Hops (Humulus lupulus) are known among beer lovers for their taste, but are also an attractive, fast-growing garden plant. Hops grow as a perennial vine, attracting butterflies to the garden and providing fresh hops for themHome brewery. If your house doesn't have a privacy fence or is adjacent to a neighboring house, you lose the sense of privacy that makes a garden feel cozy and inviting. With its 20-foot-long vines covered in thick foliage from spring to fall, the hops can provide you with privacy at the times when you're most likely to be outside. We'll explain to you now what you should pay attention to if you want to plant hops as a privacy screen!
Hops as a privacy screen in the garden
Step 1: Plant hops
Instead of growing hops from seeds, you plant a so-called rhizome.Rhizomelook like a tangle of roots, but are actually an underground stem system that carries the hop's genetic material. Hop rhizomes are usuallyin early springavailable in local stores and online home brew stores. If you know someone who already grows hops, you can also ask them for some rhizomes. You can also buy hops as young plants in pots.
Hops grow aggressively in the garden and will spread their root system and rhizomes deep and wide. Be sure to plant your hops in an area where you are not growing other plants, otherwise they could be crowded out by the hops. If in doubt, limiting it with a rhizome barrier would make sense.50 liter plant potare well suited for this purpose.
If you want to plant multiple varieties of hops, you should either use separate planters or plant the plants in the ground at least 1 meter apart. If you plant them too close together, the root systems will intertwine and it will be difficult to tell which hops are growing where.
Make sure you choose a spot in your garden thatfull sun all dayreceives. Hops do not thrive in the shade and thrive much better in a sunny location. It is also important that the soil is supplied with plenty of nutrients. Fertilizer or compost is ideal for encouraging the rhizomes when planting.
Hops need a lot of vertical space to grow. The vines can in one seasonup to 6 meters in heightgrow. There are many different methods for building trellises or using guide ropes for the hops to climb.
Step 2: Shoot tip cut (optional)
AbLate March or early AprilYou can see purple knobs sticking out of the ground where the rhizomes were planted. The hop vines will eventually develop from this. They grow very quickly, at around 20 cm per day.
The first vines to appear are calledBull drives. They are much thicker and grow faster than the later ones. You can certainly grow them on a trellis, but they don't produce as many hops as the shoots that appear later. If you are growing hops for brewing beer or want to have a denser privacy screen, you should cut them just above the ground when they are about three feet tall. This allows the plant to concentrate its energy on producing more shoots, which you can then train on the trellis.
Step 3. Pull hop vines on the trellis
After you've trimmed your shoots and the new vines have begun to sprout, it's time to pull them up your trellis. To do this, simply wrap the vinesclockwise around a ropeor a garden string (which should not be smooth as the vines need to hold onto the rope).
Step 4. Give your hops plenty of sun and water
Once your vines are a few feet long, you will notice some major growth spurts. Keep an eye on your trellis for any vines that have come loose from the rope and simply wrap them back around it. Your hops need something to climb up, otherwise they will stop growing and your yield or privacy will suffer.
Hops are a very thirsty plant. Water it either daily or every 3 days so that the soil never dries out. If you keep it in a container, make sure it has very good drainage to avoid waterlogging. In March and April you should fertilize hops with compost at least once a week.
Step 5. Cut the lower leaves from the trained vines
Once your vines are about 120 to 150 cm tall, you should cut the leaves from the ground to a height of 30 cm. These leaves are particularly inviting to insects, which could climb up and destroy your plants.
Step 6. Harvesting and pruning
Apart from watering the hops regularly, there isn't much to do in the next few months. If you see dying or yellow leaves, simply cut them off.
When it's time for theHop harvest(usually August to September, depending on the weather and hop variety), simply pick the flowers from the trellis. At this point, you can cut off the vines when it will be easier to harvest the hops.
The hops are ripe when they become papery and slightly brown at the ends of the hop cones. When you break open a hop cone, you should see lots of yellow spots where the actual flavors and aromas are located. You can use your hops to brew beer immediately!
Each year at the end of the growing season, the hops are cut back to the ground to make room for the next year's growth. ThisPruningusually takes place in late autumn. The dead shoots can be disposed of in the compost.
If you keep the plant in containers, no fall pruning is necessary. Leave the wilted stems over the winter and protect the pot from frost with foil. In February it's time to repot the hops.
Ideas for suitable climbing aids
The height your hop vines can reach plays a big role in your yield. As soon as the hop vines can no longer climb, they stop growing and die.
If you have access to your roof, laying isLacein the garden or in planters an easy way to achieve a good height. Simply tie the garden cord to a weighted object and hold it on the roof. Run the string down and attach it to your planters or to a stake next to your hops. So that the plants form a dense privacy screen, the cords should also be as close to each other as possible.
Another method that hobby gardeners have had good experiences with is the use of longwooden posts, between which garden cord runs back and forth. With 2 meter high poles you can achieve the equivalent of 5 meters in height by moving back and forth.
All types of climbing plants are suitable for thisGreening a free-standing pergola,and hops are no exception. The vines wrap around the structure's posts and then continue growing horizontally once they reach the top. The dense foliage provides natural shade for summer gatherings.
At a high oneTrellis/TrellisWhen pulled up, hops provide good privacy protection for terraces.
Hops as a privacy screen on the balcony
You can also easily plant hops in a container on a sunny balcony. The disadvantage of hops as a privacy screen is that they overwinter in their roots and only leave behind a dried stem. The good news, however, is that it grows really quickly in spring and provides optimal privacy protection in a short time. The plant can reach 2 meters in five weeks!
In onePlant box with trellis(preferably at least 180 cm high) the creeper will feel very comfortable. If a suitable bucket is already on the floor, you can attach a trellis to the balcony railing with cable ties.
Once the hops reach the top of your trellis, you can simply wait until the stems have grown long enough and then carefully bend them down and place them in a free spot in the trellis. The plant quickly takes hold and begins to climb back up. This makes your privacy screen even tighter and more beautiful!
