Purple Hops

[Hopfarmer]

Male Hop Plant

 

[vonWolfhausen]

i bought japanese hops seeds last year. the leaf shape was just like that (except some of my leaves were mutated, some leaflets were fused) and the plants came with spider mites or something i guess which destroyed the one i got to grow.
i never got to the flowering stage.
i hope you preserved that specimen, i would love to grow me some purple hops lol
the seeds i got were humulus japonica/scandens. i know they are a weed but they just don't grow around here and i couldnt find any normal beer hops seeds to try.
so did that plant ever make seeds, or is it still living or what?
that's.. unique.
i just sprouted some clarks heavenly blue morning glory seeds, the cotyledons were that shade of purple until they got a few days of sunlight. but you got green leaves and purple flowers/cones and i would buy a clone of that, or some seeds, but theres a chance the seeds wouldnt exhibit the same phenotype.

 

[vonWolfhausen]

i only paid attention to the first leaf pic. what you have there looks like more of a hybrid, where humulus lupulus beer hops are trying to be more like japanese hops. my japanese hops started off with 5 and 7 and 9 leaflets, i see yours are starting off more like 1,3 and going to 5. i guess they are all a little mutated.. but i really like them, they are interesting.
from what i've seen, humulus lupulus doesnt usually make the 5 pointed and higher leaves, usually more like 1-3, so this looks like it has hybridized a bit more with the other, so i am wondering if it made seeds, viable ones., or if it is male like the last person said, at least you got some pollen floating around with some desirable characteristics. that probably wont do much for creating more purple hops but if you get seeds maybe something else interesting will come of this.
i'm pretty sure it is more of your non-japanese hops, like 60-40, 70-30 mix etc. something like that, predominantly non-'japanese hops'. i would really like to have one though, it's awesome i love mutants

 

[Devonian]

It started coming back this year and I pulled it. Hopefuly that takes care of it.

 

[vonWolfhausen]

that sux. i would like to put one in my woods and let it grow wild and spread then i can have purple hops growing invasively lol

 

[ctheis]

There is a variety of purple hop that is used for decorative purposes. I think its related to Hallertau. Its listed somewhere in here - http://thehennings.com/beer/hops.html

 

[Oaky]

There is a variety of purple hop that is used for decorative purposes. I think its related to Hallertau. Its listed somewhere in here - http://thehennings.com/beer/hops.html

So - the pictures are pretty wild. I would love to have a mutant. How could would it be to make a new variety! Anyhow - I did notice that my tettnanger bines are quite purple when they come out, whereas Nuggett and Cascade are not.

This is also common in Asparagus (heirloom asparagus) and on a related unamed plant which also has green and purple coloration. so it definitely makes sense. I would love to get a taste report on a beer made with these hops.

 

[DavidSteel]

Probably nitrogen deficiency caused it.

 

[Schmutz]

My Fuggles crop turned purple also. I transplanted mine into the front raised bed in the spring and did not see any growth until about a month ago when we had tons of rain. Now I have 5 main shoots which then have many offshoots. There are many factors, I think, that have mine purple. 1) late bloom with cooler temps 2)miracle grow was used in the garden by my brothers wife (while not growing yet for her flowers) 3)the growth of the crop is so massive. I have more cones than leaves.

The garden is 2'x10' and in that area I have (estimated) a few thousand cones. The growth of it took place so fast that I did not have time to string it up but with the high crabgrass in there it kept the vines off the ground and the amount of cones is just crazy.

Once I find some batteries for my camera I'll link them.

 

[Crazytwoknobs]

100% guarantee those are humulus japonica. They're a pretty nasty invasive species.

 

[Oaky]

We must have photos of this alien invasion.

 

[Hannable1975]

/ subscribed / very interesting !

 

[Schmutz]

Ok finally got some picks... the cones are not in good shape now since the temp dropped close to freezing but here they are.

 

[GaryJohn]

Um, are you sure those are hops? They could be a relative.

 

[devilishprune]

Can you use those for brewing once they turn purple like that?

 

[B-Hoppy]

those sure look like japonicus. a few years back, while working on the railroad, i noticed a bunch growing along a siding track and brought some home for further investigation. never got around to planting the seeds but the info. i've found on the internet about invasive species sure points to the jap. hop. also, they burn about the same as lupulus! i wouldn't spend the time to try to brew with them as my efforts using wild hops turned out somewhat drinkable but with some very interesting flavors like garlic and B.O.!!

