Kiwi: landing and care. Qiwi: male or female plant? Split vaccine

Kiwi varieties that grow well in temperate climate and withstand frosts up to 30 degrees. Therefore, more and more gardeners are planting kiwi on household plots. Best time for planting kiwi - spring and summer.

Summer planting of actinidia involves mandatory shading and abundant watering throughout the entire growing season. But plants under 3 years old can to plant and in the fall before the onset of cold weather, as a rule, it is September-October. It is important that kiwi take root in the open ground before frost, then the seedling will winter well.

Kiwi is planted so that 10 female plants account for at least 1 male. Varieties of actinidia dioecious, that is, not requiring a pollinator, normally grow and bear fruit in a single copy.

Kiwi is grown on acidic soil. Clay dry soil is not suitable for actinidia, but groundwater not desirable in close proximity to the root system. Earlier we wrote about.

Kiwi is a tall plant, for several years liana grows to 20 m. From each bush at good care during the period of full fruiting, a yield of up to one hundred kilograms is obtained. Therefore, one cannot do without support.

It can be a wall, a fence, metal, wooden support structures or a special trellis, a gazebo, a pergola. The main thing is that the support should support the weight of branches and fruits.

Kiwi planting

The depth of the pits or grooves for actinidia seedlings is a bayonet spade. Width is 30 cm.
At the bottom of the pit, pour a layer of vermiculite, crushed stones, bricks or expanded clay, since the plant does not tolerate standing water.
Sprinkle the seedling with earth without tamping.
Water abundantly.
Mulch with sawdust.
Protect the plant trimmed 5 liter plastic bottle or mesh with agrofibre.
Drive 3 pegs-guides along the perimeter of the pit. Kiwi will trail along them.

The distance between the seedlings is maintained in the range from 1.5 to 2.5 m. Until the plant takes root, it protect from direct sunlight. To ensure the proper development of the plant, it is planted in fertile soil with humus and wood ash, and also add mineral fertilizers – superphosphate and ammonium nitrate. It is not allowed to use chlorinated fertilizers for feeding actinidia.

Kiwi Care

The root system of the kiwi is superficial; therefore, weeding and digging the earth around a kiwi seedling is extremely undesirable. Mulching trunk circle actinidia necessarily!

Fertilizers are best applied in liquid form or sprinkled under a layer of mulch. Actinidia not drought tolerant a plant. The first few years, garden kiwi is regularly and abundantly watered.

Frost-resistant Actinidia

Actinidia colomict - most hardy grade. It grows like a vine, winding around a support, or in the form of a stunted shrub.
Actinidia argument differs in large sizes. The length of its trunk reaches 25 m.
Actinidia polygam - most valuable medicinal plant. In terms of vitamin C content, it is far superior to known plants.
Carpathian Straton Valentine is a new variety of frost-resistant kiwi bred by Ukrainian breeder Heinrich Straton.

Bloom

In April - June (depending on the variety), actinidia becomes creamy white or pink flowers with a wonderful aroma. Plentiful flowering lasts 2-3 weeks. Female and male plants differ in the structure of inflorescences. Male inflorescences are characterized by the presence of anthers of yellow (actinidia colomictus and polygamum) and black (argument) color.

Pollination occurs with the help of wind, as well as insects - bumblebees or bees. Pollination of dioecious varieties is possible only if the male and female lianas are of the same variety.

After flowering, the ovary is formed in the female flowers. The fruits are harvested in August-September. They have an oblong shape, yellow green or light orange color and a pleasant pineapple smell. The peel of the fetus is smooth or pubescent.

Formation

Actinidia can and should be formed. Here are a few options for palmette creepers. The formation will take several years.

Top dressing

Fertilizers are applied to the soil according to a certain pattern.

Fall:

humus - 2-3 kg / sq.m;
superphosphate - 40-50 g / sq.m;
potassium salt - 10-15 g / sq.m.

In the spring: ammonium nitrate - 20-30 g / sq.m

In hot weather, plants should be watered regularly. Upper layer periodically loosen, mixing with sawdust and peat.

