# Do bees pollinate hops



## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

Does not look like honey bees are useful for pollinating hops:









Bees in the Hop Yard - Spirited Magazine


Wild hops are a wind pollinated plant and, of the female hops planted commercially, the majority are grown from rhizomes or propagated from cuttings. Hops don’t have much to offer bees in terms of pollen or a nectar reward, so one might expect that bees would want nothing to do with Humulus...




www.spiritedbiz.com


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

Dan F said:


> wants to know do bees pollinate hops?


One of my landlords also grows hops.
She was disappointed when I told her - NO.
Hops are wind pollinated.
Though many flies and other bugs take advantage of hops pollen anyway.


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## Dan F (Jan 20, 2021)

GregV said:


> One of my landlords also grows hops.
> She was disappointed when I told her - NO.
> Hops are wind pollinated.
> Though many flies and other bugs take advantage of hops pollen anyway.


Thank you so much for your answer!🐝


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## Dan F (Jan 20, 2021)

Thank you so much for your answer!🐝


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## msubees (Jun 11, 2014)

I suspect that honey bees might go for their pollen if there are no better pollen sources. I have seen bees foraging on a weed in China in the same family _Humulus scandens, _Japanese hops). Of course bees forage on plenty other wind-pollinated plants, such as grapes, corn, rice, bamboo, grass, small leave plantain, and even the dreaded ragweed (I have photos of bees working on all those except grapes and bamboo). I do not think it has nectar, only pollen.


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## Cascade Hunter (Sep 22, 2013)

Hops are usually harvested before the flower blooms.


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

Cascade Hunter said:


> Hops are usually harvested before the flower blooms.


Are you really sure about this?

Keep in mind, the hops are either male or female.
So - only the females produce the so-called cones to be harvested (which happens in late summer when the cones already dry).

The male hops are useless for the hops producers and so are not really grown (so much for the pollen).
Anyway, this entire talk of hops pollination is kinda funny as the producers are only growing the female plants for the beer production needs.


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## Cascade Hunter (Sep 22, 2013)

Pretty sure. I'm surrender by hops farmers. They pull the vines down before the bloom. The Willamette Valley grows most of the hops used by U.S. beer brewers. And the hops festival is always a good time.


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

Cascade Hunter said:


> Pretty sure. I'm surrender by hops farmers. * They pull the vines down before the bloom.* The Willamette Valley grows most of the hops used by U.S. beer brewers. And the hops festival is always a good time.


I don't know how that works there.

Here in WI, they pull the vines down in late August/early September when all blooming is done.
They harvest the *cones; *after all the essential blooming is done and the cones are half-dry.
For sure, after the bloom, not before.


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## tracyoverstuff (Mar 24, 2020)

Hi there! Welcome, welcome.


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## Dan F (Jan 20, 2021)

Ty🐝


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