HARDY KIWI VINE UPDATE 🥝 | 2021| Connecticut Garden

We are in zone 6 and this is a quick update on our hardy kiwi vines. The variety that we have are Actinidia Arguta 'Issai.' The label said they are "arctic kiwi," but we don't think that's accurate. We highly recommend them if you like kiwis or kiwi berries, and want to add some different varieties of fruit to your garden or homestead!
🥝RELATED VIDEOS🥝
TRELLISING the Kiwi Vines ➡️ • BUILDING A KIWI TRELLI...
PRUNING the Kiwi Vines ➡️ • PRUNING KIWI VINES & W...
🥝 CHAPTERS 🥝
0:00 Intro, Hi! 👋
0:22 Kiwi
1:14 Self-Pollinating
1:58 Kiwi Berry Size & Taste
2:20 Planting Conditions
2:44 Kiwi Trellising
3:15 Pruning Kiwi Vines
4:04 Fruit this year?
4:44 Thanks for watching!
#thebournehomestead #kiwiberries #zone6
🍅 SUBSCRIBE HERE 🐤
/ @thebournehomestead
🐥 MORE HOMESTEAD STUFF 🫑
Instagram: / thebournehomestead
Pinterest: / thebournehomestead
Web: www.thebournehomestead.com
🥕 CONTACT US 🥒
www.thebournehomestead.com/co...
💛💚Thank you for watching!💚💛

[@TheBourneHomestead]

We look forward to sharing more about our experience trying to grow these hardy kiwi vines with you, including pruning them in wintertime and eventually, maybe harvesting kiwi berries! 🥝 Thank you so much for watching!!! 💚💚💚

[@raymondkyruana118]

Thanks for actually doing an update!!! So many people don't follow up when they say they will

[@TheBourneHomestead]

Thanks Raymond! I will be doing another one soon. 😊

[@dorareyna3791]

Iam in zone 9 Texas but I am going to give it a try. Thx

[@tanyaparker-callsign.kk7ic238]

Good day thank you for sharing your install video. Our kiwis 🥝 are two years old one male and one female at our homestead they were not as small as yours great work with the growth. Well now they starting to grow kiwis 🥝 first year very excited and the initial fencing knew eventually would need to get something sturdier so spent an unnamed dollar amount at Home Depot we love tractor supply better deal there but I didn’t want to deal with the bending. So purchased hog panel fencing and plan to install and was looking for ideas we have the green t-post and may end up working that out somehow with the wood should prove interesting and thank you for sharing your experience…👍🏾💕💕💕👍🏾

[@TheBourneHomestead]

That is super exciting that your kiwi vines are starting to produce! We planted ours a year ago and they have flowers on them this year. We really like the cattle panel trellis for them so far. Thanks Tanya for sharing your experience!!!

[@matthewgermani5964]

Thank you! One of the better videos I've seen about the Hardy kiwi

[@TheBourneHomestead]

Thanks Matthew!! We're still learning more about them, and look forward to sharing more about our experience growing them this year.

[@dellaB22]

You should look into propagating the cuttings to sell when you do your pruning. I would buy a couple from you and I am sure that others would too. thanks for the video

[@wyattburp2395]

Whoa so stinkin cool

[@TheBourneHomestead]

Thanks Wyatt!!! 😁

[@ThisisSeeLifeHomesteading]

So cool we love Kiwi!

[@TheBourneHomestead]

Me too!!! 💚 Thanks so much!

[@GrowingLittleCountryhomestead]

Well alrighty then, looks like I need to order me some hardy kiwi vines. Thanks Krystal

[@TheBourneHomestead]

Haha that's great! For sure planting them in the spring time worked out well. Thank you Sang!!!

[@Terri_Stauffer]

I have a male and two females, they had hard time getting established in my zone 5b rock, clay ground last year, but now they are looking good and I need a trellis, cattle panel looks like good idea. The male can climb a tree near by. Was told it can take years to produce berries so it’s a long term project like my paw paws.

[@TheBourneHomestead]

Awesome! Yeah it can take a 3-5 years for newer plants to produce berries. We put our two plants in last year, and I see buds on them this year. 🤞 Where we bought these vines and most of our other fruit trees, we get them at fruiting age. So my hope is that we get something from them sooner rather than later. I've never had a pawpaw before, I will have to try those! Thanks Terri! 😊

[@sincerely-b]

I planted some last year also in zone 5b and I already have fruit this year. Mine were planted in a sandy soil.