Breeding

Actinidia is propagated cuttings, seeds and root cuttings. Most quick way - rooting of cuttings. In early spring, cuttings up to 30 cm long are cut out and placed on a nutrient substrate for several buds before sap flow begins. Then it is watered and covered with polyethylene.

When 3 leaves appear, the plant is gradually accustomed to life without a greenhouse, and then taken out to the street or balcony. In August, a rooted and matured stalk can be planted in open ground.

Kiwi seeds are soaked in hot water for a day (in a thermos). Sown to a depth of 1 cm. Top can be sprinkled with sand. They build a greenhouse made of polyethylene or a can and put it in a warm, bright place for germination. We have patience - the seeds will sprout in 3 months. And the fruits will appear in best case after 6 years.

Winter preparations

Unviable shoots are removed in autumn, young shoots are covered with spruce branches or peat. Adult plants tolerate winter weather without shelter, tied to trellises. The root system is carefully insulated with peat or humus.

E. Kolbasina's tips for growing kiwi in the garden:
"For the successful growth of kiwi in the garden requires a subtropical climate: warm, long vegetative frost-free period, high humidity air. Grafted kiwi seedlings after planting in the garden on permanent place start bearing fruit for 3-4 years, come into full fruiting for 7 years and bring yields up to 40 years of age. Kiwi breeding varieties are grafted onto seedlings in a split and flap. In addition, kiwi is propagated vegetatively by stem or root cuttings, layering in early spring (laying down an escape and dug it in the ground).
To create favorable conditions for the growth of kiwi in the garden, first of all, climate and soil are taken into account. A threat to the shoots of kiwi is late spring frosts and winds. To prevent the kiwi creepers on the trellis from breaking from the wind, various wind-retaining devices are used. During the heat in the summer, sprinkling and irrigation of kiwi is carried out. Kiwi actinidia does not work well on dense soils that are moisture tight, so artificial drainage is recommended when planting. Kiwi loves alluvial, loose, even with soil stones. Kiwi seedlings are planted in a permanent place in early spring according to a 5x6 meter pattern. Due to the powerful growth of vines (they can reach a height of 7-8 meters) and their garters on trellises in the shape of the letter "T", it is considered most convenient to grow them like a tall vineyard.
When planting seedlings, phosphorus-potassium fertilizers (150-200 g each) are added to each planting pit. In the future, fertilizers are applied during the summer in three periods, depending on the phase of growth and development of vines, in total based on one plant in the total: nitrogen - 500 g, phosphorus - 135 g, potassium - 240 g, magnesium - 75 g. They give parts: in March, just before the start of the growing season, in May after the frost, in September after the formation of the fruits. In row-spacings, it is recommended to sow legumes.
Due to the superficially located root system, it is impossible to deeply loosen the soil around the kiwi vines, and also to apply herbicides. In dry weather, kiwi creepers in the garden must be sprayed with water, water and mulch the soil.
Kiwi pruning is carried out for fruiting and for the formation of a bush: plants are cut late fall (at the end of fruiting) and in the summer (for thinning the crown). When pruning for fruiting, it must be borne in mind that actinidia bears fruit in the first five eyes. Therefore, the shoots of kiwi are cut off after harvesting the last crop in late autumn for 4-5 eyes, removing the prolific branches; only young shoots are left for substitution. Summer pruning of kiwi fruit is carried out to improve the crop, thinning the crown so that the pruning is not excessive, otherwise next year the fruit yield will decrease. When forming, the most healthy and powerful kiwi shoots are left, and all others are cut out. The balance between the aboveground part of the plants and their root system must not be disturbed.
Kiwi insect pollinators are domestic bees and bumblebees. Without pollination, bees form more small berriesand pollination produces more large fruits. "

For the first time, planting an exotic perennial actinidia vine on their site, gardeners begin to worry about its safety closer to the arrival of winter. Their experiences are quite justified: the plant migrated to our region from south-East Asia, where the climate differs significantly from the conditions of the middle zone. Therefore, so that the liana blossoms in the spring, fall care and winter preparations need to be done especially carefully.

