Actinidia deliciosa Kiwi fruit

Planting position: Full sun. For areas with mild winters and summers, and with wind-protection.
Requires regular, thorough watering, never allowing soil to dry out completely. Well-draining, slightly acidic, compost-enriched loamy soil and generous layers of mulching. Pergola with wiring of 50cm intervals to train and tie the vine’s branches to. Never cultivate around these shallow-rooting plants. Early winter and summer pruning is the cutting of fruit-bearing wood down to 6 buds. The new growth on 1-year-old canes produces fruit. Thin out foliage for letting light in. Train the strongest stem vertically and let leaders eventually grow horizontally left and right, with 45cm intervals. Prune away all unwanted growth and also shorten non-fruiting shoots. In the beginning of summer, cut back fruit-bearing shoots to the 6 buds following the last kiwi fruit. Shorten these again in winter, down to the two buds following the last kiwi fruit.
Propagate from grafting or budding.
Fertilising programme: 1st year applications - 125g of 3:1:5, each in winter and the end of spring; 2nd year applications - 250g of 3:1:5, each in winter and the end of spring; 3rd year applications - 400g of 3:1:5, each in winter and the end of spring; 4th year applications - 600g of 3:1:5, each in winter and the end of spring; 5th year applications - 800g of 3:1:5, each in winter and the end of spring; 6th year applications - of 1kg of 3:1:5, each in winter and the end of spring. Also apply foliar feed in late summer.
Harvesting is done with the largest fruit first, from autumn to beginning of winter. Store in a warm room for further ripening.
Pests, diseases and their cures: Kiwi fruit plants are fortunately quite pest- and disease-free.

This deciduous vine was previously known as the Chinese gooseberry. Underneath the kiwi fruit’s hairy, brown skin is the most delicious green flesh. Its male and female flowers are borne on different plants and are only destinguishable once in flower.