arrrghh! my Kiwi vine

[daisydaisy]

...It's been got by the frost and is not looking too well The leaves have turned brown and all droopy...is there anything i can do to save it??

Being a bit stupid, i presumed it would last through these early frosts...obviously not

Help would be really appreciated, thanks x

[FB.]

I don't know much about Kiwi's, but......

It might appear to be dead above the ground, but still alive below the ground and in the main stems.
See if it comes back to life next year? You might be surprised.

The Mrs has some fuschia bushes (not fruit, but I'm making a point - bear with me!). In their first year of planting, an early frost killed them and she wondered if she'd have to replace them. They came back to life from the ground and the lower branches. The frost last week has "killed" them again, but I'm sure they'll be back next year - bigger and stronger.

[Two_Sheds]

Not all Kiwi are hardy. Do you know what variety you have got? Does this help: Royal Horticultural Society - Gardening Advice: Growing Kiwi Fruit

[MaureenHall]

I've had kiwi vines for years and the frost gets them every year. They do come back again next year, as FB said, bigger and stronger

[daisydaisy]

Thanks for the help..the variety is Actinidia deliciosa ...so do you think i should cut off the dead looking branches or just leave them to do their own thing?? Thanks again x

[FB.]

We were told not to cut off our "dead" fuschia's until after new growth starts to appear, so that you can see which stems are still alive.
Whether that applies to Kiwi's, I don't know, but given the shock <frost> it's already had, I would not stress it any further by hard pruning.
I'd only trim off bits that start to decay and threaten to establish wood-rot infections.

In short, I'd leave it as it is - only prune off parts that you really don't want to keep.

[kernowyon]

I'm with you on this Maureen, mine gets frosted every year and I allways think it will never recover, but it comes back every year. As for cutting them back I dont bother until they really start to get crowded

[Two_Sheds]

The Beeb says
The plant is of borderline hardiness (bordering on tender), young flowering shoots are often injured by spring frosts. Warm shelter and full sun is essential, preferably under glass in very cold gardens. The female plants need a male pollinator, one of these serving to fertilise up to seven fruiting plants.

Kew Gardens add: "In spring, as the leaf buds begin to grow, old wood should be pruned out to encourage new shoots and fruiting spurs. The vine is susceptible to wind damage. It will not grow well in areas subject to late spring frosts since these damage the flowering wood, but when the plant is dormant, after the leaves have fallen, it can withstand considerably lower temperatures."

[daisydaisy]

Thanks..i'll keep my fingers crossed then