Wild Hop Find

[bellecitybrewer]

So, I was out hunting this past week in northern Wisconsin, and I came across a pretty cool find. I noticed these vines climbing up some saplings and low and behold, there were hops hanging off them! I broke up some of the cones and they were still loaded with yellow lupulin. They were growing along a river bottom in a national forest. Seeing as how I don't get up there very often, I took some root cuttings so I can plant them here at home along with the rest of my hops. I marked the location with my GPS so I hopefully can go pick them in September next year. Have any of you guys ever come across anything like this? Any idea what type of wild hops these might be? They were verrrrry deep in the woods and hard to get to, so I know that no one planted them there intentionally.

 

[argyle]

Can't give you any information. Just congratulations on the find!!!:rockin:

I'd probably crap my pants if I ever found hops growing in the wild.

Some guys have all the luck I guess.

 

[Bob]

Come to my house. You'll be able to harvest lots. Wild hops are everywhere around my neighborhood. People consider them a nuisance.

Next year, I train them on trellises.

Bob

 

[bellecitybrewer]

Ah, another question. I have the root cuttings in Ziploc bags with damp paper towels in my fridge. What do I do now? Should I plant them in pots? Keep them in the fridge? I just don't want them to get ruined before I get a chance to put them in the ground...

 

[smokinghole]

I'd throw them in some pots. The damp cloth in the fridge will eventually get moldy and potentially kill the rhizome. I had that happen to a few as well as slimy mold and they did not grow when I planted them this spring.

 

[Aunt_Ester]

Neat find. I found some wild hops on a state park trail last year. I didn't want to disturb the trail so I clipped some bines. I was able to clone them in a vase with water. As soon as I got a root I was able to plant them.

Good luck with your new rhizomes!

 

[bellecitybrewer]

Now, if I plant these rhizomes in a pot today, won't that throw off their growth cycle seeing as how they are usually sprouting in April/May and not December? If I plant them now, will they need to be harvested earlier? I'm not that "hop savvy"

 

[solbes]

First off, cool find!

As for potting now. Maybe some have done it successfully, but I think it has some risks too. First they need a lot of sunlight hours to grow, so you'd have to supplement with artificial light during the next few gloomy months. And I would guess they might be harder to transplant come mid May.

I don't know what the max length of time you can store the cuttings in the fridge, but I would think 2-4 months would not be out of the question. Change the paper towels every 2 weeks and store in the coldest part of your fridge. I kept mine like this for a month last spring and no issues at all. In fact, if the ground hasn't frozen yet in the land O' Cheese, you might be able to plant them yet this fall?

And my last piece of advice is to have this moved to the Hops forum. Lots of experienced people there.