Common Hop

The plant from which modern cultivars for flavouring beer were developed, Humulus lupulus is a vigorous, twining, dioecious ( Male / Female on separate plants) herbaceous perennial climber, not native to Ireland. The attractive leaves are deeply divided into 3-5 lobes, rather like a vine leaf in appearance, with a rough surface and toothed edges.  The yellowish-green male and female flowers are borne on different plants, appearing from July to September. Male flowers grow in a branching group, while female flowers are cone-shaped, ripening from light green to brown, producing a resinous, yellow powder with a distinctive yeasty, apple-like scent – the hops. Lovely grown through a fruiting hedge, and the hops can be used to flavour and preserve your home-brewed beer. The plant is good for wildlife, but hops are toxic to dogs. It is the larval food-plant of the comma butterfly. Cut back to ground level in spring. These plants are unsexed.

Site: Sheltered
Soil: Well-drained, moist, acid to neutral soil
Position: Full sun
Season of interest: Spring to autumn
Hardiness: Fully hardy
Height: 20’ (6m) Spread: 20’ (6m)

Photo taken by Luc T. and licensed under CC BY 2.0.