Goodbye kiwis

[chrisdb]

Today I've drawn a line under 4+ years of trying to grow kiwis. I had two male and two female vines of actinidia kolomikta growing over two large arches, kolomikta being the northernmost kiwi species. I've also tried an arguta, Issai.

Out of those four years, I only got fruit in one, and none of the vines ever exceeded 2m tall. In the rest late frost wiped out the first flush of leaves and the flowers, so although they recovered and grew a bit they didn't flower. A 25% chance of getting anything, and climbers that can't even cover the top of the arch, aren't good enough for me.

Since I've already got a rampant and productive grape vine elsewhere, I've replaced the ripped out kiwis with ornamentals: an Albrighton rambling rose, an Amethyst Falls wisteria, and some cheap Wilkos clematises to fill it out. The wisteria is supposed to be less thuggish than the Asian species, but time will tell.

[muck lover]

Well done. It’s hard to let some things go especially when you’ve put so much effort and time. I took asparagus out of my polytunnel beds as I just wasn’t getting a worthwhile yield for the precious space. But it was a wrench.

[veggiechicken]

I'm still trying to say goodbye to Kiwi Jenny!! She's too pushy - even a cement floor can't kill her. You had a lucky escape.

[chrisdb]

Well done. It’s hard to let some things go especially when you’ve put so much effort and time. I took asparagus out of my polytunnel beds as I just wasn’t getting a worthwhile yield for the precious space. But it was a wrench.

It is a wrench. You have a dream of how your garden is going to be, and you spend years on it, but eventually you just have to accept that plucking ripe kiwis from overhead isn't going to happen, or at least not often enough to pay for the space and time devoted to it.

[chrisdb]

I'm still trying to say goodbye to Kiwi Jenny!! She's too pushy - even a cement floor can't kill her. You had a lucky escape.

Maybe A. Deliciosa is a bit more vigorous? Mind you, you're south and west of me so spring might be milder than here. 80m above sea level in Nottinghamshire might be pushing it a bit. I'm not sure any kiwi species is going to survive unfrosted unless I plant it against the wall of the house.

On the other hand, they say that grapes only succeed outdoors south of a line between Pembroke and the Wash. I'm probably above that line, but Glory of Boskoop is very happy in our garden.

[veggiechicken]

100m above sea level here - the contour goes through the garden!!.
Jenny was very vigorous - she climbed high enough to tap on the bedroom windows. Plenty of fruit though it took a few years to get going.
Kolomikta has always looked more like an ornamental than a fruiter, to me. I've even been tempted myself.

[ameno]

100m above sea level here - the contour goes through the garden!!.
Jenny was very vigorous - she climbed high enough to tap on the bedroom windows. Plenty of fruit though it took a few years to get going.
Kolomikta has always looked more like an ornamental than a fruiter, to me. I've even been tempted myself.

If it gave plenty of fruit, why did you get rid of it in the end? Too vigorous?

[Brack]

I have two kiwi issai (a.arguta) here in Durham. One came from t&m and I tried to train it against the fence on wires, planted in the ground. The other came from Lidl and grows in a big pot (60cm) behind the raspberries about 40' further along the same fence. I essentially have ignored it, even though I'd meant to train it somewhere nice.
Guess which one has barely grown? The tips of the shoots got killed off by frost. It's still growing, but it isn't doing much.
The neglected specimen gave enough fruit last year for a little jar of jam, which was very nice.

Haven't tried kolomitka. But I wouldn't necessarily write them off. Two plants, same garden, same fence, very different results. It's possible that the bushy growth of the neglected one makes it less exposed to frost/wind that it's trained fellow.

[veggiechicken]

If it gave plenty of fruit, why did you get rid of it in the end? Too vigorous?

Much too vigorous and in the wrong place. Originally, I thought it would grow over an archway that linked the house to the garden and that you had to walk under to get to the garden. It took over the arch, twined up it and strangled it until it broke, dangled across the patio so you had to duck to leave the house, sprawled up over the ground floor roof to reach the bedroom window, wrapped itself around the guttering, pulled down the outside lights - it was a thug and I grew to hate it.
It was chopped down, dug up as much as possible, and the concrete base of a greenhouse was built over it.
Its still growing back from under the GH, at least 6 years later.
Have I convinced you yet?

There's an old thread about it https://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gr...ing_66036.html No photos, sorry.

[Jay-ell]

I've Solo, Jenny and Issua. Solo has been in a couple of years now, flowered last year but no fruit.

The other two were planted last year and will hopefully grow over the frames of two old greenhouses to give a shady place to sit in summer along with composting material and, hopefully, some fruit in the future.

It might be the fertile Welsh soil or that I'm a bit heavier handed with the Summer and Winter pruning but mine hasn't shown the thuggish growth VC had with Jenny - maybee this year now that Solo has settled in.

[TrixC]

I’ve had very similar experiences with the dwarf kiwis. I have two females and a male, also growing on an arch. In four years I’ve had no flowers or fruit, slow growth, and despite being allegedly hardy they always get badly hit by late frosts - and I’m in London. I haven’t quite convinced myself to rip them out yet, but only because they were quite expensive plants.

[Scarlet]

Well done. It’s hard to let some things go especially when you’ve put so much effort and time. I took asparagus out of my polytunnel beds as I just wasn’t getting a worthwhile yield for the precious space. But it was a wrench.

I took asparagus out of one of my beds for the same reason - I love it but it just wasn't giving me a decent crop for the space/time.

[Jay-ell]

I’ve had very similar experiences with the dwarf kiwis. I have two females and a male, also growing on an arch. In four years I’ve had no flowers or fruit, slow growth, and despite being allegedly hardy they always get badly hit by late frosts - and I’m in London. I haven’t quite convinced myself to rip them out yet, but only because they were quite expensive plants.

The plants are hardy - but the buds aren't. When do you prune them? I left the winter prune to the last minute as buds seem to start opening at the tip of the laterals (apical dominance?) then moves down the laterals. If those are hit by frost that's fine as I'll be cutting the laterals back anyay. Still might be hit by a late frost but less likely.

[Greenleaves]

Having spent two days digging out the root, I am pleased to see the back of mine

[TrixC]

The plants are hardy - but the buds aren't. When do you prune them? I left the winter prune to the last minute as buds seem to start opening at the tip of the laterals (apical dominance?) then moves down the laterals. If those are hit by frost that's fine as I'll be cutting the laterals back anyay. Still might be hit by a late frost but less likely.

I haven’t pruned them at all, I just haven’t seen any reason to given their limited vigour. Should I?