How kiwi grows in the wild and at home

Liana, bearing the name Actinidia. Chinese tree liana is a relict plant that grows in East Asia. Despite the fact that the birthplace of this plant is China, already in the 20th century, kiwi became widespread in New Zealand, where it was cultivated. new variety with larger fruits, reaching a mass of more than 100 grams. Currently, there are more than 30 species of this plant. The number of countries where kiwi grows has also increased. Plantations of this plant can be found in the USA, Japan, Italy, Chile, Greece, Iran, as well as in the territory Krasnodar Territory Russia. A zone with a subtropical climate is where kiwi grows.

Opinions differ on the taste of kiwi. To some, it resembles gooseberries, while others find strawberry notes in it. In any case, its sweet and sour taste is very pleasant and immediately falls in love with itself.

China and Asian countries have appeared on our market for a long time, more than ten years ago. Among them are kumquat, annona, guava, avocado, jackfruit, durian, carambola, lychee, longan, salak, rambutan and, of course, kiwi. Despite the fact that they have become permanent on food shelves, many Russians still do not trust fruits that are unusual for perception and carefully discover new tastes for themselves.

The same was at first true of the actinidia fruit. A strange egg-shaped fruit covered with hairs raised some doubts - what does it taste like and how is it eaten? Residents of countries where kiwi grows would only laugh at our fears, because this is the most useful of the known oriental fruits. The content of vitamins and microelements makes it truly royal, and vitamin C in this fruit more than covers the daily requirement for a person. In addition to it, kiwi contains B vitamins (folic acid and pyrodoxine), vitamin E, called the vitamin of youth. Of the microelements, kiwi contains manganese, calcium, iodine, iron, and phosphorus. Recently, a very important enzyme for the human body, actinidin, was discovered in its composition, which is necessary for the breakdown of proteins and stimulation of the digestive system. The same enzyme is responsible for blood clotting.

Kiwi is very useful for hypertensive patients - it contributes to an excellent fat burner, it contains the fiber necessary for the formation of a beautiful figure. A striking proof of this is the slenderness of people living in regions where kiwi grows.

The peel of this fruit is usually not eaten, but if the hairs are removed, it is quite suitable for food. If you still prefer to peel the fruit, do not throw away the peel. It, like the pulp, contains great amount nutrients, use it to wipe the skin of the face and neck.

Kiwi is a unique one widely used in cooking, medicine, cosmetology. However, there are those for whom it is contraindicated. This fruit can cause a severe allergic reaction. In addition, having an increased acidity of the stomach, when using kiwi in

You Can Get The high water content of kiwifruit (nearly 85%) can adversely affect people with kidney problems.

However, do not deny yourself the temptation. It is enough to consume kiwi in moderation (no more than three pieces a day), and then all its "harmfulness" will not affect your health in any way.

Is it possible to grow a kiwi tree in room conditions? Experienced gardeners claim yes! Moreover, even a beginner can get on the windowsill home plant which will bear fruit. Its cultivation is quite painstaking, but many call the process fascinating for this. Description and photo instructions will help you understand the algorithm.

Home growing kiwi: what you need to know before planting

In the wild, the Chinese kiwi gooseberry, like apples or pears, is a small 30-gram fruit. The habitual large fleshy fruits from 100 g and heavier were received by New Zealand breeders. Today, fruits with a refreshing, delicate taste are popular all over the world. In addition, they are very useful and are used in cosmetology, as well as for the prevention of a large number of diseases.

Kiwi grows on beautiful tree-like vines resembling a grapevine. At home, a fruit tree is grown from seeds. Key points to consider before boarding:

Kiwis need plenty of sunlight

1. Kiwi is a dioecious crop. To grow fruits at home, you will need at least two plants. You can only determine which specimen is female and which is male only during flowering. Therefore, it is better to plant several vines at once.
2. At optimal conditions maintenance and care, you will receive the first flowering and fruits no earlier than after 4-6 seasons.
3. Any variety is suitable for growing indoors.
4. The plant needs about the same conditions as grapes. For example, in the abundance of sunlight.

If your house does not have windows facing south or adjacent sides, a normally developed plant may not come out.

Attention! There are special frost-resistant varieties, which are suitable for growing in the open field of the middle lane. Conditions and care in this case are similar to room ones. Only for the winter the plant should be wrapped. It may take up to 10 years to wait for fruits from such vines.

Planting kiwi: technology and features

Gardeners recommend starting all kiwi planting procedures in early spring. This time is considered optimal to get maximum germination. Kiwi seed is not difficult to find. Buy a fully ripe fruit - soft and crumbly. Without peeling, cut it in half.

Take seeds from a ripe juicy fruit

• remove about 20 seeds, carefully remove the pulp from them;
• wrap the material in gauze and rinse several times with tap water;
• spread the seeds on a saucer and leave to dry for a couple of hours under normal room conditions.

