Comments on: Hardy kiwi’s great if it doesn’t eat your house

By: susan harris

susan harris — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 17:38:03 +0000

I've never seen feeding recommended to encourage flowering. The no-flowering problem is usually lack of sunshine, lack of pollinator, or the plant isn't old enough yet to bloom and fruit.

By: Rona

Rona — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 17:28:31 +0000

What do you feed the kiwi vines. I have some 4 year olds and they have yet to flower.

By: joe mitchell

joe mitchell — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 19:56:29 +0000

I have akiwi growing against the garage wall and now is cracking the floor. I only have the one but would like to eratacate it as there is no room any way. It was left by the last owner.

By: Tim

Tim — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 18:06:20 +0000

The recommendations I have seen for the cultivation of the Kiwi include a thoroughly dug and enriched planting bed in full sun with 15 feet allowed for each vine to run. Height of the vines is really about air movement around the fruit and ease of picking. If your privacy fence meets these requirements then you should see rampant growth and excellent fruiting. Of course if conditions are less than optimal then you will get less than optimal growth and especially fruiting. Also of importance is the weight of the fruit crop. It is expected that a mature vine will produce up to a 100 pounds of fruit annually. If your fence can handle the weight then it sounds as it it would work but I am fairly certain that a more substantial structure would be beneficial. Kiwis can be long lived vines and I have seen them grown on concrete pillars for the strength and durability of the concrete. A rotten fence that needs to be replaced around an established plant will damage the plant and be difficult to replace. Also, look online for more information – especially any information relating to Kiwi vines in your specific geographic area and climate. Seeing a full grown specimen at a botanic gardens is very helpful in both your understanding of the needs of the plants and how it will look as it matures in your own garden. All of this information is based upon my own research and my own Kiwi’s are beginning their second year this spring. So far growth has been less than remarkable on all but 2 cultivars. (I planted several selections for evaluation based on local conditions. Anna, Fortyniner, Ken’s Red, Dumbarton Oak’s, Isaai. My location can be on the moist side and I that this would be an asset once the vines got established, it is proving however to be a drawback at least when the vines are young and attempting to establish.)

By: Heather

Heather — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 15:25:47 +0000

Hello, I purchased four hardy kiwi plant, three females and one male, I was wondering if I could plant them along an 8 ft. privacy fence and train them as I wanted or do I need some kind of trellis. Any help would be appreciated.

P.S. One of my favorite fruit, If you like the larger kiwis, you’ll love these!!!

By: Karen

Karen — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 19:01:15 +0000

I am trying to find out what time of year is best to plant new kiwi plants and do deer like to eat them so a fence is probably not best if deer are around? I am in the northern CA area high foothills