In April last year I planted some seeds from an over ripe grocery store
fuzzy kiwi, they grew about a foot tall by the end of the year and
wintered over during last year's severe winter. This year I have 10
vines with main stems almost a half inch in diameter and which have
twined around a wooden trellis I built. They're about 15 feet tall,
very exotic looking with their hairy red stems and lush foliage. My
question is, last year I simply mulched the vines under a leaf pile to
protect them- but I didn't really care if they survived; this year I've
grown attached to them, but I have no idea how to get them through our
New York winters. Should I lay the trellis on the ground (with vines)
and mulch them with hay- maybe with a top-dressing of soil? Does anyone
have experience growing fuzzy kiwi fruit outdoors in climate zone
6-7? -Ken

On Wed, 22 Oct 2003 05:21:54 GMT, kettlink
wrote:

In April last year I planted some seeds from an over ripe grocery store
fuzzy kiwi, they grew about a foot tall by the end of the year and
wintered over during last year's severe winter. This year I have 10
vines with main stems almost a half inch in diameter and which have
twined around a wooden trellis I built. They're about 15 feet tall,
very exotic looking with their hairy red stems and lush foliage. My
question is, last year I simply mulched the vines under a leaf pile to
protect them- but I didn't really care if they survived; this year I've
grown attached to them, but I have no idea how to get them through our
New York winters. Should I lay the trellis on the ground (with vines)
and mulch them with hay- maybe with a top-dressing of soil? Does anyone
have experience growing fuzzy kiwi fruit outdoors in climate zone
6-7? -Ken


My Australian "Yates Garden Guide" lists them as suitable for mild to
temperate climates but preferably in areas that don't have late
frosts.

Although I now live in a sub-tropical zone, I did have Kiwi Fruit
while living in further south, in Canberra and Victoria, both areas
with snow and frost during winter. Normally I just pruned them back
like a grape vine toward the end of winter, after the fruit matured
and they did the right thing come spring. Prune the laterals back to
to or three above the last season, thin them if it is getting too
dense.

New Zealand, the origin of the Kiwi Name, is a popular winter skiing
destination so I guess there is a chance that they could handle cold
winters without problem. They won't grow where I am now,
unfortunately, it is too warm for them.

They do need both a male and a female vine to bear fruit, and it takes
four years for the first fruit. That may pose a problem as you have
grown these from seed.

Regards

Jeff

kettlink wrote in message ...
In April last year I planted some seeds from an over ripe grocery store
fuzzy kiwi, they grew about a foot tall by the end of the year and
wintered over during last year's severe winter. This year I have 10
vines with main stems almost a half inch in diameter and which have
twined around a wooden trellis I built. They're about 15 feet tall,
very exotic looking with their hairy red stems and lush foliage. My
question is, last year I simply mulched the vines under a leaf pile to
protect them- but I didn't really care if they survived; this year I've
grown attached to them, but I have no idea how to get them through our
New York winters. Should I lay the trellis on the ground (with vines)
and mulch them with hay- maybe with a top-dressing of soil? Does anyone
have experience growing fuzzy kiwi fruit outdoors in climate zone
6-7? -Ken

Their lowest zone rating is 8, so you are out of luck. They will also
take 5 years to fruit, though that might be reduced if you feed and
water them a lot. I think if you lay down the trellis and cover with
hay or leaves they will survive, but do you realize how much work this
will be? These vines grow to be 100 ft long, as thick as my arm, in
6-7 years. They need to be pruned heavily to set fruit properly. Plus
you will need a male to set fruit, not clear that you have one. Other
than that they are great looking vines which produce huge amounts of
spray-free, nutritious, long-lasting fruits (properly preserved, they
last into April).

Well, that sounds like fun.
If you got them through the first winter, you can probably keep them
alive even easier now that they are bigger.
You will probably have to handle them the way I have to handle seedless
grapes up here. I prune them in the fall after the leaves are gone and
lay them on the ground so I can cover them. The trunks are going to get
thick and hard to bend so plan ahead. I train the grape trunks to be
close to the ground until I bend them up to the trellis 5 or 6 feet away
from where they grow out of the ground.
I have no idea how long the growing season has to be to get ripe Kiwi
fruit. You're into it now so you can tell us in a few years. Lets hope
at least one vine is male and at least one isn't.
I've often thought I might try growing some Kiwi fruit. I wouldn't dare
try the fuzzy kind but there are some small smooth skinned species that
can take some cold and a short season.