Attention! At the stage of harvesting seeds, you need to completely get rid of the pulp. Otherwise, the material will begin to rot.

The next step is to germinate the seeds to speed up germination:

1. Put on a saucer cotton wool moderately moistened with hot water. Place seed on it.
2. Place the plate on a well-lit window sill and cover with cling film. At night, the mini-greenhouse should be opened. But make sure that there are no drafts at this time. Wet the cotton again in the morning hot water and stretch the film.

Under such conditions, the seeds should form seedlings in 7-10 days. Maintain the mode until you see delicate white roots. Now the germinated seeds should be transplanted into the soil:

Kiwi sprout

1. Mix equal parts of humus, peat, turf and sand.
2. Fill small pots with soil. In each, right on the surface, put a few seeds. Sprinkle them on top thin layer soil. You can't ram the ground.
3. Spray the planting daily, keeping the topsoil moist. Use only a spray bottle, simple watering cannot be done.

Advice. Moisturizing the earthy coma at this and subsequent stages of cultivation is extremely important for plants. Therefore, other methods are suitable for these purposes. For example, the installation of a mini-greenhouse from half plastic bottles over each pot. However, an excessive amount of water for the root system of the plant will be fatal.

Growing kiwi: caring for young plants

In order for fruit tree care to be effective, bring the growing conditions as close as possible to its native, natural ones. Kiwi grows in climates with long warm and humid summers. In addition to low humidity or an excess of water, the plant does not like:

• cool climate, temperatures below +20 °C;
• a sharp drop in temperature even in warm weather;
• wind;
• deficit sun rays.

Advice. If these features are taken into account, it is possible to take the plant outside in the summer, and at other times of the year - to a warmed loggia or balcony.

Other nuances of kiwi care:

Fertilize Kiwi Fruit Regularly

1. The key to the health and beauty of a tree is top dressing organic fertilizers: biohumus or compost. Mixtures are applied in the spring, no more than 2-3 times. You can add the entire composition of fertilizers and once, in dry form, to a trench dug around the stem. In the process of watering, the substances will gradually flow to the roots.
2. In summer, gardeners recommend fertilizing kiwi with mineral complexes. Frequency - 3-4 times a month.
3. To strengthen and make the vine more branched, pinching its top from time to time will help.
4. A month after rooting in the ground, the plant will need a new transplant.
5. Each plant needs a separate pot. It is important that wide leaves do not block each other's access to light.
6. Room conditions will not become limiters for the growth of vines. An adult plant can reach 7 m in length. Creepers need support (for example, trellises) along which the kiwi will climb to the ceiling.

How to get a kiwi harvest at home

The optimal ratio of male and female plants for good harvest- 1 to 5-6. It is very likely that by flowering you will find that this is not the case. Often there will be more male specimens than necessary. In this case, grafting female twigs-eyes on their stems is effective.

The gardener will have to pollinate the plants on their own. Transfer pollen from male flowers to female flowers with clean and disinfected tweezers.

This rough, hairy berry is just a storehouse of vitamin C. It is hard to believe that it has existed in this form for less than 100 years. Thanks to New Zealand breeders, it has become larger and much tastier. To understand whether it is possible to grow a healthy berry at home, let's imagine how kiwi grows in our homeland.

The birthplace of Yang Tao, which in Chinese means strawberry peach, China. The culture belongs to the genus Actinidia, the species Actinidia Chinese. It was brought to New Zealand in the early 20th century. The Chinese berry weighed no more than 30 g. Thanks to selection, it became larger, its taste was enriched without compromising useful properties, which allow the use of fruit for the treatment and prevention of many diseases.

Like its progenitor, kiwi is a liana. But it does not occur in the wild. This is an artificially improved plant. Even the name for it is new.

Where does kiwi grow? cultural plantations exotic fruit can be found wherever the climate allows it to grow: in Italy, South Korea, Chile, Greece. But recognized leaders in the production of this useful berry are New Zealand and China. So the kiwi returned in triumph to his homeland. Despite the considerable difficulties associated with growing this exotic fruit, the first plantations appeared not so long ago in Abkhazia, in the south of Dagestan, on Black Sea coast Krasnodar Territory. In a word, now in order to find out how kiwi grows, you do not need to go abroad. You can see this exotic on the territory of our country.

Kiwi can withstand temperatures down to -15 degrees, so it winters well under cover even in regions with cool winters.

A biologist from Uzhgorod, G.V. This plant will be able to winter even in the middle lane.

A creeper needs support; in a wild forest, trees play its role. On plantations, supports are created artificially by tying plants to specially stretched nets and installed poles.

What does kiwi grow on? Like his progenitors, he loves fertile loose soil with a high content of humus, moist, but without stagnant water. Actinidia in the forest most often grows in partial shade. Cultural kiwi prefers the sun. He also needs regular watering, fertilizing, mulching, pruning and shaping. There is a lot of trouble when growing this berry. But this does not stop real gardeners. Many try to grow a valuable fruit at home.

