Actinidia deliciosa 'Hayward' - Chinese gooseberry, Kiwi fruit

Kiwifruits with their hairy-brown skin always look very exotic. Even in this country it is easily possible to harvest your own Kiwis. Kiwi plants are fast-growing climbers and very hardy plants. They can be grown along a wooden pergola as a visual cover and in summer giving shade or they can climb along special trellices as they are used for growing vine. However, Kiwis presumably form a horizontal canopy so that the fruits are in the shade and thus ripen best. Actinidia deliciosa should be planted every 3 to 4 m in slighly acidic soil (pH 4.5 - 5.5). They can also be grown on a metal pyramid if they are pruned regularly and the soil is kept constantly moist. Kiwis inherently are dioecious plants, that means male and female flowers (both cream-coloured) grow on separate plants. The variety ‘Hayward’ is one of the most popular female variety with big fruits. The fruits can reach up to 100 g and are as big as imported Kiwis. The variety ‘Tomuri’ is a corresponding male Kiwi that blossoms at the same time as ‘Hayward’ and assures pollination. In plantations, usually for every three female plants one male plant is grown. A winter-protection is not necessary. If several shoots freeze back in a harsh winter this will not damage the plant: every year between middle of February and middle of March, its side-shoots are pruned to half their length.

Quality: vitamin-packed fruits from own harvest; attractive, cream-coloured flowers; fast-growing climber giving shade and visual cover; hardy garden-plant; easy to winter as container plant (unheated & dark)
Use: planted in the garden (no winter protection necessary); in large pots from April to October/ November outside on balcony, terrace and in the garden - during winter in an unheated winter quarter; all year in an unheated greenhouse