There is a very nice shrub I've seen at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum called hop bush (Dodonaea viscosa). It's a wild form, with the seeds looking essentially the same.

But are you wanting the vine, which I have seen growing in huge plantations in CA farms? The agricultural crop looks very impressive, growing in tall, vast cages.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dodonaea viscosa (Master Gardeners, UA Pima Ext. page)

Welcome!
Don't know a dang thing about hops, but we have a great list of books that are for gardening in Arizona. We have such a diverse climate and planting times here are just not like about anyplace else.... I've included the link to our FAQ page for the list of books..

Susie

Here is a link that might be useful: AZ Gardenweb FAQ page

By coincidence, there is an article on hop bush in the Home Section of the Tucson morning paper today.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hopbush a dependable, evergreen native plant

Thanks for posting that article. It does say you can use the fruit for beer making.

On another note, hopbush was suggested to me for use as a hedge to cover an ugly fence line. Is anyone growing this bush and if so can you tell me how you like it? Or don't like it as the case may be.

Thanks,
Mary

Dodonaea viscosa makes a great hedge in our area. It is an Arizona native. I have removed most of my Oleanders, and replaced them with this Hopbush. I put in some of the purple variety, "Purpurea", but have heard they don't do very well here. This plant is not the one that produces hops.

Is this the same hops that are used to make some of our favorite beverages or is this another plant altogther with only a similar namesake?

Hops should grow well here, depending on the variety.

I used to make my own beer, and as far as hops, I had the choice of pellets of concentrated hops or freeze dried hops (never fresh), and they worked quite well.

I found the Szaz hops from the Czech region were great for pilsners. When you boil your wort (beer fixings) and add the hops, its a wonderful smell. Hops are what give beer its bitterness and fragrance.

From the article linked in a previous post above:

"The common name hopbush, by the way, refers to the fact that those papery, winged fruit were used as a substitute for hops in making beer."