Kiwifruit, also called ‚”kiwis” or Chinese gooseberries (Actinidia chinensis) are a popular subtropical fruit. Kiwifruit ripen in winter – a good time for us to make use of their plentiful Vitamin C, to ward off winter ills. They are delicious eaten raw or cut into a salad and can be made into a pleasant-tasting wine.
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The traditional kiwifruit has a brown, furry coat and quite tart green flesh. Varieties recommended for home growing are ‘Abbot’, which has large, oblong fruit; ‘Bruno’, with long, cylindrical fruit; and ‘Hayward’, with large oval fruit. A milder and sweeter golden kiwifruit has been developed by commercial growers (a cultivar called ‘Jia’) and tiny grape-sized kiwifruit (Actinidia arguta) are also available.
Kiwifruit need well-drained, fertile soil and good shelter from wind and full sun. If you live in a place where temperatures regularly fall below freezing, this is not a suitable fruit for your garden – although the deciduous vines can withstand cold winter conditions, new growth will be severely damaged by a freezing snap in spring.
Male and female flowers grow on different plants, so you need to plant two kiwifruit vines near each other – or from nurseries you can get one plant where a male scion is grafted onto a female vine. For pollination, both male and female need to flower at the same time. Plant the young vines in winter, while they are dormant.
Kiwifruit grow rapidly, especially if you add some all-purpose fertiliser to the soil before planting. The vines need support – a strong fence or pergola about two metres high works well. One fruiting vine is enough for a home garden.
After planting, cut the young vine back to about 25 cm (10 inches) above the graft. You need a single leader to grow to the height of the support and form a trunk. From it allow two main branches to grow either side – the fruiting arms and laterals will sprout from them. Fruit grows on new shoots, so the aim is to remove as much old wood as possible during the dormant season each winter.
A light prune during summer will help prevent overcrowding and give fruit enough light to ripen.
If you treat the vine well, keeping it watered and fertilised and cultivating only lightly around its shallow roots, it will start fruiting in about three years and give plentiful fruit by eight years.
The delicious fruit will keep well in your fridge for up to two months.
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