Hop

Hop  (Humulus)

Hop (Humulus) is a strong, fast growing climber, which is still also found in the wild. Only the female plants will produce the distinctive 'Hops', used in brewing beer. There are varieties of Hop specially selected for this purpose but others, which are better suited for the garden, grow less vigorous and have nice yellow/green foliage in spring. Most varieties of Hop need a fair bit of space. A woodland area is ideal, when planted in half shade in a humus rich soil. Add some fertiliser every spring. If Hop produces lots of new shoots in spring you can use these in some nice recipes. Hop is not really suited to grow in a pot as they want to root deeply. Plant Hop carefully and give them time to establish.