Is this a male plant?

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Stratotankard

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I got these plants this year from Fresh Hops. So far nothing that looks like a hop on any of my 6 plants (2 each Centennial, Golding, Willamette). I'm not sure but I think one of my Goldings might be a male plant.
Golding_Flowers_3.JPG

Mommy, why does mine look different for everybody else's? :D These little flowers don't look like hops to me, or am I crazy?
Also any ideas on what's causing this on my other Golding? I've been a little behind on the watering this week due to my bandaged hands, so I was thinking they might be a bit dry.
Sick_Golding.JPG


Thanks

Terje
 
I agree. One or two other people received male plants this year from Dave. This is extremely rare as the last thing anyone wants in their hop field (breeders excepted) is male plants. Dave will be quite willing to make good, although that might mean a rain-check for next year.

Don't be concerned about the lack of hops so far on the rest of them. Most of my plants are on Year 3 and they are still just growing.
 
It does to me too. And I'll tell ya why. I can see the tiny little US Postal Service satchels.
 
I'd just cut the plant down now if it were me. As you've seen from my other post my mature female cascade has decided it's gender confused due to extreme stress last month. If I see growth like this on it next year it will be out of the ground before summer '09 ends. At least your other plants don't have a bunch of bracts on them because from the looks of it this plant already has open flowers, and you'd be brewing with seedy hops this fall. I haven't followed the sale of rhizomes closely until this year, but maybe the extra demand has led to some less than desirable root cuttings to be sold. As for the browning leaves, this is normal near the bottom of the plant this time of year. My mighty hermaphodite cascade is bare bine for the bottom three feet. I pull the bottom leaves about every third to fourth day. It's been like this in July every year.
 
Yeah, from past experience with a sililar species... you want to kill that male, no mercy.

The last thing you want is a bunch of seeds, and those flowers are OPEN.
 
will male plants take over the desired females? I look out there right now and see many more male flowers than females. In prior years it appeared I had more like a 50/50 split.

any advice is gladly accepted

Chuck
 
will male plants take over the desired females? I look out there right now and see many more male flowers than females. In prior years it appeared I had more like a 50/50 split.

any advice is gladly accepted

Chuck

Unless you're breeding or something, there's no reason you'd want any male plants. I don't think they "take over", but they'll pollinate the females which, in turn, will produce seeds, which are useless for brewing.

Chris
 
ya but on the flip side if you did want a male , you could not find one anywhere
i have not seen anyone saleing them at all
and the male will not hurt the hops or change the flavor at all
the only change is that the hops will have seeds but if you put your hops in a hop bag it makes no change other that you have seed witch i think is cool
 
I too have a Male plant received from Freshops and I have no objection with sorting it out with them and continuing to recommend them to potential growers. Sometimes this just happens as I have come to understand.

I am trying to determine if there are any environmental conditions that favor a specific gender and if it posible to force a Gender change but, I seriously doubt it's possible.

I consider my Chinook to be a loss but, have chosen to allow it to live as I have someone interested in the plant and I am going to donate it. So, I'll keep it alive and pull it out when it goes dormant.

During a recent harvest, I doscovered two otehr plants that exhibit hermaphrodite qualitites and have stareted some e-mail correspondence with growers to find out if it's possible to force the male persuasion out of the plant. Again, something I suspect is not possible.
 
If the Female hops get seeds wont the alpha acid be effected or lowered or am I thinking of "Sinsemilla"
 
If the Female hops get seeds wont the alpha acid be effected or lowered or am I thinking of "Sinsemilla"

There are debates about fatty acids and tannions from the seed spoiling beer but, nothing has been prven scientifically. As for Alpha's they aren't effected. The main burden is in quantifying seed weight when measuring them out.
 
I have no experience with hops but in another life had a good deal of experience with its cousin. At the least seed in the boil would produce off flavors as well as throwing off the weight of usable material and lower the aa. Valuable energy would be diverted to seed production instead of growth and maturity of the cone. As for sex change it is possible but difficult without controlled lighting and only when the plant is young. Rip that plant out before it flowers more.
I definitely subscribe to the fatty acid and tannin theory after trying to refine seed. there was a large clump of fat left after refinement.
 
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