Features of preparing actinidia for winter - general tips and advice

It depends on whether the autumn care for actinidia is carried out correctly, whether the site will be decorated with delicate weaving of thin stems. To protect actinidia from its inherent diseases and prepare the plant for the onset of cold weather, the following steps need to be performed.

Watering. Humidify a climbing plant is necessary only in case of prolonged absence of rain. About 6-8 buckets of water are poured under the root of one plant.

Top dressing. In the fall, organic or organic phosphorus and potash fertilizersand then shallow dig trunk circle. For fertilizer per 1 sq. M, it will be enough to plant 2-3 kg of rotted mullein or horse manure, 50 g of superphosphate, 15 g of potassium salt in the soil.

Instead of phosphate and salt, you can use multicomponent mineral fertilizers, which contain phosphorus and potassium and no nitrogen. Actinidia can be fed with compost based on the calculation of 2-3 buckets per plant.

Important! The roots of the liana are located close to the surface, therefore, in order not to damage them, the turning depth should be less than 30 cm.

Pruning. During pruning, it is important not only to follow the manipulation technology, but also to take into account the characteristics of the cultivated variety. For example, the actinidia of the argument sets fruit exclusively on short branches, therefore, to increase the yield, the vines need to regularly shorten the shoots and thin out the crown more intensively.

You can pinch the colomict branches only when the plant reaches the age of 7-10 years. Instead of pruning, the old vine is replaced by a young one.

The polygamy ties the berries on the shortened branches, so even a small cut of them leads to a decrease in yield.

Mulching. Since the roots climbing plant located shallow, the soil along the perimeter of the rhizome is covered with a layer of dry organic materials. Proceed to the unfolding of peat or dry leaves immediately after the onset of constant cold weather.

Shelter. On the territory of our country, three varieties of actinidia gained popularity: colomict, acute, polygamous. If the first grade is able to withstand temperature drops up to -35 ° C and winter well without shelter, then the other two need careful warming.

Video: preparing actinidia for winter in autumn.

Pruning in autumn

A feature of trimming actinidia is the structure of the vine. The plant consists of 3 types of branches:

Growth or vegetative. On such branches fruit is not tied.
Vegetative-generative. Fruits are formed only at the top and bottom of the branch.
Generative. Side shootson which the bulk of the fruit is formed.

During the determination of what species the shoot belongs to, it is necessary to take into account the fact that the liana forms fruits only on the branches of the flow year.

Why crop

As the cold weather approaches, gardeners think about the feasibility of removing branches. Due to the ignorance of the intricacies of growing actinidia, many summer residents do not cut the plant, which is very detrimental to the vine.

Trimming must be done in order to:

prevent excessive crown density;
increase disease resistance;
activate the growth of new branches;
increase the volume of the crop and its quality;
give the vine the desired shape.

Judging by the number of positive properties that autumn trim of actinidia carries, manipulation is necessary exotic plant for further development.

When to crop - in spring or autumn

Optimal time for trimming actinidia occurs in early spring, when the plant has not yet woken up and in late autumn, after dropping leaves.

You can not delay with the spring haircut: if you carry out the manipulation in April, when the sap flow began, the plant will secrete juice for a long time in the places of cut. Poorly lasting wounds can lead to death of the vine.

Autumn pruning dates

As soon as stable negative temperatures are established at night, and the liana drops all the leaves, we can proceed to pruning. Depending on the weather of the climatic zone where actinidia is grown, the branches are removed in October-November.

Important! It is impossible to cut the liana earlier than the specified time - due to the removal of branches, when sap flow has not yet ended, the plant will expire for a long time with juice, as a result of which it will greatly weaken and die.

How to trim actinidia in the fall - instructions and diagram

Due to the fact that actinidia builds up shoots very quickly, in order to prevent severe thickening of the crown, the vine needs to be pruned regularly. Proper haircutting not only increases immunity to diseases and improves productivity, but also makes actinidia more resistant to cold, which is very important when growing relatively heat-loving specimens.