[@ronaldandsusanshaws-growing]

👍👍👍, I have tried dilly beans, 50% vinegar 50% water, 1 tablespoon salt 2 tablespoons sugar and they are eatable, Take care.

[@TheBourneHomestead]

Ahhh Ron that's great!!! I canned 6 jars of dilly beans over the weekend! I am going to let them sit for another week before we try them. Now I cant wait, thank you!!! 🥳

[@mandamoosgardeningadventur8305]

I'm sooooooo excited, even though the are self fertile people have been telling me I should have two ,so. I have just got another one in the post today...I hope we both get fruit next year.. I can't believe just how much they have grown...🤞🤞🤞😊

[@TheBourneHomestead]

I'm excited too! 🤗 The Issai Arctic Hardy Kiwi vines are self-pollinating Manda. 💚Most varieties of kiwi vines do require a pollinator, so I totally understand why people keep saying that. The tag that was on the plants I purchased said this variety is self-pollinating and does not require pollinators, and my research concluded that even though we don't need one, we will get even more fruit with a pollinator. So it's a win either way and more kiwis for everyone!! 🥳🥝🥝🥝🥝

[@mandamoosgardeningadventur8305]

The Bourne Homestead ...... more kiwis for me, me and me...😜🥝🥝🥝

[@TheBourneHomestead]

😆Now the question will be... will Manda eat them all in the garden, or will they make it home? Cant wait to find out!!! 😁

[@irisjanemay1903]

I just bought one of these kiwis from Tractor Supply. Now I think I should get a second. It's cold here so I put in a pot last night. It was in a tiny plastic bag. A few green sprouts showed. 24 hours later, I think it grew 2 inches. Now I'm worried how big it will get before I can get it outside. The cattle panel is a great idea. I love arches in the garden.

[@TheBourneHomestead]

Thank you Irisjane! I have purchased the bare root type plants from TSC and I had 50% success with the grapes last year. I just bought raspberries and blackberries from there last week. I hope it works out for you!!

[@nathanmccumber8965]

​@@TheBourneHomesteadhow are back berries rash berries from tsc ?

[@mynjgarden]

I found that when I prune kiwi during the growing season they freak out. Pruning does stimulate growth and if you end up taking a large branch off it will bleed sap for a long time! Ack! I'll only be pruning dormant kiwi moving forward. Good luck with your plants!

[@TheBourneHomestead]

I totally agree! I pruned ours when they were dormant. I'm also propagating some of the cuttings which is fun. Thanks so much! ❤️

[@gooddrugsfarm9105]

When you prune properly it creates more fruiting spurs. That’s the reason to prune during the summer.

[@melanielinkous8746]

Awesome video! Very informative. What zone are you in? Sorry if I missed that part.

[@TheBourneHomestead]

Thank you so much Melanie! We are in zone 6. 🤗

[@Big88Country]

Just planted the Issai Kiwi. I made a trellis out of 3 4x4's that are 6.5 feet high and attached the cattle panel on top of the 3 "T" posts. I made a trellis for it to climb up to get to the cattle panel. In a few years we will be able to walk under it a pick fruit right above our heads, can't wait! Planted it yesterday so hopefully in a month it will be on top of the cattle panel growing vigorously! Are you getting fruit this year? I noticed this was made September last year.

[@TheBourneHomestead]

That’s so exciting! I bet it will look really nice once the vines take over. Our kiwi vines reached the top of our cattle panel and for sure will need to be pruned back again in winter. We are getting some kiwi berries this year! There’s a couple short videos showing what they look like so far, but they grow so fast that they already look different from the recent video. Thanks for sharing your experience so far! 😊

[@Big88Country]

@@TheBourneHomestead Y'all's look amazing! Since just the other day, they have climbed almost a foot already! I think to say they are aggressive growers is an understatement! Grow Good, grow plenty! Y'all have a blessed day! Oh, I also ordered a male kiwi. I read that you can expect more and bigger fruit even though the Issai are self pollinating, I'll let ya know in a few years!

[@TheBourneHomestead]

They are for sure one of the fastest growing plants we have! The self pollinating kiwi vines produce berries on their own, but you will get a larger harvest with a male pollinator. We just noticed that many of the berries we were getting this year were eaten by birds this year which is a bummer.