Growing at home

Growing kiwi from seed an exciting activity, which requires patience, and compliance with all the rules of agricultural technology. The first fruits will have to wait a long time - kiwi blooms only 3-4 years from sowing, sometimes flowering occurs only after 6 years of cultivation. But even flowering is not a guarantee that the fruits will be tied. This plant needs a pollinator. It is necessary that a kiwi-man and a kiwi-woman live nearby. To maximize the likelihood of such a neighborhood, several copies of this exotic fruit will have to be planted in pots, since it is possible to find out which plant has grown - male or female, only with the beginning of flowering. On female specimens, the pistil of the flowers is much larger. There are monoecious plants that simultaneously have both male and female flowers. They don't need a pollinator.

At seed propagation kiwi at least 70% of the plants will be male.

Seed preparation and germination

Seeds are easy to get. To do this, just buy kiwi in the store. The fruit must be fully ripe. Seeds germinate best in early spring. It is at this time that they begin to germinate.

The algorithm for preparing seeds for sowing is as follows.

• The seeds are removed from half of the fruit and thoroughly washed from the pulp.
• The seeds are dried.
• Placed on a cotton pad moistened with hot water, which is placed on a saucer.
• put on plastic bag and put in a warm place. The bag must be removed regularly so that the seeds are ventilated. The cotton pad should always be moist, but not waterlogged.
• As soon as small roots appear, it's time to plant the seeds.

Soil transplant

Best suited for initial growing plastic containers with transparent lid. This is a ready-made mini-greenhouse for plants. Drainage is made at the bottom of each container and filled with a planting mixture of peat, sand, humus and soddy soil in equal parts. Seeds are laid out on the surface of a moistened planting mixture and sprinkled with a thin layer of soil. Its thickness should not be more than 3 mm. Germinated seeds germinate in 2 weeks. It is necessary to spray the surface of the soil with water, as young seedlings are very sensitive to lack of moisture. Gentle shoots shade from direct sunlight. As soon as the plants form 2 pairs of true leaves, they dive into a larger container.

How to do a pick?

In order for the plants to grow and develop well in the future, the soil for them is prepared in the same way as for seedlings, but the amount of peat is reduced by increasing the proportion of sod land and humus. The kiwi root system grows more in width than in depth, so the containers for planting are selected not too deep, but wide.

Sequence of actions during picking.

• Drainage is made at the bottom of the planting container.
• Cover it with soil to 1/3 of the height of the pot.
• Carefully remove the plant from the container in which it grew before picking. An earthen ball cannot be broken, therefore, 2 hours before picking, the plants are watered.
• Place the plant in new pot, sprinkling the roots with earth.
• The first few days after picking, small kiwis especially need protection from direct sunlight.

Kiwi breeding

About the seed method of reproduction is described in detail above. It is inconvenient in that it is necessary not only to grow many plants, but also to wait a long time for fruiting. It is much easier to propagate kiwi fruit vegetatively. For this, both lignified cuttings of the first year of life, which are harvested in winter, and green ones are suitable - they are cut in summer. Rooted, they will completely repeat the signs of the plant from which they were cut.

The cut branch should not be thinner than 5 mm and have 3 buds. You need to cut them with a well-sharpened knife so that the slices do not crumple. The bottom cut should be directly below the kidney and sloped at 45 degrees. The upper cut is made straight, retreating from the kidney about 1 cm. In cuttings of summer harvesting, all leaves are cut off, except for the top one. It is shortened by a third. The prepared cuttings are placed with the lower cut in a container filled with water. room temperature to a height of 4 cm. After a day, they are transferred to a solution of a root formation stimulator, in which they are kept for 24 hours. In both cases, a plastic bag is put on a container with cuttings. After that, the cuttings are ready for planting in the cutting box with peat soil. The mini-greenhouse should have a double cover - a film and a substrate made of nonwoven fabric. When using artificial fog, the rooting of cuttings is up to 95%. Rooted cuttings are planted in individual containers and grown in a greenhouse. In warm climates, plants are ready for planting in the ground after a year, in other cases they are planted after 2 years.

You can propagate kiwi with pieces of roots 1 to 1.5 cm thick and up to 30 cm long. They are planted in a substrate with a temperature of about 24 degrees. It should be constant, so bottom heating is required. As soon as the shoots grown from dormant buds reach a height of 15 cm, they are transplanted into separate containers, shortening the parent root. In the future, they are grown in the same way as rooted cuttings.

To receive a large number of seedlings on plantations, the grafting method is used: splitting, simple and improved copulation, summer budding with a shield in a T-shaped incision. Budding can be done in spring and summer, all other types of vaccinations are carried out before bud break.

