I bought and planted a First Gold (Prima Donna) rhizome in March this year and it's grown well against my south-facing wall in Gateshead, which is in the northeast of England (and therefore one of the colder parts of this country).
I have just got back from a week-long holiday. When I left, the flowers were just turning into cones. When I returned today I was really pleased to see the plant is now absolutely covered in cones. What I'm not sure about is whether or not they're ready to pick yet (I know you're not supposed to leave it too late?). What I've observed is:
- The cones are quite small at around 2cm long (not really much bigger than my thumbnail, and my hands are on the smaller side). I'm somehow thinking they're supposed to be a bit larger than this (according to the web, First Gold have "medium" sized cones)?
- If I look closely, there's a reasonable amount of sticky, yellow lupulin, and if I scrape it a little with my nail, the oil definitely smells "hoppy", although it's not a strong smell.
- The cones do slowly spring more or less back into shape when I squeeze them, but I wouldn't say they feel papery. They still feel quite "wet" and green.
- The ends of the bracts are slightly brown/red, but I think they were like this when they first formed anyway (?).
I've included some photos for illustration.
So, does anyone in the know think I need to get picking ASAP, or would I be better waiting a while longer?
I have just got back from a week-long holiday. When I left, the flowers were just turning into cones. When I returned today I was really pleased to see the plant is now absolutely covered in cones. What I'm not sure about is whether or not they're ready to pick yet (I know you're not supposed to leave it too late?). What I've observed is:
- The cones are quite small at around 2cm long (not really much bigger than my thumbnail, and my hands are on the smaller side). I'm somehow thinking they're supposed to be a bit larger than this (according to the web, First Gold have "medium" sized cones)?
- If I look closely, there's a reasonable amount of sticky, yellow lupulin, and if I scrape it a little with my nail, the oil definitely smells "hoppy", although it's not a strong smell.
- The cones do slowly spring more or less back into shape when I squeeze them, but I wouldn't say they feel papery. They still feel quite "wet" and green.
- The ends of the bracts are slightly brown/red, but I think they were like this when they first formed anyway (?).
I've included some photos for illustration.
So, does anyone in the know think I need to get picking ASAP, or would I be better waiting a while longer?