The sequence of autumn trimming of actinidia is as follows:

Remove dried, diseased, mechanically damaged or too sagging branches to the second living kidney.
One or two fruiting branches for 3 years are replaced by young ones. The age of the branch is determined by the color of the bark and its thickness.
Growth branches are shortened, leaving at the base an shoot of at least 50 cm in length.
Mixed shoots are shortened to a length of 30-40 cm.
Old, poorly fruiting branches are cut off under the ring.
Pruning in subsequent years is reduced to thinning the crown and cutting off dried branches.

As a result of carefully following the instructions for autumn trimming of actinidia, which even beginners in gardening can handle, abundant fruiting and maximum decorativeness can be achieved.

Video: Actinidia pruning in the fall for beginners.

Care after trimming

After completion of work in the territory where actinidia grows, rake off the fallen leaves and cut off shoots, pile them up, and then take them out of the site and burn them.

Top dressing after trimming under the vine does not make. After all unnecessary branches are removed and productive ones are shortened, actinidia begins to be prepared for shelter.

Shelter for the winter

The vast majority of species have very low cold resistance - when the temperature drops to -10 ° C, the plant completely freezes. The remaining varieties, among which the most popular colomict and Geneva, can tolerate a temperature drop from -23 to -35 C.

Video: features of sheltering actinidia for the winter.

Do I need to hide Actinidia for the winter

Whether or not it is worth sheltering a creeper for the winter depends on the variety and age of the plant. Species that do not have high frost resistance must be sheltered, otherwise heat-loving creepers will freeze in the middle of winter. Even if the actinidia manages to survive an extreme wintering, it will not bear fruit well.

Regardless of varietal accessories, creepers planted this fall need warming. Representatives of cold-resistant species can winter without shelter at all.

How to shelter for the winter

To protect actinidia from cold weather, the trunk circle is mulched with a layer of peat, straw, sawdust or spruce branches with a thickness of 5-10 cm. Then the plant is untied from the supports and neatly laid on the litter. From above, shoots are covered with a thick layer of mulch, and so that it is not blown away by gusty winter winds, they are applied spruce branches. If the winter turned out to be snowy, snow is regularly poured over the shelter during the winter.

Less frost-resistant varieties, such as polygamous actinidia and acute actinidia, are prepared for winter in the same way as grapes. Depending on weather conditions, the vine is partially or completely covered. In the first case, the lower part of the liana is spudded, and the upper part is wrapped with dense material. Complete shelter of actinidia for the winter is as follows:

The branches of the vines are collected in a free bundle, and then bend it to the ground.
A layer of rags are laid on top, which is covered with polyethylene.
Sprinkle shelter 20 cm with a layer of soil.

Attention! If in the winter there was a prolonged thaw, the shelter must be slightly opened so that the liana does not open.

The shelter clause will be incomplete without mentioning the threat spring frost. In most cases winter shelter filmed in April, but often the weather presents unpleasant surprises in the form of May frosts that can destroy awakened kidneys. To prevent freezing, a liana is wrapped with lutrasil or spanbond.

Video: actinidia shelter for the winter.

What are the features of preparing for winter in the regions

Depending on the variety and weather of the growing region, “kiwi” (the so-called actinidia among the people) is sheltered in different ways. In order for the plant to winter well, it is necessary to correctly determine the method of shelter by comparing the characteristics of the variety and environmental conditions.

In the middle lane

The adult actinidia of the colomict grown in this region (garden), winter without shelter. Acute and polygamous actinidia in the Moscow Region is covered with mulch for the winter, which is applied with branches.

In the Volga region

Heat-loving varieties of actinidia are insulated from above and below with a layer of mulch, which is covered with building materials. To prevent the settlement of mice inside the shelter, poison for rodents is laid out near the branches.

In the Urals and Siberia

Due to the harsh climate in Siberia and the Urals, actinidia is insulated for the winter, using the method of complete shelter, which is described in detail above.