[@Big88Country]

@@TheBourneHomestead Awww man, that, well you know! I guess I will have to invest in a net to throw over them next year so I can get some. I'm not against feeding the birds, but they can get greedy!! 😄

[@inchwormgardens]

This was helpful, thank you! I just found one at my local nursery and bought it on a whim. Now I'm considering going back and grabbing another one! I'll be growing it up my cattle panel trellis and it might feel unbalanced with only one. Any new updates or information I should know? Thanks again!

[@TheBourneHomestead]

That's exciting! Yeah we have several different updates in different videos. We got some kiwi berries to grow and then the birds took them. 🥴 I will try and film another update in early summer. Good luck! 😊

[@Tennababy]

Maybe you could propagate some through airlayering if they need pruning anyway

[@TheBourneHomestead]

I have tried propagating the winter cuttings before, I will be trying again this year using summer cuttings. 😁

[@DerkWehler]

With that trellis shown, I'd love some more info about how you started it; was there multiple plants put in at the base, or... just one per side...?

[@TheBourneHomestead]

There is 1 plant on each side of the trellis. We're getting so many berries this year, we are thinking about expanding the trellis with a couple more cattle panels. 😊

[@farisaazam5608]

I want to grow kiwi! Which nursery did you order the plants from? They look really healthy

[@TheBourneHomestead]

We picked our 2 plants up locally a year ago, and from what I've seen they don't have them anymore. Thanks so much!

[@yuliazni3389]

after seeing the wide variety of berry plants . based on the time of fruiting, long fruiting and pollination process. the easiest mulberry plant, the only things to watch out for are pests and cutting branches to produce fruit. other plants produce daughter plants in large quantities such as raspberries, blackberries and others

[@TheBourneHomestead]

Thanks for sharing!! 😊

[@DerkWehler]

Looks like you are using metal fenceposts to hold the trellis. Do you think that is necessary, or could I just stake it down on each side? Doesn't get very windy here, so I probably don't need posts for that...

[@TheBourneHomestead]

Highly recommend driving posts in to secure the trellis. They really make a difference in stabilizing the cattle panel, especially with the weight of whatever you grow on it. The arch also makes a difference, making sure it’s not too wide so it doesn’t bow down under the weight. We have one with beans and the posts are not in far enough, I need to stabilize it better.

[@pcookson]

anyone try growing and succeed with this variety self pollinating along a chain link fence along the ground instead of up a tall trellis. Seems like a natural trellis to use

[@TheBourneHomestead]

I would think that you can trellis them any way you would like, just keep in mind they are aggressive growers and need to be pruned. 😊

[@Jameson1979]

I have my vines for about 3yrs now and this is the first it actually flowers but all the flowers drop and no fruit set any tips?

[@TheBourneHomestead]

So sorry that happened James. From what I know about other plants, but not specific to kiwi vines, it could be that the vines are under some form of stress (too dry or not enough water or really windy) which may have caused the flowers to drop. We planted our kiwi vines last year, and we got flowers this year also. We did start to see kiwi berries growing, but the birds ended up getting most of them.

[@deelightful6276]

I’m VERY new to growing these and have not gotten flowers yet but from experience with other plants, some epsom salt in the soil can help encourage fruit production ☺️

[@mel3256]

This type of kiwi is suppose to be controlled like grapes, to get the strongest plants and best fruit production. Create a 'truck' and don't let them wrap, as they will choke themselves.

[@TheBourneHomestead]

Pruning them in wintertime is beneficial and prevents overgrowth and promotes healthy growth. We have so many buds this year because of it! Thanks for sharing your very different experience. We haven’t had that happen with either our kiwi berries or our grapes. 😊

[@GaryWhitehead-ey6on]

How far apart can you plant male and female kiwi apart please.?

[@TheBourneHomestead]

Mine are both female and on the same trellis. If you have a male and a female, they don't need to be right on top of each other but you should probably plant them somewhat near each other to make sure that the female flowers get pollinated.

[@GaryWhitehead-ey6on]

@@TheBourneHomestead i understand that much but how far away is too far , is 20 feet or even 30 meters apart to far?

[@GaryWhitehead-ey6on]

i have 2 females growing up over a 12 foot tree stump, and a male in a pot ready to transplant so thinking of transplanting male anywhere between 10 or 20 foot away, my last male was only 3 foot away on the same stump but died so i plan on moving this new male off the stump all together on the fence line about 15 meters away would that be to far to pollinate? thank you for the advice also.

