How to Grow Kiwifruit

Kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa) grows wherever citrus fruits, almonds and peaches grow. The Hardy Kiwifruit (Actinidia arguta) withstands sub-zero temperatures after dormancy. Kiwifruit's native homeland is China. The plant produces 1- to 2-inch cream-colored flowers. The outer fruit's skin is hairy and brownish in color. The inside fruit is usually green, and tastes both sweet and tart like gooseberry and strawberry.

Things You'll Need

• Kiwifruit plants
• Kiwifruit seeds
• Trellis
• Wire
• Posts
• Patio cover
• Garden shovel
• Water
• Fertilizer
• Mulch
• Pruning shears
• Plastic bags

Instructions

1. Buy plants from a nursery or purchase Kiwifruit from a store's fruit department and save the seeds from the fruits. Plant these in the spring.

2. Locate a sunny area with partial shade that supports a trellis system or patio cover. Kiwifruit needs support for its vines.

3. Prepare well-drained, rich soil with a pH of 5 to 6.5.

4. Dig a hole with a garden shovel deep enough for the root system. Fill in with soil.

5. Water throughout the season. Kiwifruit grows best with a large amount of water, especially in dry, hot summers.

6. Apply nitrogen-rich fertilizer the first half of the season. Use a broadcast spreader then water. Manure and straw mulch is good, but keep it away from the vine.

7. Harvest during the first 2 weeks of November when the seeds turn black.

Tips & Warnings

• A typical trellis has one or more wires running between poles 6 feet high spaced 15 feet apart. Tie plants up the wires and along the wires for support and training.

• Prune after the plant has moved up the wire about 6 feet and grows sideways along the wire. Cut behind the ends that appear as pig tailing from a shoot. Prune older canes along the wire where it connects with new shoots. Pruning develops more fruit.

• Some nurseries sell plants that have a male scion grafted onto the female plant. Otherwise, both male and female plants need to grow near each other. To pollinate, space male and female plants less than 35 feet from each other, or pollinate by hand. Take a male flower and rub it on about 6 female flowers. Continue this process in sixes.

• Kiwi needs 240 days with no frost to grow. The hardy Kiwi takes 150 days. The hardy plant, when dormant, withstands temperatures to minus 25 degrees F, while the regular Kiwi is OK down to 10 degrees F.

• When growing over a patio, attach the plant to a post so that it grows up and on the patio cover.

• Store fruit in plastic bags placed in a refrigerator. They're good for a couple of months.

• Never let the Kiwifruit experience drought. Signs include brown drooping leaves that eventually drop.