Features of care

For successful cultivation 3 components are enough for kiwi: a lot of light, timely watering and annual top dressing with biohumus or humus.

This plant can only be grown on a southern windowsill, but the light should be diffused. In winter, additional lighting with phytolamps may be required. Do not forget that it is a liana and for good care will thank with rapid growth - an adult plant can grow up to 7 m. In the process of growth, it needs support. Any artificial limitation in growth will necessarily affect flowering and fruiting. You can prune kiwi only at the dormant stage in winter, which requires a temperature of about 10 degrees Celsius, and after the leaves have fully bloomed in summer. In the phase of the beginning of sap flow, the plant is very vulnerable and can simply expire with juice. Pinching off the tops of the shoots will give the plant an opportunity to grow in width. In order for it to develop evenly, the kiwi pot should be rotated 15 degrees every 2 weeks.

Kiwi loves water very much, so you need to water it regularly, but without fanaticism, so as not to cause rotting of the roots.

You can feed the exotic once a year with organic matter. Biohumus or matured compost is buried in a groove around the trunk. Can't dig deep The roots of the plant are superficial and it does not like loosening. Better ground mulch in a pot, for example, with chopped wood chips or bark. In summer, during rapid growth, complex mineral fertilizers for indoor plants will not be superfluous. The frequency of top dressing is once a decade. As the kiwi grows, more spacious dishes will be required, where it is transplanted in the spring before the buds open.

Why is kiwi dying?

The main cause of plant death is wrong mode glaze. It is harmed by both lack and excess of water.

Other reasons include the following:

• the appearance of fungal diseases and untimely fight against them;
• unnoticed pests that are not being fought;
• lack of lighting and nutrition;
• freezing of a plant if it grows on a balcony or loggia;
• cutting and pinching shoots during active sap flow;
• damage to young shoots by cats who really like the smell of kiwi.

In home culture, kiwi rarely gets sick and is damaged by pests. Subject to all the rules of agricultural technology, the plant will be healthy, give tasty and very useful fruits.

Lemons and oranges grown on the windowsill have not surprised anyone for a long time. Therefore, amateur flower growers are constantly trying to "domesticate" new crops. You can grow "in captivity" and kiwi. If you set a goal, from seeds in a few years you can get consistently fruiting plants.

Kiwi at home

In nature, kiwi (the plant is known to botanists under the name Chinese actinidia) is a tree-like liana that prefers a tropical or subtropical climate. On the tops of the shoots, whole clusters of large fruits ripen, which look like very large gooseberries. Depending on the species, they can be smooth or rough to the touch.

In nature, the kiwi liana reaches 7–10 m in length.

In principle, there is nothing difficult in creating a microclimate for kiwi that is close to optimal. But the plant belongs to the category of dioecious. This means that for fruiting, you must have at least two copies - male and female. They can only be distinguished during flowering. The first, acting as pollinators, lack a pistil, but there are many stamens. One male plant is enough to pollinate five or six females. The only self-pollinating kiwifruit variety in existence is Jenny. But in this variety, the presence of a number of male plants has a positive effect on productivity.

The presence of a male plant is useful even if the variety is self-pollinating

Video: how to determine the sex of a kiwi plant

Kiwi flower growers are valued not only for fruiting, but also for flowering, long and plentiful. Large five- or six-petalled flowers gradually change color from pure white to yellowish cream, lemon or lime.

Fruits at home, as a rule, ripen less than the description of a particular kiwi variety promises. But in terms of the content of vitamins, macro- and microelements, and taste, they are in no way inferior to those grown outdoors. Ripe fruits are easily separated from the vine. They are stored in the refrigerator, the approximate “shelf life” is one and a half to two weeks.

"Homemade" kiwis are small, but very tasty

There are no problems with obtaining kiwi seeds at home. They can be taken from any berry bought in the store. But seedlings grown in this way extremely rarely inherit the varietal characteristics of the "parent", and taste qualities fruits leave much to be desired. Therefore, they are most often used as a stock, and any seedling of a certain variety purchased in a specialized nursery acts as a scion.

Viable seeds can be obtained from the kiwi fruit, which can be bought at any grocery store.

The harvest from kiwi grown from seeds will have to wait a long time. As a rule, such plants bloom for the first time no earlier than six years after planting.

Planting material is desirable to obtain from mature and healthy-looking fruits.

For proper development of kiwi, heat and sunlight are vital. Therefore, the pot is placed in the brightest place in the apartment, for example, on the southern or southwestern windowsill, periodically (every 2–2.5 weeks) turning it so that the heat is distributed evenly. Cold drafts are strictly contraindicated. Equally important are regular top dressing (preferably organic) and proper watering.

In nature, kiwi is a liana, so you need to take care of the support for it in advance

For some reason, actinidia juice has an effect on cats (and, to a lesser extent, cats) similar to that of valerian tincture. Therefore, it is worth removing the pot to where the cats definitely won’t get to it, or surround the plant with a net.

