Kiwi Origin

The kiwi (Actinidia deliciosa, Actinidia chinensis), also known as the Chinese gooseberry, originally comes from northeast China. In 1904, the teacher Isabel Fraser brought the seeds to New Zealand after a stay in China. In the middle of the 20th century, exports to England began, and soon to Europe and North America. In Germany, consumption rose from 1972 to 1981 million between 900.000 and 85.

Home-grown kiwis need about 10 years to develop flowers. Grafted plants from specialist retailers sometimes bloom after just three years.
Since kiwis are dioecious, a male plant is needed in addition to a female plant for pollination. Several female plants can be fertilized by one male. Male and female plants can be distinguished by their flowers. In the middle of the male flowers there are only yellow stamens, whereas the female flowers have a white style in addition to the stamens. The yellowish-white flowers of the kiwis appear at the end of May. They are fragrant and about 5 cm in size.
The 15 cm large leaves are dark green and oval to heart-shaped. The underside is hairy.
The skin of the fruit is green to brown and hairy. Depending on the variety, the fruits are between 5 and 10 cm in size and are harvested in October.
In cooler regions, they usually do not fully ripen on the tree. Unripe fruits can ripen on the windowsill, for example. Fully ripe kiwis do not last long, but can be stored for some time in a cool room with high humidity.

Kiwi care and location

The kiwi thrives in nutrient-rich, permeable and evenly moist soil. They are climbing plants and can grow several meters tall. They need a frame or a wall to hold onto. The location should be sunny to partially shaded and protected from the wind. The kiwi tree has shallow roots and can easily be damaged in dry weather on the roots close to the ground. The soil in the root area should not be worked if possible.

Cutting kiwi

Since kiwis bleed heavily in spring, major pruning measures should generally be carried out in late summer. Kiwis tend to grow rampant and from the third year onwards the kiwi tree needs to be pruned. On the espalier, the main and side shoots are pruned to train the tree and in late autumn, after the harvest, fruit wood can be pruned. Otherwise, older main shoots or parts of the plant damaged by frost are removed.

Watering kiwi

Rising temperatures and increasing dryness have a serious impact on the environment and put trees under stress. Depending on the location and the climate, watering may be necessary more frequently than in previous years. Kiwis do not like dryness and need a lot of water in midsummer. The lack of water can be seen in brown leaf edges and limp leaves. As a general rule, 75 to 100 l per watering can be estimated for young trees and 150 to 200 l for older trees.
The optimal watering method is baumbad Premium watering bagsDrip irrigation allows the roots close to the ground to absorb water without the water seeping away. By filling an irrigation bag, young trees are provided with sufficient water. For existing trees, 2 to 3 irrigation bags can be connected with a zip to ensure they are supplied with sufficient water.
Attaching and filling the water bags is easy and uncomplicated. The bag is placed around the tree trunk like a jacket and closed with a zip. In the next step, you fill the bag with enough water so that after further alignment there are no more wrinkles visible in the lower area and then let it fill up.

A thick layer of mulch prevents drying out and keeps the pH value in the acidic range.

Fertilizing kiwi

If the kiwi is planted in a suitable soil, the Fertilize not necessary in the first two years. A pH test should be carried out before planting and the result should ideally be between 4,5 and 5,5. From the third year onwards and as soon as the kiwi plants bear fruit, they require more nutrient-rich fertilizer. Mature compost is best for this and is spread around the plant in spring. A second fertilization during flowering is also recommended.

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