Introduction

Understanding Kiwi: The Nutrient-Packed Fruit

Kiwi, a nutrient-packed fruit with smooth skin, originates from the Actinidia genus and is popular for its health benefits. Hardy kiwi and hardy kiwifruit, known for their ability to withstand cold temperatures, are commonly grown in home gardens and by commercial growers.

Planting kiwi successfully requires proper pruning, frost protection for young shoots, and well-drained soil to avoid issues like phytophthora root rot, ensuring healthy kiwi vines and robust fruit production.

Why Grow Kiwi in Your Garden?

Growing kiwi in your garden offers several advantages, including the potential for abundant fruit production and the satisfaction of harvesting fresh, smooth-skinned kiwis from your own vines. Hardy kiwi plants, such as Actinidia arguta, are particularly suited for home gardens due to their cold-hardiness and ability to withstand spring frosts, making them a viable choice for various climates.

Proper planting and care, including selecting a well-drained site, providing a strong trellis, and ensuring proper pruning, can enhance the success of kiwi cultivation and yield healthy, vigorous vines.

Getting Started with Kiwi Cultivation

Types of Kiwi: Choosing the Right Variety

When choosing kiwi varieties for your garden, consider both common and hardy options to match your climate and space. Actinidia deliciosa and Actinidia chinensis are popular for their smooth-skinned fruit and are often found in grocery stores, while hardy kiwi varieties like Actinidia arguta are ideal for cold climates due to their winter hardiness and ability to withstand spring frosts.

For successful fruit production, select hardy kiwi plants if you need frost protection and cold hardiness, and ensure you have proper space and a strong trellis for vigorous kiwi vines to thrive.

Kiwi Plant Requirements

To ensure optimal growth for kiwi plants, it's essential to provide well-drained soil to prevent root rot and phytophthora crown issues. Kiwi vines, including hardy kiwi varieties, require full sunlight and a sheltered location to thrive, with temperatures suited to their cold hardy or winter hardy characteristics.

Proper watering is crucial; young kiwi vines and hardy kiwi plants should be watered consistently to avoid dry spells while ensuring the soil remains moist but not waterlogged to support healthy fruit production and vigorous vine growth.

Not all kiwis are fuzzy.

Hardy kiwi vines, like the Issai kiwi we carry, will produce smooth, not fuzzy, fruit in a range of climates in USDA zones 4-9. Issai is also a convenient vine since it is self-fruitful (meaning it produces both male and female flowers). Want the familiar fuzz? Find those on our tender kiwi vines. Even the tender vines need some winter chill, so they do best in USDA zones 8-9. You'll need at least one male and one female vine for pollination.

Planting Kiwi

Watch Tricia plant kiwis in our video and see her tips on growing this satisfying fruit. Remember, the prime requirements for kiwis are good drainage and ample water. Pull any perennial weeds from the site. In our video about growing kiwis Tricia added a sprinkler to her drip irrigation system to give her vine the moist, but not waterlogged, soil it needs for good root growth. Water is key for kiwis to bear their heavy crops.

Even though the Issai vines are winter hardy while dormant, in their youth those vines can be winter killed. In the wintertime it's a good idea to wrap the trunk of the hardy kiwi vine while it is 1 - 4 years old. Kiwi vines will cooperate with a number of trellising styles. You can plant them at the corners of a large arbor, train them along trellises, or grow them espalier style along fences. Choose your support system and install it before you plant the kiwi vines. The hardy kiwi vines we carry are moderately vigorous and will grow about 6’ - 12’ a year, much less than their fuzzy cousins that can grow as much as 30' in a year.

Training & pruning kiwi vines on a t-bar trellis

All kiwi vines need strong support since they can produce 50 - 100 pounds of fruit each year! Our video shows you examples of trellis systems. The Oregon State University Extension has more details on exact measurements for trellises.

