Kiwi??

Hi DaisyD
I bought a Kiwi, 'Jenny' from Woollies last year, but it never thrived and I think it's dead now, . Not sure what I did wrong, it produced shoots and leaves outdoors in the Spring, but they were yellow, then I put the plant in the greenhouse and the leaves turned more green, but it was a sulky plant, and never really took of at all. Not sure if I will bother again.

I've been trying to grow them for 10 years with no success at all - loads of leaves and shoots but no fruit - even when I get self fertile plants or grow two together. I'm trying a couple by a really sunny wall and they seem to be doing ok, so I'm really hoping that this year will be the one I finally get some fruit.

Some friends had one growing in their conservatory and they got tons of fruit, so it can be done - good luck with yours!

Hopefully someone on here will let us know the secret of kiwi success...

DaisyDaisy, I have recently taken a cutting from my well established Kiwi tree. I dont know where you live, but I have roughly the same weather as the south west of England and the cutting has taken very well. I dont expect fruit this year but next year I am hoping to start picking. I did nothing except plant it a degradable pot with a mix of manure and compost and left it to it. Its on a southerly wall, and last summer was the worst in living memory where I live, but it still grew no worries.

I help on a farm where there were dozens of kiwi plants and also know of two enormous kiwi farms near me and I'm just putting the finishing touches to an arch in my garden over which I'll be growing my 6 very vigorous kiwi plants. It's all in the pruning, like grape vines, if you leave the thing to grow, it certainly will but to get the best return with fruit, you need to be a bit cruel to be kind. And they're vines, not trees and should be treated as such.

So, down here, we prune them first time in February. Look for the place where the very small embryonic fruit are (they look like small roots) and then continue along the vine until you find the second eye. Prune after the second eye.

By July the fruit should be looking like kiwi fruit. Count 5/6 leaves after the last bunch of fruit and cut again, that way it shortens the growing tip and keeps the plant vigorous.

I wouldn't buy a kiwi before March in the UK - you can still prune it then. Autofertile will also fertilise one or two female plants, if you want larger scale, one male plant to 5 female but commercially autofertile will look after themselves.

The kiwis on the farm I help at hadn't been touched for about 15 years, badly overgrown and eventually decided that most of them had to go because they were dead or dying. Of the three left, which were perhaps 25/30 feet long, we picked over 55 kilos of fruit but it was all growing at the ends of the vines, up into the adjoining trees. I made loads of jam and chutney, much of which was sold with the pork from the farm at Xmas but the kiwi and lemon jam we made for home is just absolutely superb.

Thanks TonyF.... I have sunny images in my head now whilst stuck at my work computer in a grey London.... siiiiiiigh