What cool things have you added this spring?

it is amazingly vigourous. glad you got the female!

Thanks - hopefully they don't take over! I am planting them as the directions state but I will still need to put some sort of trellis up so they don't pull my fence down.

Can you tell me a little more about your hops - such as how fast they grew from a little rhizome. Do they attract tons of bee's? How often you had to trim them back?

OK.. I have to ask...

Do you have to have both a female and a male hops plant for some reason?


Ginger

Judi, Silver Star Vinery usually has a booth at the Clark Co Home & Garden Idea Fair, which this year is April 24-26 at the Clark Co fairgrounds. You could always send her an email to double-check if she'll be there so you could pick one up in person. :)

Email Deb at Silver Star - she will give you the lots of invaluable information.
Better yet, go to the website & buy several - these Clems are fantastic with ultra-healthy root systems. I have about 20 of hers & plan to order more. But i do need more fence......

Good idea Susyb! Where is the Clark Co Fairgrounds?

Here is what the site said about the hops I bought. Based on this information I am assuming you only need a female plant...I would be interested to know as well since I have room for another plant in need be....

"Hops are unisexual, only the female hops produce the flowers used in brewing. All rhizomes we offer are female. As the female flower matures, they form cone-like structures. The mature cones are 1 to 3 inches long, yellowish green and papery to the touch. They are generally harvested in August and September dried and used for brewing, medicinal or ornamental uses. "

Katie I love Silver Star Vinery! I wish I was incredibly flush with cash, I'd buy a bunch of them.
HOPS!!! I have gazillions of hop vines, on the pasture fence, up a few trees, over the chicken house fence, all through the compost pile etc. I always have lots of hops. I'd be glad to send you a runner ClematisGuru. We have a man who comes and harvests them for home brew every year.

HUmmm That is interesting..God usually makes male & female for a reason.....

We must find out!!!! We must know!!!!

I mean he did give us hops and grapes thus reminding us how much we are loved :)

Ginger

I had never even considered hops as a garden plant, but I bet it would make a really cool screen plant! I had never even seen one growing until DH and I took a motorcycle trip through the east side of the state on some back highways, and I saw all of these really strange tall viney things in an orchard. I had absolutely no idea what they were, and I am pretty good at naming most crops that grow in our area. Lo and behold they were hops.

Judy, go north on I-5, cross that really big river, go north until exit 9, 179th St.. Just before you get to the exit you'll see the reader signs for Clark Co Amphitheatre and Event Center to your left (West). When you exit, turn left (West) and follow the signs to the parking lot. The fair is free, parking is $5.

However, I looked up the vendor list and I don't see her listed this year. Could be the list isn't current, or she's not attending. So, I think emailing would be a good idea. You might be able to make other arrangements to pick one up from her without paying for shipping. Her plants really are very, very nice-much larger than what you'll see at lots of general nurseries.

Linda - my Darmera is coming up. I'm so excited. How much sun does yours get?

Kathy, when are we going to see a garden tour of your yard? It sure sounds like you've got some interesting stuff growing.

OK.. so I did a little more research on buying hops vines... Seems the home brew people recommended getting your hops rhizomes from the home brew stores that sell them. (go figure) I checked up on this and they do seem to know them MUCH better...For instance Henry's sells."Hops Vine" No real idea of what KIND....Jung has 2 kinds available.

Keystone Homebrew

http://www.keystonehomebrew.com/

has 14 varieties 2 of which are sold out...and a great info page on growing them.

http://www.keystonehomebrew.com/index.cfm?pgid=events#target842

Their prices are very good too. I saw them ranging from $9.95 to $5.95 on garden sites and they are $4.50 here.

I'm gonna get me some!!

Ginger

I think because brewers harvest the hop flowers the female is what is used.

From BeerandHealth.com ( I think this may be a little on the joking side)
"Once the hop plant is fully grown (late June, early July), it begins to flower. After about a month the female flowers develop into the hop “cones”, while the male flowers simply wither away. It is legally forbidden to grow male and female hop plants together in the same field, because fertilized hops are of inferior brewing quality. The presence of fats and oils in the seeds prevents flocculation, and the beer cannot keep its froth."

So unless you want them to produce seeds - male plants are not desirable...to brewers. I am sure the female hop plants believe the males are very important!

Ginger, I got mine from Landsystems when I worked there. Call Eastside and see if they have them. Landsystems are spendy. These are 5 yrs old and they looked pretty much like that the first yr.

Susan105

"The presence of fats and oils in the seeds prevents flocculation"

Oh no.. we wouldn't want to prevent flocculation.....

Well.. maybe in the workplace.

Ginger

BTW-since this thread is called"What cool things have you added this spring?", I purchased 72 Gladiola bulbs that I'm going to plant next week. I already have a spot picked out where I'm going to dig up the sod and plant the Glads. Sounds crazy, but when I get them all planted I will be eager for Fall. I planted Iris last Fall, can't wait for them to come up and I have some Hollyhocks coming later this month. Ahhh, the anticipation of color.

Susan105

Ginger, you're too funny!

