Have I found hops?

[NOZ]

could anyone tell me of these are hops?
Ive found a few plants here and there that resemble hops but most of what I found have been growing in peoples gardens.

whilst driving last week I discovered these! A full fence covered in them at the side of the road!

If they are hops there seems to be no cones or any type of flowers that I can make out.
How far off producing cones are uk hops at the moment and should I see signs of growth?

Thanks in advance,

Noz.

[scuppeteer]

Although the photo is not very clear, I would say they are clematis. Although a hop bine when quite old will no longer produce flowers, the leaves are always distinctive and not like these. Five pointed maybe but always one leaf, this plant has individual leaves. The larger leaves to the left look more like a maple. Sorry.

[NOZ]

Ahhhh, gutted!

Looking at some pictures of clematis on google - I would agree!
So my hunt continues - I saw something hop like growing in a pub car park a few days ago - I may revisit to double check.
Ive become quite obsessive trying to find wild hops - so the search continues.

Thanks for the response scuppeteer - much appreciated.

[timmydog]

There's a wild hop plant near me, but I suspect it's an escapee.

I opted to buy one instead of taking a cutting so I could count on it having good flavour, etc and bought a prima donna (aka first gold). I've given 2 cuttings away and planted one in a hedge so far, but intend to have more plants out there if I can.

Where do you live? If you're near York I could start another cutting, but not for a while because my plant had just started flowing and I don't want to disturb it.

[NOZ]

Cheers Timmydog!
I live in Stockport, I was thinking of buying a few hop plants in 2 litre pots that ive seen recently - they had fuggle, cascade etc ready to ship now - so they must be established bines I would have thought?

I would happily accept a cutting of your plant when ready in exchange for some beers!

[timmydog]

Ah yes, well it's only on its 2nd year and is flowering for the first time, so I can take cuttings after the harvest that can be kept on a sunny windowsill over winter or failing that will have to wait until spring. I don't know how they'll do in the post...

[timmydog]

ps I'll try and remember to let you know how I get on...

[scuppeteer]

You don't take cuttings post harvest. They are out of sync with daylight hours so are very unlikely to survive. I grew some seedlings once, post harvest, and they grew lovely until November when they promptly died. Root stock will fair better but not a cutting. Many growers will plant out new sets at the end of October to give them a head start but these already have an established root system.