Kiwi fruit

Kiwi fruit: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Vigorous twining climber of 8–10 m that winds around wires and posts.

Leaf

Alternate, 10–20 cm, round to heart-shaped, felted underneath, with reddish-brown hairy leaf stalks and shoots.

Stems

Twining, reddish-brown hairy stems that become woody.

Flower

Creamy white flowers (4 cm) in May–June; male and female flowers on separate plants.

Fruit

Kiwi fruits, only on female plants with a male nearby; harvest in October–November and leave to ripen further.

Difference from hardy kiwi

Hardy kiwi (Actinidia arguta) has smaller, glossy leaves and small, smooth fruits that you eat skin and all.

Difference from grapevine

The grapevine has lobed leaves and tendrils.

Flowering: May–June · Harvest and fruit: October–November · Pruning: July and December–February

Identify by feature: Twining climbers

Looks like it, but isn’t

• Hardy kiwi (Actinidia arguta): smaller, glossy leaves and small, smooth fruits that you eat skin and all.
• Grapevine Vitis vinifera: lobed leaves and tendrils. Difference from grapevine

Why grow it?

• Your own kiwis, which keep for weeks or even months in a cool place if picked firm.
• Fast, dense green cover for a pergola or a south-facing wall.
• Large, creamy white flowers in May–June.
• Few pests and diseases in our gardens.

Kiwi fruit: where does it grow best?

• Full sun and a warm, sheltered spot: against a south- or west-facing wall, or on a pergola out of the wind.
• Humus-rich, well-drained soil that does not dry out; no wet feet.
• A sturdy support is essential: a pergola or tensioned wires at 1.5–2 m high, because a mature plant laden with fruit is heavy.
• Allow about 4 m of width per plant.

Light

Full sun

Legal basis

Any garden soil

Moisture

Normal

Size

8 m tall, 4 m wide

Hardiness

down to -12 °C, protect in harsh winters

Goes well with

• Grapevine: Grows on the same sunny pergola and is pruned the same way.
• Fig: Another fruit for a warm, sheltered south-facing spot.
• Hardy kiwi: A hardier relative with small, smooth fruits; most of its varieties also need a male plant.

Good and bad companions

Best kept away from

• Twines around young trees and shrubs and can strangle them: hawthorn, goat willow, japanese cherry, judas tree, chusan palm, olive tree

Kiwi fruit: when and how to plant it?

1. Plant in spring (April–May), after the hardest frosts, so that young plants can root well.
2. Buy a female variety (such as ‘Hayward’) and a male one (such as ‘Tomuri’), or the self-fertile variety ‘Jenny’, which still gives more fruit with a male plant nearby.
3. One male plant is enough for several females; plant it nearby, 3–4 m apart.
4. Plant at the same depth as in the pot, guide the plants to the support with a cane and water generously.

Care

Watering

Regularly in dry summers: the large leaves lose a lot of water, and drought costs fruit.

Feeding

Compost or organic fertiliser in spring.

Mulching

A layer of compost or straw keeps the shallow roots cool and moist.

Harvest

Pick the fruit in October–November, before the first frost, and let it ripen indoors: in a bag with an apple it goes faster.

Tip: Put a label on your male plant: it never bears fruit and seems pointless, but without it the female plants stay kiwi-less.

Kiwi fruit: when to prune it?

Pruning months: July and December–February.

When: While dormant in winter (December–February), and the long stems in summer.

How:

• Prune like a grapevine: keep a strong main stem with side branches along the wires or over the pergola, and in winter cut the stems that have fruited back to a few buds.
• The fruit forms on new shoots growing from last year’s wood: so leave enough young wood every year.
• In July, shorten the fruiting shoots to 4–6 leaves beyond the last fruit, and remove long stems that bear nothing.
• The male plant bears no fruit: prune it mainly in July, after flowering.

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

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Cuttings

In summer, take semi-ripe cuttings from a female or male plant: that way you know for sure what sex the new plant is.

Sowing

Seeds from a shop-bought kiwi do germinate, but it takes years to find out whether the plant is male or female, and the fruit is uncertain.

Kiwi fruit: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −12 °C: protect in harsh winters.

• An established plant survives an ordinary winter in Belgium and the Netherlands; young plants are more tender: protect the base with straw or leaves for the first few winters.
• Late frost in April–May freezes the young shoots and flower buds: cover the plant with fleece when frost is forecast.

Diseases and pests

• No fruit: No male plant nearby, a plant that is too young (the first fruit only comes after 3–5 years), or frosted flower buds. Check that you really do have a female and a male plant.
• Late frost: Brown, limp young shoots after a frosty night in spring. Cut them off; the plant will regrow, but flower less that year.
• Root rot: Yellow leaves and dying stems in soil that stays wet for long. Plant in a well-drained spot.
• Wind: Young shoots snap off in the wind. Choose a sheltered spot and tie them in early.

Through the year

• January: Winter pruning: cut back stems that have fruited.
• February: Finish winter pruning, before the sap rises.
• April: Planting; protect young shoots from night frost.
• May: Flowering; tie in new shoots.
• June: Flowering ends; water in dry spells.
• July: Summer pruning: shorten shoots beyond the fruit; prune the male plant.
• October: Pick the kiwis before the frost.
• November: Finish the harvest; let the kiwis ripen indoors.
• December: Winter pruning can start.

What can you use it for?

Food and drink

Kiwis: pick them in October–November before the frost and let them ripen indoors.

Garden and landscape

Vigorous climber for a pergola or a sturdy south-facing wire.

Caution: You need a female and a male plant (or a self-fertile variety), and a warm spot.

Edible and useful

Fruit (October–November)

In our climate, kiwifruit do not ripen on the vine. Pick them in October or early November, before the first hard frost, when the seeds inside are black (cut one open). Let them ripen indoors at room temperature in a bag with an apple: after one to three weeks they are soft and sweet. Fresh, in fruit salad, smoothies, jam or chutney.

Storing

Hard kiwifruit keep for two to three months in the fridge or a cool cellar, away from apples. Take out a batch at a time to ripen. Eat ripe kiwifruit within a week.

Caution: Kiwifruit can cause allergic reactions, from an itchy mouth to more serious symptoms, including in people with a latex allergy. Raw kiwi contains a protein-splitting enzyme: it stops gelatine from setting and turns bitter after a while in milk or yoghurt. Cooking switches the enzyme off.

Eating and using is at your own risk: see the terms of use.

Recipes

• Kiwi jam (Jam · ± 3 jars · 30 min)
• Kiwi pavlova (Dish · serves 6–8 · 30 min + 1 hour baking + 1 hour cooling)
• Dried kiwi slices (Dried · makes ± 100 g dried kiwi · 20 min + 6–10 hours drying)

Did you know?

• Native to China. In New Zealand it was first called the ‘Chinese gooseberry’; it was renamed kiwi there for export.
• It comes from China. In New Zealand, where it began to be grown in the 20th century, it was first called the ‘Chinese gooseberry’; for export it became the kiwi.
• In China it is called mihoutao, the ‘macaque peach’.
• The first kiwi plants in New Zealand grew from seeds brought back from China in the early 20th century by a headmistress, Isabel Fraser.
• Kiwi fruit contains the enzyme actinidin, which breaks down proteins. That is why gelatine jelly made with fresh kiwi will not set, and why kiwi tenderises meat.