Training & pruning kiwi vines espalier style

If you prefer to grow in a flat, espalier style, train and prune kiwis along horizontally spaced wires with lateral canes growing upright along the horizontal branches (called cordons). Here are tips for that growing style (known as the bilateral cordon system):

1. Your first job is to help the vine develop one, straight trunk by tying it loosely to a stake as it grows. This is the major growth of the first year. If side branches reach the level of the first wire supports, you can leap ahead and begin the training that usually occurs in the second season.
2. The second season of growth is when you want to encourage two arms (or cordons) on opposite sides of the vine. When you have two good shoots reach the first level of wire, drape one in each direction on top of the wire and tie them loosely.
3. Allow new shoots to grow from the cordons, and train them toward upper wires, being careful not to let them wrap around the wires.
4. Prune these cordons and the lateral canes in the dormant season back to wood that is 1/4” or larger in diameter.
5. In the third season train the lateral shoots perpendicular to the cordons. You do not want them to be parallel to the cordons because they would block the sunlight.
6. Do your dormant pruning in the third season to leave 15 - 20 lateral canes across the cordons of the vine. The kiwi fruit will grow on the canes from the previous year.

By the fourth year your kiwi vine structure will be in place.

Supporting Kiwi Vines: Trellising and Training

Importance of Support Structures for Kiwi

Support structures are crucial for kiwi vines as they provide stability and encourage healthy growth, essential for fruit production and managing vigorous vine development. Without proper support, such as a strong trellis or t-bar system, kiwi plants, including hardy kiwi varieties, can suffer from poorly arranged fruiting canes and increased risk of root rot and phytophthora crown issues.

Effective support ensures that young kiwi vines and hardy kiwi plants remain upright, promoting better air circulation, frost protection, and easier access for proper pruning and maintenance.

Types of Trellises and Supports

When planting kiwi, selecting the right support system is essential for optimal fruit production and plant health. T-bar trellises offer a sturdy structure for hardy kiwi vines and kiwi plants, supporting their vigorous growth and ensuring successful cropping.

Pergola and arbor systems provide an aesthetically pleasing option while accommodating the space needs of young kiwi vines and offering frost protection. Choosing the appropriate support, whether for hardy kiwi plants or other kiwi varieties, helps prevent issues like root rot and phytophthora crown, and facilitates proper pruning and maintenance throughout the growing season.

Training Kiwi Vines

When planting kiwi, training the vines correctly is crucial for maximizing fruit production and avoiding tangling. To achieve this, guide young kiwi vines along a strong trellis or T-bar system, directing growth by securing them to the support structure and regularly pruning to manage new shoots and remove side shoots.

Proper training ensures that hardy kiwi vines develop robust fruiting canes, improves air circulation to prevent root rot and fungal diseases, and helps maintain an organized growing environment for both male and female plants.

Dormant pruning for mature kiwi vines

When the kiwi vines reach their fourth year the dormant pruning (in winter) will be a regular process of renewing fruiting canes. The pruning becomes more complicated in a mature vine and is well explained by the the Oregon State University Extension article. If you grow muscadine grapes, you will note that the technique for pruning kiwi vines is the same.

For more information consult our Kiwi Planting & Growing Guide, and see Oregon State's thorough article on growing kiwis.

Pruning Kiwi: Essential Practices for Healthy Growth

Why Pruning is Crucial for Kiwi Plants

Pruning kiwi plants is crucial for maintaining vine health and maximizing fruit production by encouraging a balanced growth of hardy kiwi vines and preventing overcrowding. Proper pruning techniques, such as dormant pruning during the winter, help to manage young kiwi vines and remove diseased or dead wood, thus minimizing risks of diseases like phytophthora root rot.

Effective pruning ensures that kiwi vines, whether they are hardy kiwifruit or young plants, remain vigorous and productive throughout the growing season.

Types of Pruning: Winter and Summer Pruning

Pruning kiwi vines effectively involves understanding the distinct roles of winter and summer pruning. Winter pruning, or dormant pruning, focuses on shaping hardy kiwi plants, removing old or dead growth to encourage vigorous new shoots and improve fruit production for the following season.