Typical fall care and winter preparation mistakes

To avoid illness and death of the plant caused by improper actions during preparation for winter, the following are presented common mistakes in the care of actinidia in the fall.

All varieties are cut according to one pattern. During the removal of branches, it is necessary to take into account the characteristics of the cultivated variety, since their representatives can react differently to the same action.
Do not comply with the terms of shelter. Too early warming ends with the death of the vine.
Liana is cut off during active sap flow. Wounds after untimely pruning are not healed, and the liana slowly runs out of juice and dies.

To keep actinidia on its site until the next season, you need to properly care for it in the fall - trim it in time and properly cover for the winter. Care will be rewarded beautiful decoration plot throughout the summer and a plentiful harvest of healthy fruits.

In contact with

Homestead of the early 90's

In European countries, it has become common to see kiwi fruits in store windows. And we still have many gardeners who do not know anything about this "new" berry culture.

Kiwi is one of the most recent tamed people wild plants. It is from the family of actinidia, the genus actinidia. Came from a wild Chinese actinidia.

Plants of this genus are perennial deciduous tree creepers. Distributed from 51 ° north to 8 ° south latitude in China, Japan, Indochina, Manchuria and in our Far Eastern forests. There are 36 species in total, and most of them are thermophilic, tropical and subtropical. In our country, 4 species are found in the wild state: actinidia colomict, argument, Giralda, polygamum. Lianas with their stems and young shoots encircle the support - trees, shrubs or trellises. By biological properties and chemical composition all actinidia fruits, including the species we have, and kiwi are very similar. The fruits contain a record amount of vitamin C and other biologically active substances. Unlike our actinidia, kiwi fruits must be peeled before use. It is covered with a thick pubescence of red short hairs. They take it off like peel from boiled potatoes. The berry is juicy, with delicate green pulp, a very pleasant sour-sweet taste, with a strong pineapple aroma. Inside is a light green soft, sweet-tasting core, to which numerous small dark brown seeds are attached. When eating, they are not felt and only give the berry a light nutty flavor. One kiwi berry contains about a thousand seeds. Fruits are eaten only finally ripened, soft. Kiwi has a large fruit size (the original wild species Chinese actinidia, fetal mass is 30 g.) Now breeding varieties have a fetal mass of up to 100 g.

The first kiwi varieties were created as a result of a long (since 1906) selection in New Zealand: Highward, Bruno, Allison, Monti, Abbot, as well as pollinating varieties Matua and Tomuri.

First brought to New Zealand from China, a Chinese actinidia plant called yang-tao, or "Chinese gooseberry." Withdrawn cultivars renamed “kiwi”, as the fruits turned out to be similar in appearance to this bird, the emblem of the country. Then in Europe, in particular in France, where kiwi began to spread widely, the fruits became known as the "plant mouse."

Kiwi plants reach a height of 7-8 m, young shoots, leaves and fruits are covered with thick red hairs. The leaves are very large, oval or rounded, dark green. The buds appear in the bosom of the leaves on the young shoots of the current year. The growth of shoots is very fast: three weeks after the beginning of bud blooming, they can reach a length of 15-20 cm. Flowering lasts from late May to early June - about 10 days. Kiwi plants, like other types of actinidia, are dioecious, that is, male and female.

Sex is determined in the first year of flowering and does not change until the end of the life of the creeper. Male plants have numerous stamens in the flower, and female plants have bisexual flowers, in the center there is a large pestle and small numerous stamens around. Pollen in them is often non-viable and self-pollination does not occur. Pollen from the stamens of male flowers to female is carried by the wind or by insects. In the flowers of a female plant, the pestle is located above the stamens, which is also an adaptation to cross pollination with alien pollen. We can talk about the functional female actinidia flower. Kiwi insect pollinators are domestic bees and bumblebees. On plantations, it is recommended to put 8 beehives per 1 hectare. Without pollination by bees, more small berries are formed, and with pollination with the help of bees, more fruits are formed with an average mass above 80 g. Unripe fruits are solid. When they ripen, they become soft. Kiwi berries are very transportable due to pubescence. They are transported in special refrigerators over long distances from New Zealand to all countries of the world. Ripe kiwi fruits can be stored in the refrigerator for 6-8 weeks.

