Hop sidearms

One of the most noticeable features of hop bines may be their excessive vertical growth, but it is actually their lateral sidearms which extend horizontally from the main bine that are most important.  It is on these sidearms, which are easily identified on the single bine in the picture above, that the actual hop flowers and corresponding cones will grow.  When the sunlight hours are nearing their peak duration during the growing season, the hop plant will start to put less energy into its vertical growth and will prioritize on the development of its sidearms and horizontal growth.