Steve in the Adirondacks

kettlink wrote:
In April last year I planted some seeds from an over ripe grocery store
fuzzy kiwi, they grew about a foot tall by the end of the year and
wintered over during last year's severe winter. This year I have 10
vines with main stems almost a half inch in diameter and which have
twined around a wooden trellis I built. They're about 15 feet tall,
very exotic looking with their hairy red stems and lush foliage. My
question is, last year I simply mulched the vines under a leaf pile to
protect them- but I didn't really care if they survived; this year I've
grown attached to them, but I have no idea how to get them through our
New York winters. Should I lay the trellis on the ground (with vines)
and mulch them with hay- maybe with a top-dressing of soil? Does anyone
have experience growing fuzzy kiwi fruit outdoors in climate zone
6-7? -Ken

hiya. well i have had great fun growing kiwi the last couple of years. i live in shropshire in the uk and it can get very cold. -12c last winter.

i grow my kiwi (one male and one female) up a south facing brick wall to get some residual warmth from the bricks. you can get a self fertile kiwi, thus eliminating the pair!! last winter it got very cold as i said above. all the leaves fell off my kiwi and the main stem seemed to die and go rigid and woody. I cut the female down to the ground but left the male. Thats all i did. no mulching or plastic sheeting or similar.

Come spring, the male started to sprout new leaves from the old "dead" stem and the female started to sprout new growth and leaders from the stem at the ground.

After further research at my local garden centre, they inform me that kiwi's only fruit on stems over a year old (like grapes) and that i will need to prune back leaders once i have the shape i want as they may get to over 100ft long!!!

The female plant hasn't developed as well as the male plant this year and i think that this is my fault for hacking her to the ground. This year i will leave well alone, and hopefully get some nice fruit next year when the female is mature. The male is currently trying to flower so i should get some fruit if the two plants get their timing right!!

The trick is going to be setting and ripening the fruit in our short summers...............

Kiwi fruit form on the current seasons growth...ie: the
shoots/canes that form during the current spring. Hacking the vine
off at ground level is probably going to be fatal (to the plant).
Male and female flowers grow on different vines the problem being
the female flower has no nectar and bees show little interest.
You will find some info,with pruning pic at..
http://berrygrape.oregonstate.edu/fr...i/kiwiprun.htm
Asearch in 'google' will also bring up numerous good sites with
more info.
best wishes....kelvyn (from new zealand..the home of kiwifruit)

On Wed, 14 Jul 2004 22:39:47 UTC, Kelvyn opined:

-------snip-------

best wishes....kelvyn (from new zealand..the home of kiwifruit)

More accurately, "home of the kiwi". The home of the kiwi FRUIT, on the
other hand, is in southeast Asia.
--
Stan Goodman
Qiryat Tiv'on
Israel

Saddam is gone. Ceterum, censeo Arafat esse delendam.

To send me email, please replace the CAPITAL_LETTERS with "sig". Please do
not send me HTML-formatted messages.Please do not send me attachments
without telling me beforehand.

We only know it as 'kiwifruit' Stan....one word...the rest of the
world seems to refer to it as just 'kiwi'..(that is a bird here)
--
No guinea pigs were harmed in the writing or sending of this post.

On Thu, 15 Jul 2004 04:49:22 UTC, Kelvyn opined:

We only know it as 'kiwifruit' Stan....one word...the rest of the
world seems to refer to it as just 'kiwi'..(that is a bird here)

Very well. Your tagline said: "from new zealand..the home of kiwifruit". But
the home of the "kiwifruit" (whether one word or two) is not New Zealand,
but Southeast Asia.

The original questioner said explicitly in the subject line: "New Zealand
kiwi", obviously referring to the fruit, which is incorrect.

--
Stan Goodman
Qiryat Tiv'on
Israel

Saddam is gone. Ceterum, censeo Arafat esse delendam.

To send me email, please replace the CAPITAL_LETTERS with "sig". Please do
not send me HTML-formatted messages.Please do not send me attachments
without telling me beforehand.

On Wed, 14 Jul 2004 22:39:47 UTC, Kelvyn opined:

-------snip-------

best wishes....kelvyn (from new zealand..the home of kiwifruit)

More accurately, "home of the kiwi". The home of the kiwi FRUIT, on the
other hand, is in southeast Asia.
--
Stan Goodman
Qiryat Tiv'on
Israel

Saddam is gone. Ceterum, censeo Arafat esse delendam.

To send me email, please replace the CAPITAL_LETTERS with "sig". Please do
not send me HTML-formatted messages.Please do not send me attachments
without telling me beforehand.

On Thu, 15 Jul 2004 04:49:22 UTC, Kelvyn opined:

We only know it as 'kiwifruit' Stan....one word...the rest of the
world seems to refer to it as just 'kiwi'..(that is a bird here)

Very well. Your tagline said: "from new zealand..the home of kiwifruit". But
the home of the "kiwifruit" (whether one word or two) is not New Zealand,
but Southeast Asia.

The original questioner said explicitly in the subject line: "New Zealand
kiwi", obviously referring to the fruit, which is incorrect.

--
Stan Goodman
Qiryat Tiv'on
Israel

Saddam is gone. Ceterum, censeo Arafat esse delendam.

To send me email, please replace the CAPITAL_LETTERS with "sig". Please do
not send me HTML-formatted messages.Please do not send me attachments
without telling me beforehand.