I have a female hardy kiwifruit and an Issai hardy kiwifruit. I do not have a male hardy kiwi. The Issai is just now blooming but the female hardy kiwifruit blossom period did not overlap with the Issai. The fruits on the female seem to be developing, their size is increasing anyways. I am not aware of any nearby neighbors with male kiwifruit. Here is my question - Do kiwifruit actually need to be pollinated to set fruit or only to make seeds in the fruit? Will these fruits drop like unpollinated cherries? I've read that female Mulberry trees will set fruit without a male but the fruit is then seedless.
An update on the kiwifruits:
The female kiwi (actinidia purpurea "Hardy Red") aborted all the fruits it had.
The Issai bloomed but did not set fruit either.
I have a male fuzzy kiwi in a pot that bloomed after both of the other vines. Maybe next year they'll bloom together.
Interesting... My Uncle is eating his first crop of "Anna" Hardy (arguta) Kiwi fruit; he says it's loaded! There are definitely no other male hardy kiwi's in his isolated rural neighborhood. What he does have are two fuzzy female kiwi, Saanichton and Hayward, and one "Fuzzy male" kiwi.
I didn't ask if he noticed a bloom-time overlap between the male fuzzy and the hardy Anna, but as of 'yesterday' (even after two killing 'frosts') he's eating and enjoying his Hardy Anna's! He'd given me a start of this Anna, which will begin its third year for me next spring. I have a fuzzy Saanichton female and a fuzzy male kiwi. So, I'll see if my experience mirrors his ... or 'yours?'
We didn't have nearly as many fuzzy Saanichtons this year as last, but the ones we have are giant! After 7 or so years of production, they're one of the most consistently productive and successful fruit I grow. And, we'll likely be eating them into March... (Persimmons first though!)
Found the following at Raintree Nursery online: "POLLINATION: All need a male and female to set fruit. One male can pollinate up to 8 females. The fuzzy kiwi male is the best pollinator and can pollinate the fuzzy or arguta kiwi female. The arguta male can pollinate the arguta or fuzzy female because bloom times partially overlap. The kolomiktas bloom later."
male and female plants and the female plant won't produce any fruit unless it's properly pollinated by a male plant. Get a male plant of the hardy kiwi, because it eliminates the guesswork of when they will bloom.
Marc Camargo
fruit-tree.com nursery
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they're an unnamed variety from Chile. I like them a lot.Does anyone near Albany, Oregon happen to have a mature male hardy kiwi that will bloom this season (summer 2008)? I have a female hardy kiwi that will be blooming soon, and a male hardy that's too young to bloom. It's the first year for the female to bloom so I'm excited. I'm seeking a few flowers so I can hand pollinate the female. Thanks!
My first fuzzy kiwi female flowers are ready to bloom . I grafted the scion onto my male hardy kiwi plant. It looks like both flowers will bloom at about the same time. After bloom time, I think I will cut back the male part of the plant so that the female part will grow more. I can't wait to have both male and female on the same plant.
John S
PDX OR
John,
There's such a size difference in my fuzzy and hardy kiwi vines that I’d fear massive ‘over-growth’ with a fuzzy on a hardy. I’d say my hardy’s are 1/3rd the size and vigor of the potentially massive fuzzy’s. How long have you had this graft union, and do you expect any problems with the difference in vine size?
I’ve a fuzzy male and female; and the male fuzzy seems to ‘do the trick’ for a couple female hardy’s too.
Viron,
I don't know. Nobody told me I could do it, which was good, because I didn't know if it would work. I grafted them last year. Only the one in full sun is going to bloom this year. I have two others that are also growing vigorously. I am interested to see what happens. I have seen the frameworks for fuzzy kiwi and I don't think I have that much room. I don't live out in the country. I'm in a standard suburban lot and I grow a LOT of other fruit, flowers and vegies. I think I might cut back the male part of the vine after flowering to see what happens. This is cutting-edge, blue collar science folks. I'll keep you posted. I'm going to write another article for the POME NEWS this summer when school gets out.
John S
PDX OR
I may try bark inversion and the string trick. I never said I was good at grafting. I still have a lot of them that don't take. I only topwork. I've only done whip and tongue and cleft grafting successfully, but I'd like another try at budding, and maybe then I'd try something like the other two.
Thanks,
JohnS
PDX OR
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Viron
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