Pruning Hop
When and how — Humulus lupulus
Prune your hop in February and November — the optimal month is usually November.
The next pruning window is November.
When to prune?
The climber hop is pruned in February and November.
Climber pruning is about structure and keeping space against the support.
Pruning climbers does two things: keeps the plant on its support and lets light and air through. Timing depends heavily on species, and flowering season points the way. Spring-flowering clematis (Group 1, e.g. Clematis montana) is pruned immediately after flowering in May or June; summer-flowering clematis (Group 3, e.g. Clematis viticella) is cut back hard to 30 cm in March. Climbing roses are thinned in February, keeping the horizontally-trained main stems and shortening side-shoots to two or three buds. Wisteria needs two prunings a year (July and winter) — without them it simply won't flower.
How to prune hop
Hop pruning is straightforward but essential for healthy, productive plants. The main pruning happens in late autumn (November) or late winter (February). In November, once the foliage has been blackened by frost and the cones harvested, cut all the bines down to ground level, removing the entire season's growth. This prevents overwintering of pests and diseases and tidies the plant for winter. Alternatively, leave this job until February if you prefer the dried stems for winter interest or wildlife habitat, but complete the cut-back before new shoots emerge in early spring. Use sharp secateurs or loppers for thinner stems and a pruning saw for older, woodier bines. The stems can be tough and fibrous, so take care when pulling them down from supports—untangle carefully or cut into manageable sections. Dispose of or compost the old growth; if disease has been present, bin it rather than composting. In February, tidy the crown by removing any dead or damaged material and clearing away old mulch and debris to expose fresh soil. Hops also benefit from thinning in late spring. When the new bines reach 30–60 cm tall (usually May), select the three to six strongest shoots per plant and pinch or cut out the rest at ground level. This concentrates the plant's energy into fewer, more vigorous bines that will climb higher and produce better cones. Throughout summer, trim back any wayward side-shoots if the plant is encroaching where it shouldn't, but avoid heavy pruning during the growing season.
Common mistakes
✗ Skipping the July prune on wisteria
Wisteria flowers freely only if you cut the long whippy shoots back to 5–6 buds from the main framework in July. Skip it and you get plenty of leaf and almost no bloom.
✗ Pruning all clematis the same way
Clematis are divided into Group 1, 2 or 3 — each pruned differently. Group 1 not at all (flowers on old wood), Group 2 lightly in February, Group 3 hard in March. Always check the group before you reach for the secateurs.
✗ Letting climbing roses grow vertically
A climbing rose trained horizontally flowers along its entire length. Trained vertically it only flowers at the top. Plan this from planting time with your support.
Hold off on pruning
Better to wait than prune at the wrong moment. The next optimal window is November. Until then: leave the plant alone — only remove dead or diseased wood (which you can do year-round).