Cats do not eat kiwi leaves and shoots, but they can severely damage the plant, trying to get to the juice, to which for some reason they are very partial.

Embarkation and transfer procedure

Growing kiwi begins with obtaining seeds. The fruits must be ripe and without the slightest trace of rot, mold, pest damage. harvested seeds sown immediately after harvest, the best time for this is spring.

Getting seeds

The kiwi variety does not matter for this. The main thing is that the fetus is mature and healthy in appearance. identify ripe berries possible by the characteristic delicate aroma. Each kiwi contains over a thousand seeds.

Seeds are prepared for planting as follows:

1. Kiwis are thoroughly washed, cut into 4-6 pieces. The skin is peeled off, the pulp is gently kneaded with a fork, turning into a puree.
2. The resulting slurry is laid out in a deep plate or bowl, poured with water at room temperature. Stirring constantly, separate the seeds with your fingers. To completely get rid of the pulp, the water will have to be changed 4-5 times. At the end of the procedure, only seeds should remain in the container. You can wrap the gruel in several layers of gauze or place it in a sieve with small cells and rinse under cold running water.

   

   It is very important to completely separate the kiwi seeds from the pulp - its remains can provoke the development of rot.

3. Seeds are laid out on a paper towel or cotton towel to dry. After a few hours, they finally dry out, changing color from black to grayish brown.
4. A small piece of cotton wool or gauze is moistened by moistening with hot water. Instead, you can use a pale pink solution of potassium permanganate (for disinfection) or any biostimulant available (to increase germination). Suitable, for example, potassium humate, Kornevin, Zircon, Heteroauxin, succinic acid, aloe juice.

   

   Pre-germinated kiwi seeds germinate faster

5. Seeds are wrapped in wet gauze, put on a saucer, which is covered with plastic wrap. Every day at night it is removed. In the morning, the gauze is moistened again and the “shelter” is restored. After about 7-10 days, the seeds will germinate and can be planted. Another option for preplant preparation is stratification. Seeds are placed in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks. Then they are kept for 10-12 days in the warmest place in the apartment.

   

   For convenience, you can use special bags with a clasp - it's easier to remove the "shelter" from the gauze without risking spilling the seeds

Preparing for landing

The root system of kiwi is quite developed, strongly growing in width, but superficial, fibrous. Therefore, there is no point in acquiring a deep pot, shaped like a bucket. The best option- a container similar to a bowl or salad bowl. A prerequisite is the presence of drainage holes. From materials it is worth giving preference to natural ceramics - it passes air better, preventing moisture from stagnation.

A bucket-shaped pot can greatly inhibit the growth of the vine, so the best option is a wide and shallow pot so that the roots have room to turn around.

Kiwi soil prefers light and loose, but nutritious. A mixture of peat chips, coarse river sand and black soil in a ratio of 1: 2: 3 is well suited for it. You can add 8-10 g of sifted wood ash and powdered eggshell for every liter ready substrate. Another version of the soil is vermiculite or perlite, peat and humus in approximately equal proportions. If you do not want to prepare the soil mixture yourself, you can look in specialized stores for a substrate designed for any tropical vines.

Peat - a necessary component of the soil for kiwi

Planting seeds in the ground

There is nothing complicated in the procedure itself. But there are some nuances that you need to familiarize yourself with in advance.

1. Expanded clay or other drainage material is poured onto the bottom of a clean pot, creating a layer at least 3–4 cm thick. A disinfected substrate is placed on top, filling approximately 2/3 of the container. To sterilize, it can be treated with steam, heat or cold.
2. The soil is well moistened by spraying from a spray bottle, and leveled. When the water is absorbed, the seeds are sown as evenly as possible. Some flower growers recommend leaving them on the surface, others advise covering them with a thin (1–1.5 mm) layer of fine sand.
3. Plantings are moderately moistened again, the pot is covered with glass or covered with plastic wrap to create the effect of a greenhouse. To place the container, choose the warmest place in the apartment (temperature not lower than 25–27ºС). Also desirable daylight hours lasting at least 12-14 hours and lower heating. To avoid the appearance of condensate, the "greenhouse" is opened daily for 3-5 minutes for ventilation. As it dries, the soil is sprayed with a spray bottle. It should be constantly slightly damp, but not wet.
4. Seedlings appear massively and fairly quickly. 2-3 weeks after this, the plantings are thinned out, getting rid of the weakest seedlings.
5. When kiwi seedlings reach a height of 10–12 cm (after 4–6 weeks), they are seated in individual containers. Such plants already have 2-3 pairs of true leaves. Suitable soil- a mixture of peat, sod land and sand in approximately equal proportions. In the process of picking, you should try to injure the roots of the plant as little as possible. They are very delicate and fragile in seedlings. At the same time, you need to take care of the support. If you stick it into the pot later, again, there is a risk of damaging the roots.

