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The Golden Kiwi is closely related to the Kiwi fruit: they were once considered the same species. The Golden Kiwi grows wild throughout China and has recently been cultivated for commercial production. Like the kiwi, it is a perennial, woody, fruiting vine or climbing shrub that produces berries. Golden Kiwis have softer, shorter hairs on their skin, similar to peach fuzz. They have a sweeter, more aromatic flavor, and pointed ends. Their flesh is translucent and can be green, lime green, or bright yellow. Kiwi vines cannot support the plant and should be grown on trellises, arbors, or trained to form an espalier along a wall. Vines produce cream or yellow flowers that lack nectar, but are pollinated by bees. Plants are dioecious, meaning a plant will only produce male or female flowers. A male plant, which will not bear fruit, must be within 1 meter of a female plant for pollination. Some cultivars are auto-pollinating. Kiwis are not drought-tolerant. They require a 6-8 month frost-free growing season and 600-1100 hours of winter chilling below 7°C. Young growth can be killed back by frosts of -2°C. Kiwi seeds are not true to type, so the plants are propagated through cuttings or grafted plants. They will fruit on second-year wood. Kiwifruit should be harvested when their skins turn brown and cut fruit shows black seeds - or before the first frost. If they are harvested before they are fully ripe, they can be left at room temperature for a week to soften and sweeten.
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