| Description |
The Kiwi is a perennial, woody, fruiting vine or climbing shrub native to southern China that produces berries known as "Kiwis" or "Kiwifruit." 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. The one exception is 'Jenny,' which is a self-fertile cultivar. 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. Kiwifruits are oblong, 6cm long, and covered in short brown hairs. The flesh inside is translucent bright green with small black seeds and tastes like a cross between gooseberry and strawberry. 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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