To create a kiwi creeper garden, climate and soil must be considered. In France, for example, the main obstacle is late spring frosts and winds. The buds begin to bloom in March, when spring frosts can ruin young shoots. Trellis creepers are also prone to damage from strong wind, and therefore use various wind retention devices. During the heat in the summer, kiwi plantations are sprinkled and irrigated.

Kiwi actinidia does not work well on dense soils that do not allow moisture to pass. Therefore, artificial drainage is recommended. She loves loose, loose, even with soil stones. On industrial plantations, kiwi arrange irrigation facilities, which in early spring are used for sprinkling to combat frost, and in summer for irrigation.

Planting seedlings in a permanent place is carried out in early spring. Plants are planted according to the 5X6 m pattern. Due to the powerful growth of vines and their ligature on trellises in the shape of the letter “T”, their cultivation is considered to be the most convenient as a tall vineyard. In France, on industrial plantations, kiwi shoots are cut for 4-5 eyes in the winter, after the last harvest.

Pruning is carried out to form a bush and fruiting. When forming, the most healthy and powerful shoots are left, and all others are cut out. When pruning for fruiting, it must be borne in mind that actinidia bears fruit in the first five eyes. Plants are cut in two terms: in winter, immediately after harvesting, and in summer - for thinning the crown. During winter pruning, the offspring branches are removed, only young shoots are left for replacement. Summer pruning is carried out to improve the crop, thinning the crown, but so that pruning is not excessive. Otherwise, next year the yield of fruits will decrease. The balance between the aboveground part of plants and their root system should never be disturbed. When pruning, Care is needed, and then, as those gardeners who have dedicated their work to the kiwi creepers believe: "You will be happy with your creeper if it is happy with you as a master master."

When planting seedlings, phosphorus-potassium fertilizers (150-200 g each) are introduced into the planting pit. In the future, fertilizers are applied during the summer in 3 terms, depending on the phase of growth and development of vines, in total, based on one plant, nitrogen 500 g, phosphorus 135 g, potassium 240 g and magnesium 75 g. They are given in parts: in March before the start of the growing season, in May after the frost has passed, and in September after the formation of the fruits.

In the aisles, they usually tinned or sow legumes. Due to the superficially located root system, it is impossible to deeply loosen the soil around the vines, as well as to apply herbicides. In dry weather, vines in the garden are sprayed with water, watered and mulch the soil under them.

The grafted varietal seedlings after planting on a permanent place in the garden begin to bear fruit in the 3-4th year. They enter full fruiting on the 7-8th year and bring the crop up to the age of 40.

To grow a kiwi in the garden, you need planting material. It is obtained by vaccination of breeding varieties on kiwi seedlings. To obtain seedlings, seeds are selected from ripe berries, washed from the pulp and stratified. First they are kept in wet sand for 2-3 weeks at a temperature of 10-20 °, and then at least two weeks at 4-5 °. Apply vaccinations in the cleft and scab. In addition, kiwi is propagated vegetatively by stem or root cuttings. Shoots are cut during the period of their intensive growth, with 3-4 buds on the handle. Leave the top two sheets, the rest are removed. Cuttings are placed in a fogging plant or in a greenhouse with a mixture of soil, sand and vermiculite (perlite). Plant them vertically. After 3-4 weeks, roots appear.

Root cuttings are cut 3-8 cm long and planted horizontally, laying on a layer of sterilized soil, and completely covered with soil. You can make cuts in early spring, having laid the shoot and dug it in the ground. In our experiments, kiwi is well rooted in summer stem cuttingsbut left in the greenhouses for the winter, they completely died. The same thing happened with seedlings obtained from seeds left in the greenhouse for the winter. In a heated greenhouse, seedlings grow quickly and can be used for planting in the open ground of more southern areas.

