Hardy kiwi: when and how to prune

Actinidia arguta

Prune a hardy kiwi twice a year: while dormant, in December–February, cut the side shoots that have fruited back to 2–3 buds, and in July, shorten the long stems.

Hardy kiwi is a vigorous twining climber of 6–10 m, with clusters of grape-sized mini kiwis that you eat skin and all. It is much hardier than the ordinary kiwi and tolerates down to −25 °C. You prune it like a grapevine or a kiwi: a permanent framework along wires or over a pergola, and new fruiting wood every year. Without pruning it turns into an impenetrable mass of stems with little fruit, which also takes over gutters, roof tiles and nearby trees.

Updated on 10 October 2026

Key facts
Pruning months	July and December–February
Nesting season (15 March–15 August)	Take care in July
Flowering	June
Native to Belgium	No, planted

Hardy kiwi: when to prune it?

Do the winter pruning in December–February, when the leaves have fallen and before the sap starts to rise. Finish in February: in spring it bleeds heavily from every wound.

The summer pruning is in July: you can then see which stems are carrying fruit, and shorten them. Long stems that bear nothing are cut out at the same time.

Don’t prune in spring: it bleeds then, and you would cut off the young shoots with their flower buds.

What else to prune in those months? January · February · July · December

Hardy kiwi: how to prune it?

Build the plant up with one sturdy stem to the wires or the pergola, and from there two or three main arms. A mature hardy kiwi laden with fruit is heavy: use sturdy posts and strong wires.
Side shoots grow on those main arms. The fruit comes on the new shoots that grow in spring from last year’s wood.
In winter, cut the side shoots that have fruited back to 2–3 buds. Leave enough young stems every year, spread over the framework, and remove stems that twist around each other.
In July, shorten fruiting stems to 4–6 leaves beyond the last fruit, and remove long stems that bear nothing.
Also cut away shoots that twine towards trees, gutters or roof tiles: it winds around trunks and branches, and can strangle a young tree.
The male plant bears no fruit: cut it back in July, after flowering, and keep the young shoots, as they will flower next year. Don’t remove it: no male, no fruit, unless you have a self-fertile variety such as ‘Issai’.

How much to cut, and how often?

Two prunings a year: most of the work in winter, and in July the shortening of the stems.
For the first two or three years, let a young plant mainly form a stem and a framework. The first fruit comes after a few years, often sooner with ‘Issai’.
One male plant is enough for six to eight females nearby. Space the plants 3–4 m apart.

What does it mean for wildlife?

A dense hardy kiwi on a pergola is a favourite nesting site for blackbirds, robins and wrens. The summer pruning in July falls in the nesting season (15 March–15 August): look carefully first, and leave the part around an active nest alone until the young have fledged.
The winter pruning, in December–February, falls outside it: you won’t disturb any nesting birds then.
The fragrant white flowers in May–June attract honeybees and bumblebees, which collect pollen from them and so pollinate the female flowers. So don’t spray poison during flowering.
Leave a few overripe fruits on the plant or on the ground: blackbirds and starlings love to peck at them. Prunings can go on a dead hedge, for hedgehogs and insects.

Common mistakes

Pruning in spring, so the plant bleeds heavily from the wounds.
Cutting off all the young wood in winter, so no new fruiting shoots come.
Removing the male plant or cutting it right back, because it bears no fruit anyway.
Letting the stems grow into trees, gutters or under roof tiles.

Caution: Don’t prune in spring: it will bleed.

Nearby: related pruning guides

Plant profile: Hardy kiwi · Pruning calendar and basic rules