Susan105

If you plant gladiola bulbs now when do they bloom?

Judi, in the Fall, around Sept-Oct.

I'm late in reading these posts, but thought a couple of you would find this picture interesting. We have a "Twisty Baby" in a bed in our front yard, and a couple more in other beds around the house. In this bed there is also a Larix "Diana" (the large tree on the right just beginning to "leaf" out), and a Harry Lauder's Walking Stick on the left. We, too, are great fans of contorted things. Our contorted quince is looking mahvelous at the moment. What a beautiful time of year! (and it's supposed to be 80 here next Monday? Can hardly wait!)

Well, if I ever get the in-betweens cleaned up, I'll give you all a tour. It's pretty hodge-podge these days. I'm taking down some trees and have to burn them, so I have piles going everywhere and nothing is really up yet,.

Judi - acidanthera *syn. gladiolus callianthus) is one of my favorites. I planted bulbs in June last year and got flowers in August. I just bought more to put elsewhere in the yard.

http://www.easytogrowbulbs.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=458&gclid=CNuY69338JkCFR1N5QodUhCGQw

About Hops.... I am sure glad for The Garden Watchdog.

I was searching for a place to buy Hops and the first one that came up (Gurney's Seed & Nursery) has HORRIBLE reviews. Even the long time customers have had it.

Might have saved me a lot of grief!

Ginger

billr, get looking trees!

Ginger, try Eastside Gardens. They would have what you're looking for. Chester only ofers plants that do well in this area.

Susan105

I am not allowed over there right now. My husband is afraid I'll come home with that 25 ft Thunderchild Flowering Plum and some hot fellas to plant it for me.....


Really I love the place.. will go look for hops. So much better to buy local.

Oh le vache.. I see sun in Eugene.... that won't last long...... nope........ there it goes.

Ginger

Ginger, ROFLMBO!!!

I know how you feel, every time we go into Lowe's and I even look at another plant DH always says c'mon Sue, in that you've got enough plants tone.

Susan105

This message was edited Apr 14, 2009 11:53 AM

Yep. and the Madras livestock auction is totally off limits now....

Went for a nice old mare I could ride through the forest....Came home with a 9 mo old wild stud colt with horrible feet.

Went for a lamb to raise to eat..... Came home with a LaMancha doe that was in with the meat goats and asked me to rescue her.....

Went again for a lamb....came home with 2 five day old nubian wethers that had to be bottle fed.

Went for a Tennessee Walker....Came home with two mini donkeys that were going to go to the meat man.

You get the picture....

Ginger

Ginger, you're a riot! You sound alot like something I would do. Always took animals (cattle) to COLA but never went to buy, maybe that's a good thing!!!

Susan105

This message was edited Apr 14, 2009 12:07 PM

beadmom, love your attitude.

billr, what a beautiful display of trees and shrubs.

Sadly that colt had to go back after a year we learned that his feet/legs were too damaged to support him as a mature adult and he was a nutcase....but he had a chance and a nice home for a year....


My husband has that same tone at Lowes too.........but they see me coming and head him off with lawn tractor news :)

Ginger

OMG!!!! You're giving me a stomach ache from laughing!

This message was edited Apr 14, 2009 12:10 PM

Yeah.. I think I am moving to billr's but I really like Susan's arbor and she is closer....


Ginger

beadmom-
I know it's a bit dicier to grow some of these things in your area. My wife's sister and family live in Bend, and over the years we have figured out which plants they can take from our yard that will work. But it hasn't been easy! We have numerous flower beds (large - live in 5 acres), so have lots of stuff to choose from. Actually we've been rather surprised at some of the stuff that has made it through your winters. You surely do live in a beautiful area, but boy do I love the stuff we can grow here. ;)

One time when we were visiting my daughter and family in Del Rio, Texas, we went to the "home" of Judge Roy Bean, out in the middle of nowhere. I've got to say, whoever did the gardens around that old saloon was good - absolutely spectacular, with all sorts of cacti, agaves, etc. If I can find a picture, I'll put one up. You could do some of that stuff, but we'd never get away with it here.

Here is one of many gardens on the Judge Roy Bean complex near the Mexican border not far from Del Rio. We couldn't get away with most of that stuff in my area, but it surely was beautiful. While your cold weather may make lots of it impossible for you, too, I'm sure there is some of it that would work.

billr, you're not far from our DD, she lives in Vancouver.

Yah, some cactus can survive here, we have to stop watering it totally in August.

It's supposed to be gorgeous here this weekend. Yes, Battle Ground pretty much is Vancouver. What part of Vancouver do they live in?

NE 87th St. Just across from Walgreens. We're going to be up there this weekend. The GK's have softball and baseball games Sat morning.

This message was edited Apr 14, 2009 1:24 PM

This message was edited Apr 14, 2009 1:25 PM

Beautiful bed, Billr. I love the contorted look also.

Bill, That looks like my grandma's. She has wonderful desert landscape. Sometimes augmented by quail, bunnies, coyotes and bobcats.

She lives out north of Palm Springs in the High Desert.

I have some pictures. I'll find them.

Ginger