# Will hop vines grow downwards?



## Dave70 (19/8/13)

I plan on using some trench mesh to train the vines this year and the idea was to form it into a kind of rose arch shape. Actually, more harbor bridge profile arch than rose. 
Cant say I've ever seen it done this way before so was curious if these things will grow up and or over or do I need to plant out both ends.


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## barls (19/8/13)

mainly up mate.


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## NewtownClown (19/8/13)

Actually, hops grow on *bines*

Why not plant at the base of each side of the arch where they can grow upwards and meet at the apex


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## Bizier (19/8/13)

I was thinking of something similar, and I reckon you have to plant a few plants evenly at the base of the structure to get them to look good. I reckon same variety would help as well, because the growing habits can be pretty different, e.g. Goldings are spindly f*ckers in my experience and don't throw the same leaders that, say, US varieties do.


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## Dave70 (19/8/13)

NewtownClown said:


> Actually, hops grow on *bines*
> 
> Why not plant at the base of each side of the arch where they can grow upwards and meet at the apex


Probably will end up doing this, just would have saved splitting up the plants and digging another hole. Actually three in this case.


The _*bines *_thing is also worth paying attention to as I found out last year when I set the plants at the base of a big old Ironbark tree. The yield would have been much greater I'm sure had the plants not been expending so much energy trying to hug a tree trunk.


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## mmmyummybeer (19/8/13)

NewtownClown said:


> Actually, hops grow on *bines*
> 
> Why not plant at the base of each side of the arch where they can grow upwards and meet at the apex


Agree this is the best method. They prefer to grow up but I have noticed with mine that when they reach the top and run out of trellis to hang onto, they start to grow hanging down. So if there was nothing to climb on the other side they may hang for a little bit, but then they would just try to climb back up using themselves as trellis.


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## CosmicBertie (19/8/13)

Like most plants, they grow towards the sun. I think that because they're so fast growing (in comparison with other plants) this helps them track around objects, trellis, etc.


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## Fents (19/8/13)




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## Yob (19/8/13)

There are a few images in the hop growing threads, one fella made a gazebo type thing and another I remember had an arch type thing like pictured. (newguy maybe?)

:icon_cheers:


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## benno1973 (19/8/13)

I've read somewhere about the growing angle of hops, can't remember where now. It's something like 40 degrees or above and they will grow. I built a pergola with a 30 degree incline on the rafters with the plan of growing the hops around the rafters. The little feckers need to be trained onto the rafters each week, as they just grow straight up towards the sun.


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## Feldon (19/8/13)

You can take advantage of the hop plant's manic desire to grow upwards by using an adjustable trellis system.

Put an eye bolt in top of the stake (or barge board on roof, whatever) with long spool of twine threaded through. Hop plant climbs up the twine to the top. You then pull both the bine and the twine down together to the bottom leaving a new length of twine exposed for the plant to climb up. Repeat until season over.

Got the idea from an old BYO mag article for growing hops in pots but its also applicable for inground growing. http://byo.com/stories/item/1872-growing-hops-in-containers

Benefits include easy harvesting (no ladders) and progressive picking.

Its only the growing tips that stress out wanting to grow upwards, the more mature parts of the plant don't really seem to care too much if they are upside down.


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## punkin (20/8/13)

That's how mine is setup.


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## of mice and gods (20/8/13)

I agree with the general consensus. you will struggle for the hops to grow up one side of an archy and all the way down the other. You will struggle to do this with most plants actually. Whenever we do these for gardens we plant both sides to meet at the top in the middle. Even then we hit them with the hedgers or manually train them to keep them neat, otherwise you'll get stragglers like the second pic in yobs post.

Sure, you will get a certain amount that will hang (due to gravity) over the other side. At least for a little bit, but the meristems will always grow towards the sun.

I'd plant one on each side, or even better, one in each corner.

The upside tomato thing is a bit different. Tomato's weigh a lot more than hop strobiles hence they can pull the tomato plant down against it's will.

cheers,
Al

edit - spelling


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## matt white (20/8/13)

"meristems and strobiles".................shit!


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## of mice and gods (20/8/13)

meristems = growing points

strobiles = cones

I thought this forum was into techno-speak


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## newguy (20/8/13)

The hop will grow up first and then start to send out side shoots/feelers once it has reached the pinnacle of whatever it is climbing. The side shoots/feelers will eventually fall down under their own weight, but in my experience there is no way that you'd get a hop to climb one side of a trellis and "nicely" fall down the other side. It would look like some sort of deformed bonsai tree attended to by someone on acid.


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## Yob (20/8/13)

hows your going mate? Dog off them?


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## newguy (20/8/13)

Not so shit hot. 2 survived, both Centennial. Alive but not much more than that. Will have to buy more rhizomes next spring. Dog leaves them alone now......ironically.


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## punkin (20/8/13)

Next spring is now.

Just saying.


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## Yob (20/8/13)

He's in Canadia Punkin.. and the bastard has Centennial... Id honestly give a leftie for a Centennial


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## newguy (20/8/13)

Is Centennial available there?


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## Yob (20/8/13)

Nope.. I shall be off in the shed weeping if you need me


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## newguy (20/8/13)

....On a bed of Nelson Sauvin, Riwaka, and Motueka no doubt. You'll get no sympathy from me.


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## Yob (20/8/13)

un-frikkin-likely mate... we live in hope that one day it'll be possible though


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## newguy (20/8/13)

What I was getting at is you can actually get the cones. Much more difficult to obtain here.


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## punkin (20/8/13)

AAahhh, usually onto that, thanks Yob and apologies Newguy.

Yes Centenial is my favourite hop, i wish i could get flowers from the states.


SeeWhatYouCanDoPleaseYob


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