Kiwi seeds have good germination, but then many sprouts may die, it depends on the conditions of their maintenance.

Since the kiwi liana differs in growth rate, and the purchase of "growth" pots is not recommended for any indoor plants, young specimens will have to be transplanted quite often, every 5-6 months. For the first few weeks after the procedure, it is recommended to rearrange the plant from the windowsill, removing it to a place where direct sunlight will definitely not fall on it. For adult kiwi, the heat is quite comfortable, but young vines can greatly slow down in growth.

Kiwi transplantation is carried out as needed. As a rule, once every two years is enough. The diameter of the pot is increased by 3–5 cm. It is carried out by transshipment, trying to destroy as little as possible earthen clod and damage the roots. They are very fragile in the plant.

Kiwi grown at home (especially young specimens) need frequent transplantation - the vine grows quite quickly

Video: collecting kiwi seeds and planting them

How to graft a kiwi cutting

Most often, kiwi plants grown from seeds at home are used not to get a crop, but as a rootstock for "cultivated" varieties. Only seedlings aged from three years and older. You can graft kiwi in any way. The results are good in every case.

Cleavage grafting

A lignified kiwi stalk is part of an annual shoot cut from an adult vine of a certain variety in winter. For a plant, such pruning - compulsory procedure. Green cuttings are obtained by cutting off the tops of the shoots formed this season in the summer.

It is very important to securely fix the entire structure during the grafting process.

The optimal length of the cutting is 8–12 cm (2–3 pairs of leaves), the thickness of the shoot from which it is taken is 7–10 mm. It should be absolutely healthy, the bark should be smooth, uniform, elastic and undamaged. The best time of day for cutting cuttings in summer is early morning.

To obtain planting material, a sharply sharpened disinfected tool is used - scissors, a knife, a pruner. Last option it is most preferable, since it minimally injures the tissues of the shoot, the bark does not crack or wrinkle. The lower cut is made at an angle of approximately 45º, the upper (straight) is located 8-10 mm above the last kidney.

The easiest way is split grafting. In this case, the cuttings are harvested in the fall and dug into the snow for the winter. The procedure is carried out in the middle of spring.

1. The bases of the cut cuttings are placed for about a day in a container filled with water at room temperature. Their tops are covered damp cloth or polyethylene film. A day later, the cuttings are transferred from the water into a solution of any root formation stimulator prepared according to the instructions. After 18-20 hours they are ready for grafting.

   

   Parts of the shoots should be immersed in water about half

2. The rootstock seedling is shortened to a length of 3-5 cm, making an even horizontal cut. In the middle, perpendicularly, with a scalpel or a razor blade, a slit is cut with a depth of 2.5–3 cm (the so-called split).

   

   It is necessary to ensure that the split is not too wide - the stalk must enter it with some effort

3. A cutting 12–15 cm long, whose thickness approximately coincides with the thickness of the rootstock shoot, is cut from below on both sides at an angle, forming something similar to a wedge 3–3.5 cm long. It should start as close as possible to the lower kidney.

   

   The shape of the wedge is necessary for the most convenient entry of the scion into the stock

4. The graft is inserted into the split on the rootstock. Part of the cut on it should remain in the open air. The cut part of the cutting contributes to a more rapid fusion of the scion and rootstock.

   

   It is very important to do the procedure with clean hands, otherwise you can infect the cut.

5. The junction of the shoots is wrapped with plastic tape in several layers. When callus appears, the winding is removed.

   

   Insulating tape or cling film help protect the junction from negative impacts

Video: how to plant a cutting correctly

Another common method is budding. In fact, this is the same vaccine. The difference is that in this case, not a whole cutting is used, but only one growth bud, taken from it along with a thin layer of wood. The easiest option is budding in the butt. A bud cut from a scion plant is combined with a section cleared of bark on a rootstock vine. Some flower growers claim that in order for the parts to grow together, a cross-shaped incision 2–4 mm deep is generally sufficient.

The budding procedure is fundamentally no different from vaccination.

Video: butt budding process

Liana kiwi is distinguished by its growth rate, so pruning for it is a mandatory procedure. Such plants look much more aesthetic and neater, bear fruit more abundantly. If the growth of the vine is not limited in any way, it can stretch up to 7–10 m in length. Keeping such a plant in an apartment is completely impossible.

Seedlings that have grown to a height of 25–30 cm are pinched at the top, removing the last 2–3 buds. This stimulates the plant to branch more intensively. But an excess of green mass is also harmful to the plant - all its forces are spent on its nutrition, so the fruits do not set at all or fall off long before ripening.

An adult kiwi plant at home should consist of 5-7 shoots, starting at a distance of about 45-50 cm from the base of the stem. They constantly form dense growth, which will have to be shortened throughout the growing season. It is impractical to preserve it, since only the lower 5-6 "eyes" of each annual shoot bear fruit.

