Kiwi

[boatsman]

Is it usual for kiwi vines to lose all their leaves in winter?

[veggiechicken]

Mine does in Sunshiny South Wales

[boatsman]

Thank you veggiechicken, I was rather worried as both the male and female plants are completely bare, they just have knobby lumps all over.

[veggiechicken]

Never yet met a male or female who doesn't have knobby lumps I can't remember when the leaves form but I think its latish

[vitis]

Yes it's normal, they're not really tropical plants like people think they are, they're deciduous.
Kiwi species grow right into southern Siberia, those species (actinidia kolomitka and actinidia arguta) are meant to do better here than normal kiwis. They also don't have the furry skins so you can eat them whole, but they're small so they're being marketed as "grape kiwis", "baby kiwis" and "kiwi berries" in Europe where more of them are grown, they're also known as "Arctic kiwi" and "hardy kiwi" respectively.