Did you know that people in most parts of the country can grow kiwi vines? Most people think that kiwis are tropical fruits, and you never see kiwi orchards around. However, kiwi is not nearly as tropical as you might think. There are two different types of kiwi commonly grown, hardy kiwi, and fuzzy kiwis.
Those of you in zone 7 and above can potentially grow fuzzy kiwi (like those sold in the grocery store). Gardeners in both northern and southern portions of the United States can grow hardy kiwis, also called kiwi berries. Hardy kiwi plants produce slightly larger than grape sized miniature kiwis. These kiwis can be eaten whole and are green, smooth skinned, extremely sweet, and are perfect for snacking.
Kiwis are grown on twining woody vines. Hardy kiwi plants in particular can be quite ornamental and are sometimes grown purely for their ornamental characteristics. Kiwi vines are large and grow rapidly making them perfect for covering a pergola or arbor as they will quickly fill in to give you shade.
Hardy Kiwi
First we are going to take a look at hardy kiwi.
There are two species of cold hardy kiwi, or kiwi berries, commonly grown. The hardy kiwi, Actinidia arguta, and the Arctic kiwi, Actinidia kolomikta. Arguta type hardy kiwis are most commonly grown for their fruit. There are many many different arguta varieties, with Anna being one of the most common. Hardy kiwi vines have bright, glossy green leaves, and reddish wood. In the spring the plant will be covered in pretty white blossoms, that will be replaced by hundreds of little kiwi fruits if they get pollinated. Kiwi fruit size up quickly in the spring, but do not ripen until late summer or fall.
Arctic kiwi vines are the most cold hardy kiwis.
They are generally considered inferior to Actinidia arguta in terms of their fruit, yet they are still capable of producing tasty slightly smaller fruits. However, this vine is even more ornamental than hardy kiwis. It brings some pretty amazing pink and white variegated foliage to the table. These vines are often grown as ornamentals rather than for production. If you are interested in growing Arctic kiwi exclusively for its ornamental value, choose male cultivars as they have the most variegated foliage. If you want fruit you will need both a male and a female though the females have less showy foliage.
Fuzzy Kiwi
If you live in warmer portions of the United States, you are fortunate enough to be able to grow fuzzy kiwis. Fuzzy kiwi vines look much different than their hardy relatives. Fuzzy kiwis have large, almost round leaves, that can be as large as a dinner plate. Plus, the young vines are fuzzy. Fuzzy kiwi vines are larger, and somewhat less ornamental than hardy kiwi vines. However, they usually reach fruiting age more quickly than hardy kiwis. And of course they produce the large kiwi fruit we are all familiar with.
Fuzzy kiwi plants, and cultivar information is much more difficult to find than it is for hardy kiwis. Hayward is the most commonly grown fuzzy kiwi. However, it is important to note that unless you live somewhere like California, it is probably not the best choice. Fuzzy kiwi require a very long growing season to be able to ripen their fruit. Varieties like Hayward are typically unable to finish ripening before frost in cooler zone 7. Additionally, it can be prone to having the stems crack in fluctuating spring temperatures which will cause the stem to die. Thus, a variety developed in Canada, Saanichton, is probably a better choice than Hayward for most east coast growers.
If you are in the deep south, you will have enough season length to ripen the fuzzy kiwis, but you start to run into trouble with insufficient chilling with varieties such as Hayward. Hayward has high chilling requirements, and will fruit poorly without sufficient chilling. For those of you with low numbers of chilling hours, you will need to look for a low chill variety like Vincent.
Kiwi culture
In our experience, kiwi vines are relatively self-sufficient and care free once they get established. They like a nice sunny location and require well-drained soil. They are not tolerant of sitting with wet feet. In our experience, they are virtually unbothered by pests and diseases meaning they are a perfect choice for an organic garden.
One thing you should keep in mind when planting kiwi is that younger, smaller vines are less cold hardy than older vines, and are particularly susceptible to dying over the winter. You should protect young vines over the winter for a year or two until they can get established and develop some size.
It is also a good idea to locate the vines in an area that doesn’t get blasted with south sun in the winter as this can make the plants more prone to getting winter injury. One of the biggest problems with kiwi vines is that they can break dormancy too early in the spring and get freeze damage. Keeping the trunk cooler can help prevent this problem.
Equally as important as location is the trellis.
As we mentioned before, kiwi plants are large woody vines. They require a large, sturdy trellis such as a T-trellis or a pergola to grow on. If you are growing them for fruit your trellis is particularly important. A good trellis will facilitate easy pruning and fruit harvesting.
In addition to a good trellis, kiwi vines will require yearly pruning. Most likely you will also need to do some occasional summer pruning as well. They are not a plant that you can skip the pruning or they will quickly become overgrown. It is a good idea to make sure you are willing to commit to an annual pruning before planting a kiwi vine. Don’t let a fear of trellising or pruning deter you, we will discuss these topics in other articles.
Most importantly, fruit production requires 2 vines
You need at least 2 vines to get fruit, a male and a female. While there are a few self-fertile or semi-self fertile kiwi varieties available, most kiwi vines are either male or female, and without one of each you will not get fruit. Even the ‘self-fertile’ varieties typically benefit from having pollination partners. They will have improved fruit set and size if cross pollinated.
When you go to purchase kiwi vines, typically the plant description or nursery will be able to tell you which male vine is suitable for pollinating the female varieties you desire to grow. You can grow 6-8 female vines for each male if the vines are located next to each other.
If you are getting kiwi flowers but failing to get fruit, you should check to determine if you have both male and female flowers present. The male and female flowers look quite different from each other and are easy to tell apart.
Unfortunately, getting both male and female varieties is often a huge problem for gardeners. Kiwi vines are often mislabeled and mixed up by growers. Since kiwi vines take several years to produce flowers and fruit, it can be years before you find out you have either 2 male or 2 female vines instead of one of each.
Now, to clear up some confusion that is often seen around kiwi pollination
We mentioned above that 1 male will pollinate 6 females. You may be wondering if you can grow 2 or three different species (eg. one of each hardy, arctic, fuzzy) of kiwi using one male to pollinate all of them. The answer is no, probably not. Unfortunately flowering time for hardy and arctic kiwi fail to overlap and thus they cannot pollinate each other.
Hardy kiwi males cannot pollinate fuzzy kiwis either. Though their bloom time may overlap, their pollen is too small to be able to pollinate fuzzy kiwi females. However, fuzzy kiwi males can pollinate hardy kiwi females but only if their flowering time overlaps. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee they will do so.
Unless you are sure the plants you have will flower at the same time, it is a good idea to plant a suitable male for each species of female you wish to grow. That way you won’t wait 3 years for fruit only to realize that you need to plant a new male and wait another 3 years because their flowering doesn’t overlap a sufficient amount to get pollination.
Later this year we will look at how to train and prune a kiwi up onto a t-trellis so that you can harvest all this delicious fruit. Properly trained and pruned kiwis can be as beautiful as they are productive. We hope this has encouraged you to consider planting this unique fruit in your garden!
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