[@TheBourneHomestead]

We haven't had experience with your exact situation, but if I think of it like our fruit trees, each type is within 20 feet of each other and they're doing well like that. If and when we get a male pollinator for our kiwi vines, I would plant it the same as the fruit trees, 10 to 20 feet away.

[@erikjohnson9223]

Common names are ambiguous trash, but "Arctic kiwi" almost always refers to Actinidia kolomitka (an even smaller fruited liana from the Russian Far East which ripens its berries earlier [usually August to September] in the year, tends to drop them when ripe, and is often grown for the variegated foliage of its males [silvery white and pink, but splotchy, so it makes me think, "darned seagulls," not "how pretty"], a few females like "Septyambraskaya" [marketed as "September Sun" in the USA] show similar foliage). "Issai" in contrast is an Actinidia arguta ([Manchurian or Korean] hardy kiwi) and less hardy (Zone 6) and lower chill than most of its species (zone 4 or 5 compared to 3 for a dormant A. kolomitka; all kiwis are vulnerable to North America's variable spring weather and sometimes try to start to grow in warm winter/spring weather--such new growth is easily damaged by late spring frosts). The low-chill trait makes it vulnerable to late frosts, but valuable along the Gulf Coast, where winters aren't long enough for commercial fuzzy kiwi varieties like Hayward (bred for California, where winter is extremely mild but rather long due to its northern latitude).

[@TheBourneHomestead]

Thanks for taking the time to share all of that extra information about different varieties of kiwi plants Erik! I will be doing an update video soon to share more of our experience with our hardy female kiwi berry vines.

[@raymondkyruana118]

Since you seem to know so much haha I just got some Kolomiktas (September and a Male) but read that they are smaller and can actually tolerate more shade. Since I am limited on space, I chose to grow them in 10 gallon containers and up a North East facing deck trellis. I'm a little worries that they won't get enough sun because I'm reading conflicting information. I'm also a little worried that the plants might not survive the Winter. I'm zone 5, but they aren't insulated by the ground so the roots are gonna freeze right?

[@erikjohnson9223]

@@raymondkyruana118 I have heard that the rule of thumb is that you lose 2 hardiness zones by growing in a pot (which probably should be plastic because clay and similar materials tend to shatter due to freeze/thaw cycles, though theoretically completely nonporous glazed pots might survive). Since A. kolomitka is reported hardy to Zone 3, that seems to indicate you would (barely) be OK doing this. However, if you can, I would suggest avoiding the problem by digging a hole and dropping the potted plant in that hole. From a heat transfer point of view, that would be equivalent to growing it in the ground (especially if mulched). The roots would still be restricted (until they dive through the drainage hole/s), but if the pot is reasonably large (10"?), it should give you enough time to evaluate whether the plant would flower & do well in that exposure, and perhaps to multiply the females (layering and "semi-hardwood" cuttings tend to work). Happy gardening.

[@raymondkyruana118]

​@@erikjohnson9223 Thank you for the quick response! Yeah it's not worth the risk tbh I'll just grow them in the ground somewhere else and make some sort of trellis haha. It didn't feel quite right when I was planting them... I should have listened to my gut. The good news is that I just planted them 2 days ago so it's not too late. I was wondering, do you grow them as well?

[@nathanmccumber8965]

​@@raymondkyruana118are u in Illinois ? How'd they do over the winter.

[@robinchristensen1657]

Have you done an update on your kiwi?

[@TheBourneHomestead]

We've done updates, but we'll do a new one soon.

[@nghiavan9356]

🪴🪴🪴🪴🪴🪴🪴

[@lesleyhoban6559]

What zone ruin

[@TheBourneHomestead]

Hi Lesley! We're in zone 6. 😊

[@iqbal.ansari441]

Job abilabale have in company

[@user-iq2rn5jz5m]

I've sown store bought kiwi-fruits this winter and now they're in the garden. I have like a 100 plants in an L-shaped row. They're only about 4-5 inches tall yet. I'm looking forward to see them grow big. I'm not sure if they'll live through the winter though, I'm at zone 6 so it's either gonna be close or just won't work at all. (You're super-sexy by the way ;) Have a nice gardening.

[@jekekefe5923]

This chick is hot

[@paulvanreenen6986]

Hi Crystal Would you send me some cuttings that you prune off? Impossible to get here in TX. Will pay too. Love your video. Paul