[stinoi]

Hi all!

I'm planning to begin growing hops next year and am trying to decide whether to grow them on a trellis or stretch strings from the ground to below the overhang of the 2nd floor of my home.  Since I don't want to build a 15-20' trellis (thinking ahead for years 2+, I know they don't usually get that high year 1), the strings up to the 2nd floor seem like a good idea, especially since the rear of my home is also south facing.  My only concern would be if, like other climbing vines, hops will cling to and damage siding.  Has anyone had problems with this?

Also, since I live in Kansas, temperatures can range up to about 110 and are frequently above 100 during the summer.  What hops would people recommend in this climate?

Thanks!

[tschmidlin]

From my experience, they will climb the string and not really cling to the walls unless there is something they can wrap around, although they may worm under some siding if there is a big enough gap.  They die back every year and I never had too many problems pulling them off of structures they had clung too.

My advice for your climate - cascades seem to do well in many places.  And plant them somewhere where they will only get morning sun and be at least partly shaded for the rest of the day.  And water them a lot.

[BrewArk]

Hops die off every year.  I'd recommend strings.  They are much easier to take down in the late fall.  When the plant dies back, you can just cut & discard the twine instead of unwinding the bine off the trellis.  I have a sidewalk next to the house & plant the hops next to that and string them up to the roof from there.  You want them far enough away from the side of the house to get some air movement even after they fill in.  I'd say 3-4 feet minimum.

Most people I know have had the best luck (highest yield) with Cascade.

[hopfenundmalz]

They need something to wrap around as they climb.  There are many pictures on the net of hops going up twine to a soffit of a house.  Never heard of any problems.   A friend has hops that climb 20+ ft to his soffit, then the turn and grow down a little.

Varieties that might do well; Cascade, Centenial, Chinook, Nugget, Mt Hood and Crystal.  Sierra Nevada grows hops in Chico Ca and that gets to 100+ often.  They grow the first three C's on the list for the most part. 

Hops can take up 10 to 15 gallons a day of water, according to the Gorst Valley Hops guys at the NHC.  They have a high nitrogen requirement too.

[jwaldner]

We use a rough twine to our second floor and the do just fine.

Sometimes you'll get a rougue bine or two but I just redirect it to the twine and away it goes. We've been doing it this way for a few years and haven't seen any damage.

Whatever variety you grow, water them frequently or plant them near an automatic sprinkler head (spray type/irrigation type) because they need plenty of water to flourish.

Cheers,

Jay

[Steve]

I can't comment on the hop variety to grow with your 100+ºF temperatures since I'm way north of you in MA, but I would be concerned about the hops becoming to dry with the amount of heat energy reflecting off the south side of your house, especially if it's painted, aluminum or vinyl siding.  Most hops (but not all) need the full day's sun, but also like the other side shaded. With the reflected energy off the siding, the whole plant gets too much sun and may burn.  Your inclination then may be to water the hops more to prevent the burning, but hops shouldn't be over watered especially on the leaves.  I somewhat disagree with others by saying whatever normal rain you get should be enough or at least water them to the average amount of rain you should get.  I've also found that hops like to have the breeze blowing through them. This helps regulate its temperature and along with ground watering will help prevent leaf diseases.

As far as the siding being ruined goes, hops are Bines rather than Vines.  Vines grow by tendrils, which wrap around structures (like grape vines), or suckers that attach to the things (like English ivy).  Tendrils can get underneath clapboards, shingles or vinyl siding, looking for the nails to wrap onto, pulling the siding away from the sheathing underneath and those little suckers are like barnacles that can be hard to scrape off your siding.

As stated by others, hops grow upwards counterclockwise - following the movement of the sun - up strings or other supports such as trellises - using little hairs on the stalk to assist in the climb. The clockwise growth also regulates the amount of sun each part of the plant gets during the day.  The hairs do no damage. They don't wrap or stick. They're like fingers holding onto rocks walls.

I would try the strings rather than the trellis because: 1) it would be easier to cut the hops down at harvest time, rather than having to pull the bines out from the trellis.  2) it will allow more air flow between the house and the plant.  3) keep the strings as far away from the house as possible to reduce the heat reflected by the siding.

Give string a try. Go forth and grow your hops!

[weithman5]

i use strings. plant the base of the hops 3 or so feet from the house and they will stay on the string.   i anchor the strings to 4x4 on the ground in front of the plants

[stinoi]

Thanks everyone for the help and advice!  Looking forward to some good hops next year and a lot more in the years that follow!

[ipaisay]

I have two different "Hop Farms" one of which is a traditional hop trellis and the other is along the south wall of my sided garage.  I string the hops on the sided garage to the gutter.  I just keep the hop bines down to 4-5 at most to keep from pulling too much on my gutter. 

Just watch for wind.  Sometimes they get a serious wind kick bounce off of the wall of my garage.  Even though my hops are about 12-16" (you want some airflow all the way around the hop bine) from the actually garage wall.

Water them very often for they may not get as much water being that close to a building structure.