Growing hops from seed

[Miraculix]

Yes it is

Wow, weird ones!

 

[Sylvain]

Just Humulus Lupulus Var. Neomexicanus

 

[corkybstewart]

Sylvain, it was a pleasure meeting you last week. When I posted pictures a friend in my hometown mentioned that she has run across wild hops in the Gila Forest near our house. When we go home in September I will find out where she has seen them and I'll try to collect either seeds or a rhyzome.

 

[Miraculix]

Just Humulus Lupulus Var. Neomexicanus

Yes, needed Google to confirm it, couldn't believe it.

 

[B-Hoppy]

Bad year for the seedlings here in Ohio this year. Out of probably over 1,000 seedlings I only have a few dozen that survived. Most of them were wiped out by Downy as I inoculated them multiple times this spring - much harder than in the past. The survivors are just now beginning to reveal their genders and so far it's all been girls.

The first and last pics show the potential variability in vigor of these crosses. The first one is from a cross with Cascade as a mother and a male I've named 'Jackie Wilson' (long story) and the last pic is the result of Brewers Gold being crossed with Rex (the Golden Boy- my first male) in the middle picture. You can see the Cascade seedling is throwing some serious sidearms and seems like a potentially big producer whereas the Brewers Gold seedling is only putting out some little dinky sidearms that will only give up a few cones on each at best. Next step is to continue to monitor them and do a rub/sniff on the cones once they form and have matured. If they smell good, I move them to a more stable area once they go dormant this fall and hope they continue to perform well the following season. I don't have the resources to handle too many from year to year like the big breeders so at the end of next year, I generally brew with them to see if I'll keep them around (as long as they're good producers). It seems to have worked well up to this point but I've only been serious about it since about 2010 so we can't expect too much.

 

[Sylvain]

excellent. quelle est la parenté de vos mâles?

 

[Sylvain]

 

[B-Hoppy]

The male in the picture just popped up from seed around 2010. Jackie Wilson is a male derived from a cross using Zeus as the mother a few years ago. 'Tatoo' is a dwarf derived from a cross with Chinook as the mother in 2016 or so? I do have a USDA male M19058 that I haven't used yet.

Are the hops in the two pictures you posted seedlings from this season?

 

[Sylvain]

Yes, 2022

 

[Sylvain]

Biggest boy

 

[Sylvain]

seed preparation for 2023. pollination has begun

 

[Sylvain]

That’s a handsome male!

My best this year.

The mother is the very excellent First Gold (aka Prima Donna).
The father has mysterious origins.

He was born in March and passed 4m.
No signs of disease.
Good health.
Many flowers (good yield?)

 

[Sylvain]

 

[corkybstewart]

Since you told me you don't brew beer yet I have 2 questions. First, ware you crossbreeding for flavors, and if so how will you know when you have the right cross? And second, what do you do with your harvest?

 

[Sylvain]

if, I brew, but not often enough to test all my hops.
with my hops (Chinook, Cascade, EKG etc) the scent of the fresh cone is close to the finished beer.
so I base it on that.
and the following year, when I have harvested enough cones from a candidate seedling, I would brew with it.

 

[Sylvain]

Seedling Baltique

 

[Sylvain]

this 2022 seedling is a cross between the Neo1 variety and one of my males.
The scent is fresh and juicy apricot, I love

(do not take into account the flowers, it is another seedling)

 

[Sylvain]

Monsters

 

[corkybstewart]

My sister in law and me pulling up rhyzomes of wild hops in the Marais of Bourges. If for nothing else I will use them as decorative vines in the yard.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

My sister in law and me pulling up rhyzomes of wild hops in the Marais of Bourges. If for nothing else I will use them as decorative vines in the yard.

I really hope that yard is in France, and that you're not taking random rhizomes across international borders...

 

[Miraculix]

Monsters View attachment 778896View attachment 778897View attachment 778898View attachment 778899View attachment 778900View attachment 778901View attachment 778902View attachment 778903View attachment 778904View attachment 778905View attachment 778906

Wow! How are they smelling?

 

[Sylvain]

there are many genealogical origins.
some are quite hard citrus (typically Neomex), other ultra fruity notes (here again thanks to the genes Neomexicanus), or more subtle notes but on citrus and stone fruits

 

[Miraculix]

there are many genealogical origins.
some are quite hard citrus (typically Neomex), other ultra fruity notes (here again thanks to the genes Neomexicanus), or more subtle notes but on citrus and stone fruits

I meant the giants. Or are these huge cones from different pants?

 

[Apimyces]

Edit: Nevermind, I misread.

 

[Sylvain]

I meant the giants. Or are these huge cones from different pants?

It's a different seedling

 

[willow wolf]

Great detailed thread about growing and breeding hops!

I have been growing some in pots recently, just to get them started but I noticed that some have a lot of leaves and long bines, look healthy but the root system was still very small. I suspect I got too keen and used too much cow manure in the mix and so they had oversupply of nutrients, which might explain the lack of searching roots and therefore small root system.

I decided to repot into soil that I have an established bine growing in, its fluffy well decomposed humus type stuff from decomposed horse manure with plenty of little beasties living in it. the hops that grow there love it.

what is your preferred soil mix for growing in pots up to say 1.5ft diameter? what do you use for compost/fertiliser?
thanks.

 

[Sylvain]

it's time much to move the 2022 seedlings to prepare them for 2023, the selection was tough

 

[corkybstewart]

it's time much to move the 2022 seedlings to prepare them for 2023, the selection was toughView attachment 792433View attachment 792434View attachment 792435

Those look great.

 

[Apimyces]

Cull! There can be only one!

 

[Sylvain]

The first year is a real genocide, many deaths by inoculation of diseases. Then, the second year, an even tougher selection awaits them