Wild planting hops Johnny Appleseed style?

[MrSnacks]

Has anyone planted hops guerilla style around town in places where the hops won't interfere with anything? I sort of want to take dozens of cascade cuttings around town planting them on park fences and park street lights, etc. Public places where they're not going to cause problems.

I know it's of dubious legality but it also seems like a fun public agriculture program!

 

[GenIke]

Have you thought about planting them in my yard?

 

[Yooper]

Hops are aggressive, and can definitely take over an area. I'd be hesitant to do that, as they are impossible to get rid of and will grow wild and feral. They'd be invasive in most areas of the country if planted like that.

Of course, my volunteer hours have been spent removing invasive plants from areas where they don't belong and where they outcompete native plants. I am a bit sensitive to that!

 

[MrSnacks]

That's an entirely reasonable point, Yooper, and one I hadn't thought of. That's certainly a sensitive issue here too.

 

[mabrungard]

I thought about the same approach, but after some careful contemplation, I could see that it could be a problem.

The biggest concern is that the spreading of all those hop plants makes it more likely that my hops at home will be affected by those plants through an increased likelihood that they will be pollinated and create even more male plants in my area. I found a wild hop in my neighborhood a few years ago that had nice big cones on it. When I checked the cones, they had inferior aroma and more importantly, they had seeds. That put the fear in me. There is a male somewhere!! So, I don't want to create a repository where that might happen further.

The other potential is that nearby wild hop plants might harbor some sort of infection or bug problem. Don't need that!

So, my thinking changed quite a bit. Now I'm more apt to put weed killer on a wild hop than propagate it.

 

[B-Hoppy]

So, my thinking changed quite a bit. Now I'm more apt to put weed killer on a wild hop than propagate it.

Digging is a much more effective way to remove/eradicate them. Once you get the main portion of the crown, any sprouts you missed will be like a walk in the park to control.

 

[nagmay]

Just want to point out that the idea that Johnny Appleseed planted trees at random is a bit of an apocryphal. In fact, he planted nurseries with the land owners permission. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Appleseed