Acclimatization, flowering and fruiting of kiwi are possible in the subtropics - on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus, in Georgia. There, work began on the cultivation of kiwi and the production of seedlings of breeding foreign varieties. Kiwi requires a subtropical climate: warm, long vegetative frost-free period, high humidity. At the same time promoting this valuable culture to the north will contribute to the focused work on crossing Chinese actinidia with other, more frost-resistant species. For the first time, Chinese actinidia crossed with actinidia of argument, American gardener David Furchald in California in 1927. According to him, in the future, new researchers will return to the crossing of actinidia, when Comet Halley returns in 70 years and new astronomers observe it. Indeed, quite recently, breeders' interest in obtaining by hybridization and selection of new hybrids has revived.

Our more frost-resistant actinidia are not inferior to kiwi in the quality of the fruits, but they are only introduced into the culture and have smaller fruits. It should be noted that actinidia colomicta contains almost 10 times more vitamin C than kiwi. In the fruits of kiwi varieties, only about 100-150 mg% ascorbic acid, and in the fruits of actinidia colomicta 1000-1200 mg%. Two berries of actinidia colomict are enough to satisfy the daily requirement of the human body for vitamin C.

Gardeners in the northern regions may well propagate frost-resistant actinidia so that it takes its rightful place.
E. Kolbasina, candidate of biological sciences

To print

Lyudmila Arkhipova 01/28/2014 | 7605

It turns out that even a tropical plant such as Chinese actinidia can be planted in the garden. It is quite easy to grow from seeds, but you need to remember that kiwi needs abundant watering.

Enjoying a very ripe kiwi fruit, I discovered many small black seed. Rinsing them with water, soaked in aloe juice for the night. Part of the seeds sowed superficially, the other - sprinkled with a thin layer of sand (all in one container), covered and put on the windowsill. In 10 days there were friendly seedlings. Despite different ways sowing, I didn’t notice any differences, perhaps during irrigation the sand was evenly distributed over the surface and covered unsprayed seeds. Having removed the lid, she left the seedlings until the spring on the windowsill in a cool study.

Kiwi shoots safely overwintered and grew up, I didn’t even dive them. In the spring dropped off seedlings in open ground, one of them planted at the well, where the plant got a lot of water. And in the first year it gave a growth of 2 m. The remaining seedlings grew to 50-100 cm. So I realized that kiwi is a "water loaf", and when transplant found that root system surface, so the soil should be loose, air and moisture permeable.

Autumn foliage turned yellow and flew around. The first winter did not cover anything, as a result, weaker seedlings froze, some partially froze, but quickly recovered over the summer, giving several shoots and forming a stem and "sleeves" like grapes.

Knowing that Chinese actinidia is a dioecious liana, she left herself three plants in the hope that they would be heterosexual. Now annually i cover for the winter one and a half meter shtamb, wrapping newspapers in several layers. Plants with such insulation did not freeze anymore, but late frost last spring killed most flower buds. Several survived on the same shoot, located closer to the roof of the house. Bloom discovered by chance, since the liana is very powerful, densely leafy, and if the faded flower had not fallen directly under her feet, she would have missed the long-awaited moment. I examined a few more buds and open flowers in the crown. They are similar to rose hips, have a pleasant aroma. But, as I later realized, my largest plant was masculine, and naturally I couldn’t wait for the fruit. It will be very disappointing if the other two are such.

When growing actinidia without trimming and the formation of crowns not enough to do. The growth per season can be several meters long, and if you do not shorten it in time, the shoots reach neighboring plants, which may die as a result of strangulation. But you can not cut plants in early spring at the beginning of sap flow, as I did, almost destroying the vine. It expired for several days, and this despite my efforts to stop the juice with a garden var. But in summer and autumn, you can form a plant without problems.

I feed infusion chicken droppingsfermented with grass (comfrey, nettle, clover, onion and garlic husks), ash, mulch soil around plants with compost and sunflower husk. I hope that in the future I will not only see flowering, but also try my own kiwi.