 

[DrJerryrigger]

I'd guess those are wild, I don't think Cascadean have any purple tendency. Many plants will become purple or reddish if they get exposed to cold weather. But within the same species some are more likely to do so, and I don't think Cascade is a likely one at all.
If they have seeds, I'd be interested in the genetics. A cross with a mainstream hop could yield a nifty plant.
Have you harvested any yet? I would suggest brewing with some, but only in a small batch first (as they may have the flavor of ass).

 

[Schmutz]

Not going to harvest this crop this year. They are far from mature and bloomed too late in the season. Hell, they bloomed in the wrong season. Hopefully next year I will get it blooming early so I may finally get some fuggles to brew our pumpkin ale since we can't find anyone selling them anywhere.

Oh, it had better be fuggles since it is what I paid for and the rhisome package said fuggles.

My Willamette only seeded this year and grew late also. Think I have to just cross my fingers for next year.

 

[DrJerryrigger]

Not going to harvest this crop this year. They are far from mature and bloomed too late in the season. Hell, they bloomed in the wrong season. Hopefully next year I will get it blooming early so I may finally get some fuggles to brew our pumpkin ale since we can't find anyone selling them anywhere.

Oh, it had better be fuggles since it is what I paid for and the rhizome package said fuggles.

My Willamette only seeded this year and grew late also. Think I have to just cross my fingers for next year.

If you don't get a hard frost down there soon, they could reach maturity, or nearly so.
Hops first year's growth it a little finicky, so next year will likely be much different.

 

[Crabnut]

From the "CENTRAL JERSEY INVASIVE SPECIES STRIKE TEAM" web site, Invasive Plant Fact Sheet, Japanese Hops (Humulus japonica)
The pictures do look a lot like your pictures. But, at the end of the write up, a warning.
"WARNING: This plant can cause rashes or blistering. Handle with gloves." Should be easy to figure out if this is common hops or Japanese Hops. And anything that can cause blistering or rashes is not likely to be an addition to my beer.....

 

[StMarcos]

It's a phosphorus (P) deficiency. Not usually caused by lack of P, but by cool temps. Cool temps in the root zone cause P to be locked up and not available for transport into the roots. Some plants (strains/cultivated varieties (cultivars)) are more susceptible to this than others, which is why you see it more in some plants than others, even when they share the same envirinment. Cool temps above ground can have an effect as well.

It can be caused by pH being out of an accepted range as well, when P bonds to other ions in the electrolyte, those ions depending on which side of the scale you are off. If this is the case, you will see other deficiencies as well, and is a way to identify the source of the problem.

 

[iamdaph]

Is Humulus lupulus an invasive species? If I plant these will they eventually spread and start to take out the native plant life? I love home brewing but I also love keeping an ecosystem running properly.

I'm not talking about the Japanese Hops, I asking about the hops rhizomes you can buy on the internet (Casscase, Nugget, etc...)

 

[Oaky]

Is Humulus lupulus an invasive species? If I plant these will they eventually spread and start to take out the native plant life? I love home brewing but I also love keeping an ecosystem running properly.

I'm not talking about the Japanese Hops, I asking about the hops rhizomes you can buy on the internet (Casscase, Nugget, etc...)

You can expect that it will behave like most rhizomes - so it will pop out new shoots a short distance from the root crown. What many people do is to shovel around the plant seasonally to cut the further roots and dig the out (you can "clone" that way). Also - and perhaps easier, contain them with bricks, wood or some other underground barrier. they mostly go horizontal so cutting bands out of a garbage can that are 15" deep circles would likely prevent them from going beyond that.

 

[Crazytwoknobs]

You can expect that it will behave like most rhizomes - so it will pop out new shoots a short distance from the root crown. What many people do is to shovel around the plant seasonally to cut the further roots and dig the out (you can "clone" that way). Also - and perhaps easier, contain them with bricks, wood or some other underground barrier. they mostly go horizontal so cutting bands out of a garbage can that are 15" deep circles would likely prevent them from going beyond that.

I've only ever run into Humulus japonica outside cultivation, and since lupulus wouldn't likely be able to reproduce sexually, it's not a great candidate for becoming an invasive. It's also dependent on us for a lot of water (though they do grow without watering, just not as well) and pest control. They do have pest problems...

Will it take over your yard? yeah, if there's enough light.

 

[hops4me]

buds for you