There is no point in leaving very long shoots on a kiwi vine: only the lower 5-6 buds bear fruit

Old branches are gradually removed, replacing them with replacement shoots. Usually anti-aging pruning is needed for kiwi every 5-6 years. If carried out correctly, the productive life of the vine stretches for 40-50 years.

Pruning is especially important when there are several plants located next to each other. If it is not carried out, one of them can simply “strangle” the neighbors. Also, removing excess foliage and weak shoots improves crown air exchange, minimizing the risk of disease spread and pest attacks.

A different method of formation is more often used when growing vines outdoors, but at home such plants look pretty.

1. An annual seedling is shortened to a height of 30 cm.
2. A year later, before the growth point, all formed side shoots, except for two (the so-called shoulders).
3. When they reach a length of 1 m, pinch their tops. From all the shoots formed on the “shoulders”, 3–4 lateral branches are left, located at an approximately equal distance from each other. They are shortened by cutting off after the fifth or sixth kidney.
4. During the active growing season, all shoots on these branches and new side shoots on the "shoulders" are immediately removed.
5. After harvesting, fruiting shoots are pinched so that 6–7 new leaves remain above the last berry. Branches on which there were no fruits are shortened to the fifth leaf bud.
6. Branches at the age of three years are cut to the point of growth. Soon a new shoot will begin to form from it, which is pinched after five leaves have formed on it.

The secateurs, like any other tool used for pruning kiwi, must be sharply sharpened and disinfected.

A heavily neglected or old kiwi vine can be rejuvenated by radical pruning in the spring. Unlike most indoor plants, kiwi responds normally to the loss of a significant part of the green mass, quickly recovering and starting to grow after such a “stress”.

Other important nuances of liana care

Those who are going to grow kiwi should first of all remember that this is a southern subtropical plant. This is what you need to focus on, creating for him optimal microclimate. In inappropriate conditions, the vine, most likely, will simply refuse to bear fruit.

Creating the right microclimate

The most important requirement of the vine is sufficient lighting. The pot is placed on a windowsill facing south or southwest. In winter, there will not be enough natural light, so you will have to use fluorescent or special phytolamps, extending daylight hours to 12–14 hours. It is better to arrange them so that the light falls on the plant in a horizontal plane.

Kiwi vitally needs a lot of light, with this in mind, they select a place for a pot

At the same time, kiwi in the hottest hours should be protected from direct sunlight. They cause serious burns, especially if the vine was watered shortly before. You can shade kiwi with tulle, paper screen, several layers of gauze.

With a lack of light, the stems of the creeper become ugly thinner, the leaves turn pale and smaller, the gaps between them increase. Flowering and, moreover, fruiting in such conditions can not be expected.

Kiwi will most likely react negatively to any changes in the conditions of detention. Especially the plant does not like sudden changes in temperature and cold drafts. Therefore, a place for him is chosen once and for all, approaching this procedure with all responsibility.

plant care

Kiwi care at home is easy. Basically, it comes down to regular watering and top dressing. This is quite enough for the vine to feel good and bear fruit.

From fertilizers, kiwi prefers natural organics. It is best to alternate it with mineral fertilizers. The liana spends quite a lot of energy on the growth and formation of fruits, so top dressing is applied every 12–15 days, from mid-March to October.

Biohumus - absolutely natural fertilizer

The very first top dressing is biohumus, humus or rotted compost (source of nitrogen). In a pot around the plant, an annular groove is made and fertilizers are applied there. During the season along with water nutrients will gradually come to the roots. Then you can alternately use the complex mineral fertilizer and infusions of nettle leaves, dandelion, wood ash, bird droppings.

Kiwi needs frequent and plentiful watering, but at the same time, stagnation of moisture in a pot does not tolerate categorically. To avoid this, 30–40 minutes after the procedure, it will be necessary to drain excess liquid from the pan. Watering is carried out at least once every 3-4 days. At the same time, the earthen lump is moistened as evenly as possible. It is best to use a watering can with a divider nozzle for this.

A watering can with a divider helps to evenly soak the earthen lump in a pot of kiwi

In extreme heat, in addition to watering, it is advisable to spray the liana from a fine spray gun. Water in both cases is used heated to room temperature. You can also use a special humidifier. Or just place basins with cool water next to the kiwi, organize a “company” for the liana from other indoor plants, place wet expanded clay, sphagnum moss in the pot tray.

Moss-sphagnum retains moisture well, which is very useful for indoor plants in the heat.

For the winter, the liana sheds its leaves, this is for her. natural process. As soon as this has happened, top dressing is stopped completely, and the number of waterings is reduced to once every 10-12 days. At the time of "hibernation" it is desirable to transfer the plant to a cool, bright room, where the temperature is maintained at 12-16ºС.

