Kiwi in zone 7

[gone 2 seed]

Has anyone grown Kiwi in zone 7? If so how did it do? Where did you grow it and how long did the plant live?

 

[GardeNerd]

I am on the boarder of zones 9 and 10, but I have taken Master Gardener tours in the California central valley, zone 7. I have seen Haward Kiwi grown there sucessfully.

 

[vfem]

I have seen it growing in NC.... but I've never tried it!

 

[GardeNerd]

I grow a variety called Vincent that is a lower chill variety. I got flowers on my female last year and it is just starting to flower again this year. My dog accidentally root pruned the female for me 2 summers ago, and I think it helped. I still have yet to get flowers on the male. They are on their 5th spring.

They are supposed to be pretty long lived like grapes.

 

[gone 2 seed]

I grow a variety called Vincent that is a lower chill variety. I got flowers on my female last year and it is just starting to flower again this year. My dog accidentally root pruned the female for me 2 summers ago, and I think it helped. I still have yet to get flowers on the male. They are on their 5th spring.

They are supposed to be pretty long lived like grapes.

How large is the vine and about how many kiwi do you get from each plant each year.

 

[GardeNerd]

No Kiwi fruit yet, so I can't report on the production. I have read it usually takes 6 years to get fruit. I planted it 5 years ago.

It grows about 12' to 15' a year. I prune it back like a grape vine when it drops its leaves for the year in the late fall. It has a few main canes with a dozen 12" off shoots on each cane. I don't have it on a pergola, but I have seen them grown that way many times beautifully. The ones I saw in the central valley were grown on structures that looked a little like clothes lines. Kind of like a T on each end separated with 10 feet of wire in between. I grow mine near the North end of my garage and it gets mid day and afternoon sun. It grows along the same long cable support I used for the berries.

This pic was taken in the late spring/ early summer. It gets a little bigger.

 

[GardeNerd]

I also had a pic of the flowers. The stems and leaves are soft and fuzzy like the fruit.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I've ordered a hardy kiwi variety and should get it in about a month, after the danger of frost is past. I image you are aware there are two different kinds of kiwi. The fuzzy kind you see in the stores do not do well in cold weather. I've read they are just a little more cold sensative when flowering that an orange tree.

The type I am getting is the hardy kiwi. The fruit is smooth, eaten without peeling, and about the size of a grape. I'm still undecided if I should train it to grow on my shed (southern and eastern exposure) or use it on a trellis where it gets partial shade and some wind protection, yet would shade my root cellar/storm cellar from the afternoon sun. I'm thinking both, a female on the shed and a male and female on the trellis. They are about 175' apart. At the risk of hijacking this thread, is this close enough for pollination?

 

[GardeNerd]

My area only averages about 250 to 400 chill hours most years so we are very limited in what we can successfully grow. We don't see Hardy Kiwis around here at all. The only one folks have good luck with here is the "Vincent." If you go further inland, people report good results with "Hayward." There is a catalog company I always enjoy reading about the dozens of kiwi varieties out there.

http://www.onegreenworld.com//index.php?cPath=6_150

I have been curious about Hardy Kiwis for a decade since first reading about them, but can never find them at the farmers' markets to try the fruit. I thought "Hardy Red" and "Ken's Red" would be fun to try, but they need far more chill than we get even in a good year.

What variety are you getting?

 

[Ridgerunner]

I have been curious about Hardy Kiwis for a decade since first reading about them, but can never find them at the farmers' markets to try the fruit. I thought "Hardy Red" and "Ken's Red" would be fun to try, but they need far more chill than we get even in a good year.

What variety are you getting?

I'm getting the Arctic Beauty Kiwi. The male has the pink, white, and green leaves. I thought I would try it just to see what happens.