Kiwi Fruit
Actinidia deliciosa

Family: Actinidiaceae

What it is like

Actinidia deliciosa is a deciduous Climber growing to 9 m (29ft 6in) at a medium rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 7 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from July to August, and the seeds ripen from October to December. The species is dioecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is to be found on any one plant so both male and female plants must be grown if seed is required). and is pollinated by Bees, insects. The plant is not self-fertile. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil.

Height (m): 9

Where it is found

Derived in cultivation from A. chinensis, it is not known in a truly wild situation.

E. Asia - China

Conservation Status:

Countries/locations it is found in

Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, Europe, New Zealand, North America, Pacific, Slovenia, South America, Switzerland, Tasmania, Uruguay.

How it is used

Food

Rating: 5

Fruit - raw or cooked. A delicious flavour, the fruit can be up to 8cm long, it is very juicy when fully ripe and has a refreshing, acid flavour. It contains a number of small seeds, but these are easily eaten with the fruit. Rich in vitamin C. Fresh fruits contain 100 - 420mg vitamin C per 100g and 8 - 14% carbohydrate. Acidity is 1 - 2%, mainly citric acid. The fruit ripens in November and can store for 3 - 4 months. Yields of 8 - 30 tonnes per hectare are possible. Leaves are a famine food.

Seed: includes nuts, cereals, peas and beans.

Medicine

Rating: 1

The fruits, stems and roots are diuretic, febrifuge and sedative. They are used in the treatment of stones in the urinary tract, rheumatoid arthralgia, cancers of the liver and oesophagus.

Diuretic: Acts on the kidneys, promoting the flow of urine.

Febrifuge: Reduces fevers.

Sedative: Gently calms, reducing nervousness, distress and irritation.

Urinary: Treats urinary problems, including urinary tract infection (UTI).

Vitamin C: Plants good for their vitamin C content

Other

Rating: 1

Paper is made from the bark. If the bark is removed in one piece from near the root and placed in hot ashes, it becomes very hard and can be used as a tube for a pencil.

Paper: Related to the entry for Fibre, these plants have been specifically mentioned for paper making.

Pencil: A couple of plants especially mentioned for making the tubes that pencil leads fit into.

Food Forest: Plants for Edible Forest Gardens and Food Forests.

Scented Plants: Plants noted for their scent

How it is grown

Prefers a sound loamy acid soil, it dislikes alkaline soils and becomes chlorotic at pH 6 or higher. Tolerates a pH in the range 5.5 to 7.3. Succeeds in semi-shade but full sun is best for fruit production. Prefers a sheltered position. Does well when grown into trees. Plants requires a 6 - 8 month frost-free growing season. They are hardy to about -12°c when fully dormant but young growth is very subject to damage by late frosts, being killed back at -2°c. Plants also require a winter chilling of 600 - 1100 hours below 7°c and a long warm summer to ripen the fruit. Plants fruit on second year wood or on fruit spurs produced on older wood, any pruning is best carried out in the winter. The flowers are sweetly scented. A very ornamental plant, it is widely cultivated in warm temperate zones for its edible fruit, there are many named varieties. The fruit can store for up to 9 months at 0°c with a relative humidity of 90%, but under domestic conditions 4 - 6 weeks is optimal. This is a rampant climbing plant, supporting itself by twining around branches etc. Plants have been seen with very good crops of fruit at the Hillier Arboretum in Hampshire in several autumns. These plants had outgrown their planned supports and had climbed 15 metres into neighbouring trees. The main problem with them would be how to harvest the fruit. The female 'Heywood' is the most commonly cultivated form in Britain (1993), its fruits store well but it tends to flower late and there can be problems with pollination. The cultivar 'Blake' is said to be fast cropping and self-fertile. The male 'Tomurii' is free-flowering and disease-resistant. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus. Plants are usually dioecious, but hermaphrodite forms are known. However, the fruit quality and yield of these hermaphrodite forms is usually inferior. Male and female plants must usually be grown if seed is required, one male to five or six females is normally adequate. The plant is heat tolerant in zones 9 through 7. (Plant Hardiness Zones show how well plants withstand cold winter temperatures. Plant Heat Zones show when plants would start suffering from the heat. The Plant Heat Zone map is based on the number of "heat days" experienced in a given area where the temperature climbs to over 86 degrees F (30°C). At this temperature, many plants begin to suffer physiological damage. Heat Zones range from 1 (no heat days) to 12 (210 or more heat days). For example Heat Zone. 11-1 indicates that the plant is heat tolerant in zones 11 through 1.) For polyculture design as well as the above-ground architecture (form - tree, shrub etc. and size shown above) information on the habit and root pattern is also useful and given here if available. Woody. Growth habit is a single or multiple shooting vine from a crown.

Propagating it: Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse. It is probably best if the seed is given 3 months stratification, either sow it in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe in November or as soon as it is received. Fresh seed germinates in 2 - 3 months at 10°c, stored seed can take longer. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in light shade in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. When the plants are 30cm or more tall, plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Most seedlings are male. The seedlings are subject to damping off, they must be kept well ventilated. Cuttings of softwood as soon as ready in spring in a frame. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame. Very high percentage. Cuttings of ripe wood, October/November in a frame.

Best place to grow: Woodland Garden Sunny Edge; Dappled Shade; South Wall. By. West Wall. By.

Habit: Climber

Hardiness: 6-9

Growth: Medium

Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: Semi-shade, no shade

Moisture: Moist

Things to keep in mind

Its other names

Local names

Delicious donkey fruit, Kivi, Meiwei Mihoutao.

Synonyms

A. chinensis. Hort. non Planch.