Hops at top of teepee, what to do now?

[7Enigma]

So we have a heat wave coming and I expect my hops to grow 3 feet in the next week or so. One of my bines has gone 6" over the top of my setup (8-9') and now I don't know what to do with it. I assume it's not smart to clip it, but none of the other bines are even close to that tall (all other's are maybe 4'). It's starting to fold over, is it possible to train downwards?

 

[david_42]

You can train downwards, but you'll have to check them almost daily.

 

[Bokonon]

I just did this with my tallest plant a few days ago. Seems to be going good, but I think its going to be a constant battle to keep it going down.

 

[WBC]

I understand they will grow sideways ok. You could tie a string to the top and tie off at a distant point at the same level and train it on that string. Hopefully it will go by itself once it gets going.

 

[7Enigma]

You can train downwards, but you'll have to check them almost daily.

So then what are my other options? If I cut the bine (at the top), will it still produce hops? If I just let it go will it stop growing once it gets too heavy for itself? What I'd really like to do would be cut it (if it will still produce hops along the bine) so that the rest of the plant can divert its energies to the other bines.

Here's a couple pics I just snapped:

Shot showing the thousand stick's method for hop stimulation:

Top-down shot showing them growing up the twine, sticks, and center pole (I'll train them off the pole when they get longer):

Top of the pole (~8-9') showing the lone long bine cresting over the top:

 

[cuinrearview]

Yah you can pinch the growth tip and still get flowers, but the last bit of growth before flowering produces the most. Take a look at your side-arms(where the bracts are produced) and you'll notice that they get bigger farther up the plant, with multiples near the top. I had mother nature remove mine(tips) yesterday, so I'll get to see how it affects the plant firsthand.

 

[hopboy]

Just let them grow. I have 4 hop beds, Some are growing sideways along a chain link fence...they look preety cool. others are weaving in and out of a wooden privacy fence. Some are climbing the trunk of a tree.

 

[7Enigma]

What I ended up doing was letting the bine continue to grow. It's definitely slowed down since it doesn't have a support, but it is MUCH thicker than most of the bines. What I did since it is now probably 3 times the size of the last pic I posted (looking at the sky) is weave it through the gap between the twine and metal L-shaped piece at the top (background). Just last night it had grown probably another foot and so I trained it back the other direction (foreground). I figure I'll do that a couple more times until the other bines catch up, and then I'll probably have to just let it be. They are all cascade hops from the same original plant so I'm not worried about tangling, just I don't want to invite disease/poor growth if it gets too heavy and blocks sunlight to some of the bines (and obviously the risk due to wind damage if I have a giant ball 9' in the air!).