may have some dizzy hops!

 

[BlackDogBrewing]

In the Brewers Gardening book it mentions clockwise for the northern hemisphere and counterclockwise for the southern hemisphere. They like to follow the sun. The hops are a sticky plant but if the columns are slick, the bines may not be able to hold on. Keep an eye on them because they are fragile. Good luck.

The coloms are failrly slick, so I was going to try to loosley coil the string around the colomns, hoping it would stay on the string and give me a nice coil. At the top, I'm going to try to bring the string straight down from the gutter. I hope this works, the colomns are only about 12 feet tall relative to where the hops are planted, so I was thinking the coli would give me extra distance. Wish me luck.

 

[HBHoss]

The coloms are failrly slick, so I was going to try to loosley coil the string around the colomns, hoping it would stay on the string and give me a nice coil. At the top, I'm going to try to bring the string straight down from the gutter. I hope this works, the colomns are only about 12 feet tall relative to where the hops are planted, so I was thinking the coli would give me extra distance. Wish me luck.

The only downside I see to that is the string being against the column won't give the bine room to coil around it. Vines would do it but not bines.

 

[Kungpaodog]

Hops are pretty amazing and seem to have a mind of their own. Last weekend at a party I was hosting I was showing off my baby hops to anyone who would listen, and over the course of the day I observed the top of one plant swing 180 degrees from east to west six times! I think it was trying to feel out something to grow around. It was pretty cool to watch.

The first day one was tall enough I gently bent it over to the side of my twine, and 24 hours later it had gone 720 degrees around the twine clockwise.

 

[HBHoss]

Hops are pretty amazing and seem to have a mind of their own. Last weekend at a party I was hosting I was showing off my baby hops to anyone who would listen, and over the course of the day I observed the top of one plant swing 180 degrees from east to west six times! I think it was trying to feel out something to grow around. It was pretty cool to watch.

The first day one was tall enough I gently bent it over to the side of my twine, and 24 hours later it had gone 720 degrees around the twine clockwise.

I agree. I went out to water my hops and noticed one of my Glaciers had trained itself. No coaxing from me. It found the rope and off it went. First picture is from the top looking down and you can see it's going clockwise. The other pic is from the bottom looking up. Having never grown hops before, I must admit it's a very cool experience.

 

[BlackDogBrewing]

I agree. I went out to water my hops and noticed one of my Glaciers had trained itself. No coaxing from me. It found the rope and off it went. First picture is from the top looking down and you can see it's going clockwise. The other pic is from the bottom looking up. Having never grown hops before, I must admit it's a very cool experience.

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Cool pictures, thanks for sharing.

 

[HBHoss]

Cool pictures, thanks for sharing.

Thanks. Next I need to setup a drip system even though I do like watering them so I can check on them.

 

[mrkristofo]

Standing over them looking down is clockwise.

Yup, 'tis true. I had to go out and try it myself.

 

[EvilTOJ]

Just wait until July. You can practically watch them grow right before your eyes!

 

[dallasdb]

Standing over them looking down is clockwise.

Good to know!

Or if you are kneeling in front of the plant, train them to twist around to the left as you train them around your line.