In contrast, summer pruning targets managing the growth of young kiwi vines, removing excess shoots and side branches to enhance sunlight penetration and air circulation, thus reducing the risk of root rot and fungal diseases while ensuring a more productive and healthy kiwi vine.

Tools Needed for Pruning Kiwi

For effective pruning of kiwi plants, essential tools include sharp pruning shears, loppers, and a pruning saw, which help manage the growth of hardy kiwi vines and ensure clean cuts. Proper maintenance and care of these tools, such as regular sharpening and cleaning, are crucial to prevent the spread of diseases like phytophthora root rot and to maintain their effectiveness throughout the growing season.

Keeping tools in top condition supports the overall health and fruit production of kiwi vines, whether they are young kiwi vines or established hardy kiwis.

How to Prune Kiwi Vines

Pruning Techniques for Young Vines

Pruning techniques for young kiwi vines focus on making initial training cuts to shape the vine and establish a strong structure. During the first season of planting kiwi, it's essential to remove side shoots and select the strongest shoot to become the main stem, guiding its growth along a t-bar trellis or strong support.

Properly training young kiwi vines helps ensure a vigorous vine structure that supports successful fruit production and reduces risks of root rot and fungal diseases as the plants mature.

Pruning Mature Kiwi Vines

Pruning mature kiwi vines is crucial for maintaining their shape and removing excess growth, which helps direct energy towards productive fruiting canes. Proper pruning during the dormant season enhances fruit production by clearing out old wood and ensuring optimal light and air circulation for the remaining branches.

Regularly removing side shoots and excess growth not only keeps the vine manageable but also reduces the risk of fungal diseases and root rot, promoting healthier, more vigorous kiwi plants.

Dealing with Overgrown Vines

Dealing with overgrown kiwi vines requires careful management to restore them to health and ensure continued fruit production. Start by performing a thorough dormant pruning to remove excess growth, dead wood, and any tangled branches, which helps reduce the risk of root rot and fungal diseases.

Focus on directing new growth to fruiting canes and maintaining a strong trellis system, which will support the recovery of the vigorous vine and encourage healthy, productive kiwi plants.

Conclusion

In conclusion, cultivating kiwi vines successfully involves careful attention to various factors, from choosing the right planting site to implementing effective pruning techniques. For home gardeners and commercial growers alike, ensuring that kiwi plants receive proper support, such as a sturdy trellis with a center wire, and managing growth through strategic pruning will enhance fruit production and overall vine health.

By selecting appropriate hardy kiwi varieties, like Ken's Red, and addressing the needs of male and female plants, gardeners can enjoy a fruitful harvest, whether for their home garden or supply to grocery stores. Emphasizing these practices will help maintain vigorous vines and produce high-quality fruit throughout the growing season.

FAQs about Planting and Pruning Kiwi

• 1. How do I choose a suitable planting site for a kiwi vine?

  • A kiwi vine thrives in a sunny, sheltered location with well-drained soil. It is best to select a planting site where the ground is protected from strong winds and late spring frosts, which can damage young shoots.

• 2. Do I need both male and female plants to produce fruit?

  • Yes, to produce fruit, you need to plant at least one male plant for every 5-6 female plants. Male plants provide the pollen necessary for fertilizing the female flowers. A common pairing is to use one male plant with a female variety like 'Ken's Red'.

• 3. When is the best time to prune kiwi vines?

  • Pruning should typically occur in late winter when the plant is dormant. At this time, you should remove shoots that are overcrowded or unproductive, keeping only the strongest shoot for future growth.

• 4. How can I support my kiwi vine as it grows?

  • Kiwi vines need strong support to grow properly. A T-bar trellis with a center wire is an effective structure for training the vines, ensuring they are spread out and have enough space to develop fruiting canes.

• 5. Can kiwi vines be grown in home gardens?

  • Yes, kiwi vines are well-suited for home gardens. Home gardeners should ensure they provide adequate support for the vines and manage the pruning effectively to encourage healthy growth and fruit production. Following guidelines from sources like Oregon State University can help ensure successful cultivation.