In article ,
Janet Galpin wrote:

I'm not that far from you, so I think I will have a go. I'm trying an
apricot too in much the same spot, which is also a bit of a gamble, I
guess.

I understand apricots to NOT be a gamble, so much as very borderline.
I.e. an expert can state precisely whether they will crop or not,
depending on the location, soil and (most particularly) aspect. Yes,
from a non-expert's point of view, they are a gamble :-)

I am pretty sure that Actinida is MUCH less well understood, and it
was only when the New Zealanders discovered how to make them crop
reliably that they became a common fruit in the West. Which was very
recently, as some of us view things :-)


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.