I'm also curious to know how well they'd grow in MD. I went on vacation to a B&B near Seattle a few years back and they had hops growing on a trellis. They smelled great when the sun hit them, and I even picked a few and ate them (very, very, very bitter!). Wouldn't mind having some in the yard, and would definitely use them for homebrewing purposes. But I wouldn't know where to get them, or what kind to buy.

Last year I grew a Cascade and Chinook vines on my house in Hamilton. The Cascade took over the side porch and stopped growing at about 30', and it produced a ton of cones. Beautiful plant, definitely wife-friendly, and it made lots of shade too. The chinook was a little on the weak side. They say hops won't grow well the first year because it's establishing a decent root system, the 2nd year it will go nuts apparently, so I'm expecting the Chinook to do better this year.
I've already used some in homebrews and sent a bunch to friends. I suggest putting your order in now, the rhizome stock goes quick I've been told. Order direct from a hops farm, they'll have specific varieties and info.
NOTE: Lot's of sun, lots of water, and slugbait the heck out the surrounding area, they absolutely loved it.

Ryan they would definitely grow you can find them at your local homebrew shop in just over a month (late March to early May is usual planting season). If you have a friend who homebrews they can put them to use I am sure and follow Hamsters advice for growing.

This year when I was putting together an order for my garden I noticed that Henry Fields offered a hops vine for sale, and bought it on a whim. Seems like Maryland is a pretty good zone for it (I live on the Eastern Shore, actually), and when I read up on it, it seems it grows like a weed and could take over your whole yard if not kept in check. I guess I'll find out in a few months whether or not it works out.

Awesome. Hamster, I also live in Hamilton, so good to hear they'll grow well there.

Wonder if Maryland Homebrew in Columbia will have them for sale?

Rachel, I hope they do take over my whole yard. It'd be better than the weeds I have growing there now!!!

My son grows his own hops up the side of his house in Ann Arbor, MI. They grow right up strings, and look good too.

You should all totally try it, hops is stupid-easy to grow. It won't so much take over the yard as it will a tree or telephone pole, which looks nice but it will be impossible to harvest. Throw a rope out of a second story window or around that old TV antenna and let it grow up that. Then you can let the rope down and harvest the ripe cones. If you have a gutter downspout you can plant it next to, it should go absolutely crazy, mine grew about 8-10" a day and I was drowning it with the hose every night.

MDHB might have it, I ordered mine from hopsdirect.com, great selection. I got nice big rhizome crowns with multiple shoots. The Gurneys/HenryFields "Hops" is bogus, all I got was an $8 twig and they did't specify what type of hops it was, it didn't even grow.

good luck!

Hops should grow just fine in Maryland. Eight bucks for a rhizome seems a bit steep; there is a possibility that we will be giving away free rhizomes again this year. I donated over 50 last year to my 'Grow-Hops' group. If anyone is interested in lots of info, including trellis designs, etc., we currently have 2,644 members, and the group is primarily about growing hops; many members have a lot of experience. If interested, visit my website.

Cheers.

Bill Velek