Harvested some of my hardy kiwi recently and thought I'd share some pics. This is the "Anna" variety. It took about 6 years for this one to bear fruit but I would have to say it is my favourites so far for flavour. Hardy Kiwi's are sweeter than the common fuzzy kiwi and you just eat them like a grape... skin and all. I brought them out this weekend at Thanksgiving and everyone loved them (and also had never heard of such a thing).

I pick them just as they start to ripen on the vine. Ones that aren't soft yet will soften on the counter or in the fridge. The nice thing about these is they don't seem to be affected by any disease or bugs. The only issue with hardy kiwi is getting through the month of May without getting frost damage.

Tyler

 
 
 

Looks great Tyler!  Which ones have you tasted?

 I ask because I got a Ken's Red to trial here, everyone says it's too hot here, I'm going to plant it in East only sun.  It has survived quite well in a large pot for a year so I think I may have a chance.

Hi Don,

I've tasted Anna, Dumbarton's Oaks, Meader, Chang Bai Mountain and Issai. I also have Purpurea, Ken's Red, Mafil, 119-40-B, MSU and 74-49 but they haven't fruited for me. My Ken's Red seems to die back to ground level each year so I think I might move it to another spot that might be more sheltered. I also have the Kolomitka kiwi (even smaller) and they taste similar.

From the ones I've had there are only slight differences in taste though I do like the Anna best.

Tyler

Congrats Tyler they look great!


Can they be layered or rooted?

 

Man those look delicious!  Might have to look into getting some.    

There are hardy kiwi varieties!? I always thought they are tropical fruits...

Hi Joe. Yes they can be rooted. Its easiest to do that with semi-hardened green wood in June/July. It roots very easy then. Dormant wood is a bugger to root consistently. These vines will push out 10' of growth in a couple months which constantly needs pruning so I will have lots of cuttings available next year if anyone is interested.
Tyler

Hi tylerj,
Do you have male and female trees for the pollination ?
I just bought a Kiwai issai this year. It was covered in fruits, and I could taste them. I was positively surprised by the taste. Like a small kiwi .
I'll see next year if I get anything from it, since I just have one plant because it is supposed to be self-fertile.
I'll see if it dares to bloom at least.
I have hayward too, and haven't seen a flower in 2 or 3 seasons. It had 2 kiwis when I bought it - or I wouldn't have.
Well, still I shouldn't have as hayward needs lots of space and lots of time to start fruiting.
Hopefully the kiwai issai won't make me wait ... hopefully .
Is your issai fruiting ? How do you rate it when compared to the others ? Does yours take a lot of space ?

Hi Jds... yes I have a couple males that pollinate the females. I have Issai but it isn't as hardy and it died down to the ground over this past winter. Its grown back and should have some again next year if we have a normal winter. The Issai doesn't grow as crazy as the regular Argutas. It stays more compact and can be pruned to the space you have available. Mine bloomed for many years but all the forming kiwis dropped every year until the year my male arguta bloomed and then it was loaded with fruit. The term "self-fertile" is often used for Issai but if it does set fruit without pollination the seeds in the fruit will be infertile. I do like the taste of Issai also and its fairly similar.

Your Hayward will need a male Deliciosa to pollinate it if you just bought the female. I have a male Chinensis (its a seedling of a Zespri Gold) that has bloomed in my greenhouse for the last 5 years. Unfortunately no females yet.

Do you still offer cuttings, Tylerj?

Sure ..  I can take a few more cuttings... pm me your address.

Tyler

this is amazing, I would like to see a photo of the whole vine to get an idea how much room they need to grow. They grow like a grapevine?  these would grow in a zone 7?

Sorry Peter I missed your post. Yes they would grow in zone 7. I believe they are good from zone 4-10. My current pics are on a different computer at the moment but here is one from back in 2010. These vines were in their 3rd year from a cutting so you can see the growth. They are like a grape vine and need to be pruned otherwise they will become a tangled mess in a hurry lol. I say that because I have been lazy with my pruning and they are indeed a tangled mess at the moment lol. My current vines will put out several 10-15 foot shoots during the season.
Tyler

 


Actually I did find a more recent pic... this is what they look like not pruned properly lol.

 

Very cool.  I tried to grow these years ago, but they completely defoliated before I got them home.

thanks for the view, I get tremendous joy out of seeing people growing fruits. I get joy doing so myself :)

I'm currently growing the Issai variety and pruning it into a bush form. EL did a few videos on spur pruning which is basically pruning every 8 inches of new growth back to 4 inches. It then spurs out into a bush form rather than into a few long vines. Very similar to pinching buds on figs. Issai is also very hardy and self pollinating!

Hi ross,
Here is hoping that you are right about Issai being self pollinating as I just planted one Issai (2 or 3 grouped in a pot in fact) !
I'll see next year if I get flowers and then fruits ... Hopefully !

Issai is my least hardy of all mine. It suffers dieback quite frequently. The last 2 years it died back to the ground but regrew from the roots where all the rest were fine. Mine flowered for 4 or 5 years never setting any fruit until the year my male bloomed then it was loaded with fruit. If old enough it may set small amounts of fruit parthenocarpically but the fruit would be smaller and without seed.

Hi Tyler...I planted my Issai 5 or 6 years ago and it never did anything for me until this spring when it started growing like crazy and climbed all over my apple tree producing flowers and delicious grape sized fruits.I never had a problem with dieback though.