Hops question

[Rats]

I know that when the season is over you have to cut them back and protect them for the winter.
My question is if you have it in a pot as an ornament do you need to cut it back as well or can you keep it going all year round?

[Tom]

Everything above ground will die back by around November anyway, so you might as well cut it back, though the longer you leave it, the better it's store of carbohdrates for next year.

[Rats]

I want to keep a cutting indoors and use it as a ornament plant.

[Tom]

You can cut the bine and dry them out in an airy room, and use them as a hop garland
http://www.essentiallyhops.co.uk/acatalog/Dried_Hop_Garlands.html if that's the case, but it will be dead. Maybe someone's tried to keep a hop evergreen, but I'm sceptical.

They start to think about flowering once the days get shorter, so unless you can halt that with artificial light... try it though, and let us know.

[Rats]

Want to give a cutting to a friend that opened a micro brewery. He's planing on doing tours and I thought it would be nice if he can show the people what a hop plant look like.

[Tom]

Ok, I get you.

Well, I haven't tried it, and you'd probably be best with a dwarf hop (First Gold or Gimmli) in order to keep it sensible. I'm not sure how the HSE would feel about live plants in a food setting, mind. You could try Humulus Japonicus, which is an actual ornamental hop. That might be evergreen (although it doesn't much look like a hop).

But unless the plant can be tricked into thinking it's still autumn, I doubt you'll have a year-round hop plant to show.

So, who's the lucky brewer?

[Rats]

Tx for the info. Will look at different varieties.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Boyne-Valley-Brewery-Ltd/520040968029646?fref=ts