Germinating Hop Seeds

[hupnupnee]

Has anyone ever tried germinating the seeds that you find in the Hops Plugs?
Was it successful


Cheers

Tim

 

[RobW]

I was talking to my local HBS guy about this last week & the consensus was that you probably could raise the seeds but because they are hybrids they won't stay true to the parent plant - you need a vegetative form of propagation. That said you can't dismiss the possibility that you might breed the next big thing in hops - but don't hold your breath

 

[timmy]

I was talking to my local HBS guy about this last week & the consensus was that you probably could raise the seeds but because they are hybrids they won't stay true to the parent plant - you need a vegetative form of propagation. That said you can't dismiss the possibility that you might breed the next big thing in hops - but don't hold your breath

Hybrids? Surely not all hops in production are hybrids?

 

[RobW]

I was talking to my local HBS guy about this last week & the consensus was that you probably could raise the seeds but because they are hybrids they won't stay true to the parent plant - you need a vegetative form of propagation. That said you can't dismiss the possibility that you might breed the next big thing in hops - but don't hold your breath

Hybrids? Surely not all hops in production are hybrids?

Couldn't say, but they all seem to be propagated from rhizomes so using seeds obviously isn't a viable option.

 

[pb unleaded]

Few years ago I bought a bag of hop seeds on Ebay from USA. Now I have about 5-6 well established plants from those seeds. The name and alpha % are unknown and I haven't yet brewed with them.
I also once propagated hops from seeds of POR flowers. The plants produced cones, however they hadn't fully matured so I never had a chance to use these.
It is definately possible to grow from seeds.

arthur

 

[timmy]

Thinking back to a teaching from Dr Karl Kruszelnicki. Assexual breeding ensures the plant won't mutate, the disadvantage is that the plant won't develop resistance to particular diseases.

Sexual breeding will allow a plant to mutate or adapt to its ever changing envirnoment. The problem is, the useful properties also change.

There are some species of bananas already extinct because they were overcome by a fungus they couldn't resist because they reproduce assexually.

 

[Ash in Perth]

Female hop plants grow the flowers. these are usually kept by themselves with no male plants nearby. this means that most hop seeds you find will be unfertilized. I think some english varieties are grown with males nearby.

I may be wrong, but this is what i have read.

 

[Darren]

Ash,
That is right. And anyone who has a male hop plant near to a hop farm is probably bordering on near death.
A fertilised plant puts all its energy into making seeds rather than oils.
Probably 50% of seeds are male!!

Anyone remember Cincimella (sp)?

cheers

Darren

 

[Mr Bond]

Sow em and see what sort of result ensues.
even if you do get germination it may be a weaker less disease/pest resistant strain,or even a cross pollinated hybrid.
either way it will not be the exact variety that you have used.propagation from rhizomes or even tissue culture is the only way of truly cloning the exact same variety.
Try it just for fun anyway.

 

[Chatty]

If the seeds are fertilised and viable then they will possess a different genetic pattern to the female plant from which they came. Kind of like why I don't look like my mummy or my daddy . Hence, they are quite unlikely to possess the same traits as the plant from which the seeds came from. Kid of like my mum likes quilting and the old man loves golf and I couldn't give a toss about either.

Try them though, the hops produced from the plants raised from seeds could be usable but if they're male i'd keep them the hell away from any vines you want to actually produce hops.

Chatty

 

[MVZOOM]

I always thoyught that hops were very closely related to another, fairly popular recreational plant source product, oft used to make rope and cloth. h34r:

One would imagine that the same methods of propogation would apply. There would be many references to home grown 'hops' and other such plants on the internerd?

Cheers - Mike

 

[Weizguy]

New varieties, such as Amarillo, are created through pollination of female hops, and a whole lot of mass planting and selection. Luther Burbank did similar things with potatoes, IIRC.
Without a full genetic/ breeding lesson, it's hard to explain the combinations of hops genes and the resultant possibilities in the next generation. Suffice it to say that there will be a lot of variation in the next generation and you may be lucky enough to find a superior variety.
However, if you want production (i.e. hop weight and consistent flavour/bitterness) you should stick to the clones (cuttings or rhizomes).

Some English hops were traditionally cultivated with seeds, but like their cousin, Cannabis, the seedless product contains more usable product per weight of flowers, which is perceived as better value in the market.

Darren, I think you were looking for the Spanish word sinsemilla. The prefix "sin" means "without", and "semilla" (pronounced sem-ee-yah) is "seed". Consemilla, on the other hand, is "with seed". This is not specific to any particular plant type, but was adopted widely for the illicit weed.

So, I read a lot.
Seth

 

[Mr Bond]

New varieties, such as Amarillo, are created through pollination of female hops, and a whole lot of mass planting and selection. Luther Burbank did similar things with potatoes, IIRC.
Without a full genetic/ breeding lesson, it's hard to explain the combinations of hops genes and the resultant possibilities in the next generation. Suffice it to say that there will be a lot of variation in the next generation and you may be lucky enough to find a superior variety.
However, if you want production (i.e. hop weight and consistent flavour/bitterness) you should stick to the clones (cuttings or rhizomes).

Some English hops were traditionally cultivated with seeds, but like their cousin, Cannabis, the seedless product contains more usable product per weight of flowers, which is perceived as better value in the market.

Darren, I think you were looking for the Spanish word sinsemilla. The prefix "sin" means "without", and "semilla" (pronounced sem-ee-yah) is "seed". Consemilla, on the other hand, is "with seed". This is not specific to any particular plant type, but was adopted widely for the illicit weed.

So, I read a lot.
Seth

Totally concur!
So, I smoke a lot

 

[sinkas]

One potential with seed raising is "Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands" the seeds genetics will adjust best to it growing environment, hopefully making it the most effective palnt for your growing environment.