Can you grow Kiwi in the UK

[veggiechicken]

I'm sure all of the kiwis are manageable, if trained and pruned. As I didn't know what to do with it, I let it do its own thing - that was the mistake!

[Jay-ell]

Trix

Grape Vines, brambles etc can all become a monster if they’re allowed to romp freely. Keep your secateurs sharp and remember that waiting till winter to prune everything increases the vigorous growth come spring whereas summer pruning removes the energy and vigour.

I think that if you start off pruning regularly it should be easier than having to hack back a monster as the monster would have a well developed root system that will be able to put alot of energy into the new growth, but the newly developed and pruned plant will have a better balance of canopy to root.

What varieties did you get? Remember that you won't need the male to get big as only a few male flowers are needed in comparison to the females.

[Jay-ell]

VC et al

Just been reading through Martin Crawfords' "Creating A Forest Garden" and noticed something on Kiwi's that hadn't sunk in before:-
Secondary uses: Edible Sap

Haven't found much on the net about this yet but PFAF does mention for kiwi berries it as well
Actinidia arguta Tara Vine PFAF Plant Database

So, if you want to control the rampant vine growing out of the patio you could hack it down in summer & winter then tap it for sap in the spring so that there isn't as much food to give that initial woomph (technical term).

Don't know how often you would have to do this to bash the thing into submission but it might have an effect.

[TrixC]

Trix

Grape Vines, brambles etc can all become a monster if they’re allowed to romp freely. Keep your secateurs sharp and remember that waiting till winter to prune everything increases the vigorous growth come spring whereas summer pruning removes the energy and vigour.

I think that if you start off pruning regularly it should be easier than having to hack back a monster as the monster would have a well developed root system that will be able to put alot of energy into the new growth, but the newly developed and pruned plant will have a better balance of canopy to root.

What varieties did you get? Remember that you won't need the male to get big as only a few male flowers are needed in comparison to the females.

I got the female Ken's Red and male Weiki. Planted a couple of weeks ago and leafing out strongly now.

[Jay-ell]

How big is the arch? Looking at some of the videos on YouTube orders seem to grow the vines in considerably less space than VCs vine has. Of course the kiwi berry is supposed to be less vigorous than the furry kiwi.

I plan on training my Solo along the top of a 36' fence. Already got the telescopic loppers answer extending pruning saw just in case. May be just the excuse I need to buy one of those chainsaws on a stick things but boys and their toys eh

[TrixC]

How big is the arch? Looking at some of the videos on YouTube orders seem to grow the vines in considerably less space than VCs vine has. Of course the kiwi berry is supposed to be less vigorous than the furry kiwi.

I plan on training my Solo along the top of a 36' fence. Already got the telescopic loppers answer extending pruning saw just in case. May be just the excuse I need to buy one of those chainsaws on a stick things but boys and their toys eh

Arch is about 2.4m tall, 1.4m wide. I've planted one plant on each side.

[devonuk]

The hardy kiwi actinidia arguta Issai ticks every single box which is left unticked by "normal" kiwi fruit. It is self-fertile, non-invasive (about the vigour of a large-flower clematis), fruits early in life, and heavily, fruit tastes like kiwi but sweeter, is about the size of a large pea and doesn't need peeling. I grow it successfully in the ground on a w-facing wall at 750 feet in Devon, and in a pot.

This only applies to "Issai" btw, the species is (apparently) dioecious and fiendishly vigorous.

[snakeshack]

Hmmm kiwi sap wine................

[chrisdb]

The hardy kiwi actinidia arguta Issai ticks every single box which is left unticked by "normal" kiwi fruit. It is self-fertile, non-invasive (about the vigour of a large-flower clematis), fruits early in life, and heavily, fruit tastes like kiwi but sweeter, is about the size of a large pea and doesn't need peeling. I grow it successfully in the ground on a w-facing wall at 750 feet in Devon, and in a pot.

This only applies to "Issai" btw, the species is (apparently) dioecious and fiendishly vigorous.

Is seems a bit unreliable when it comes to early fruiting. My parents had one for 8 years that never produced a single kiwi, despite growing happily enough. Presumably some combinatio of light, warmth and ground conditions was to blame.

[veggiechicken]

Hmmm kiwi sap wine................

When I attacked the thug with loppers, hoping to kill it (I mean, prune it) the stems dripped sap. It was like walking through a shower.

[milupas]

I had one growing in a big pot for a couple of years. I believe it was the Jenny variety, self-fertile
And we had a crop of 4 tiny super-delicious kiwis. Here is a photo
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xe-6n5AtWM...0/minikiwi.JPG

Sadly we had to abandon it as we moved house

[yummersetter]

I've got three huge thugs and one smaller ( and younger) fruiting kiwi. The big guys were bought as two female, one male plant; it seems that all are male and cover 30ft each. The newer one is labelled as Issai and had around a hundred half-size fuzzy kiwis last year. I picked them in November and stored them till they ripened in January - they were good for about two months before they over-ripened. One BIG extra warning - the 'thirty ft above ground' kiwi vines have an even larger root spread - I've been chopping them out for weeks to reclaim the veg beds twenty feet away.

[Jay-ell]

When I attacked the thug with loppers, hoping to kill it (I mean, prune it) the stems dripped sap. It was like walking through a shower.

Next time tie clean pop bottles to the cut ends and collect the sap

[veggiechicken]

I hope there'll never be a next time - although it has emerged from under the concrete in 2 places
Its so pushy

[sadowska]

To kiwi or not to kiwi?

I've been desperate to get a kiwi berry vine but this thread is making me worry! I was going to plant it in a foot-squared brick lined hole in the patio by the wall of my house. It will be under the kitchen window so I can't let it get too high. I wanted to let it climb on an old wrought iron gate hooked onto the wall.

Is this all a bad idea? Will it tolerate being kept quite small to fit the space? Will the roots escape the hole and end up pushing through the expensive rubber surfacing on the (concrete base) patio?

Grateful for any advice!
Thanks