Kiwi, like most fruit-bearing tropical plants (lemons, pomegranates, pineapples), at home sheds leaves for the winter

Diseases and pests that threaten kiwifruit

Like any actinidia, kiwi rarely suffers from diseases and pests. This also applies to specimens grown at home. But at the same time, do not neglect the regular inspection of the vine. The earlier a problem is noticed, the easier it is to deal with it.

Often, the florist himself is to blame for the deterioration in the appearance and condition of the kiwi. The mistakes he made in care provoke problems with the plant.

Table: how kiwi reacts to improper care

Due to the lack of light, the kiwi vine stretches ugly - this applies to both adult plants and very young seedlings

In addition to the so-called non-communicable diseases, the symptoms of which most often disappear when the microclimate is normalized and correct dressings, kiwi can also suffer from fungal diseases. Most often, when waterlogged, they develop different kinds rot. Also, the plant does not ignore such "universal" pests of indoor plants as aphids and scale insects. They are distinguished by a rare "omnivorous".

Table: diseases and pests that can threaten kiwifruit when grown at home

Photo gallery: diseases and pests dangerous for kiwi

The development of phyllostictosis is most often provoked improper top dressing or lack of them Late blight is also known as "brown rot" If the development of root rot has gone too far, the plant can only be thrown away Gray rot it affects not only leaves and stems, but also kiwi fruits White rot is very easy to identify, but getting rid of this disease is quite difficult Strong shell reliably protects the scale insect, so most folk remedies are not dangerous for it Aphids are one of the most "universal" pests, its attacks exposed to both indoor and garden plants

Chinese delicacy (Actinidia chinensis var. deliciosa). Upon careful study of the culture, it turned out that in the open ground in a place protected from the wind, it can tolerate up to -20 ° C, and under cover even up to -30 ° C. Therefore, if you "play" with, then you can try to grow it in the Moscow region in the open field, and not at home.

Male and female kiwi plant

I planted the first kiwi seedlings in my garden near Moscow about 10 years ago, but I waited for flowering only in 2012, although in southern regions they bloom in the 3-5th year. The male plant bloomed first, and then next year simultaneously with male and female. Until the moment of flowering, it is difficult to determine the gender of the kiwi, but when they bloom, this difference is clearly visible: the pistil is much larger on the female flowers.

Varietal affiliation of female plants (variety hayward ) I installed only when the plants bloomed and fruits began to ripen. Not knowing how the locals and bumblebees would receive the overseas guest, he was a little safe: he pollinated all the flowers on the female vines male flower manually.

The result was not long in coming, and now furry aliens from distant subtropics are ripening in my garden. However, I think that they would have managed without my help. For the viability of pollen and the activity of pollinating insects, it is optimal that during the flowering period, which in our area falls on the end of May - beginning of June, the air temperature was +15 ... +20 ° С.

Kiwi: planting and care

Kiwi is planted in places protected from the north and northeast winds. Best with south side Houses. Preferred spring planting. Usually plant 5-6 female plants per male. Given the fact that the kiwi, the landing pit is made shallow: 0.5x0.5x0.5 m. Kiwis love well-drained soils rich in humus. The best ratio is considered to be 1-2 parts of rotted manure or compost to 1 part garden soil. It is desirable that the root neck be 3 cm above the ground level, since deep planting can lead to the death of the plant.

Kiwi love abundant watering but without standing water. If the summer is dry, then once a week 20-30 liters is enough for an adult plant. AT rainy summer can be watered much less often. In the year of planting, you can not feed, and in subsequent years - starting from May, about once a month, apply 20-25 g of nitrogen, 10 g of phosphorus, 10-20 g of nitrogen for one plant. potash fertilizers, finishing all top dressing no later than July. Do not apply fertilizers containing chlorine. Plants are sensitive to.

Given the fact that this is a powerful fast-growing vine, for good development it is immediately necessary to install racks (pillars), between which to stretch the support: wire or rope. Kiwi is propagated by rooting cuttings, grafting and seeds. However, with seed propagation, the vast majority of seedlings (70-90%) will male plants, so it is better to purchase seedlings from collectors.

Diseases and pests in our conditions on kiwi are practically not found.

Shaping and pruning kiwi

I consider the most successful form of growing kiwi fruit as a single-tiered and two-tiered palmette.

With a single-tiered palmette, at a height of about 0.5-1 m, two sleeves are formed along a wire (rope) stretched between the pillars. And with a bunk at a height of 1.5-2 m, there are two more sleeves. After planting a seedling from young shoots, the strongest is left and tied to a peg, and the rest of the shoots are cut out. If the plant is planted in early spring, then wait until the leaves bloom on it before pruning. When the shoot reaches the height of the first tier, it is cut off, thus stimulating the growth of lateral shoots, and two sleeves are formed from them. In the spring, only dry branches are removed - this time runs active sap flow, and if you cut a living tissue, the cut will “cry” for a long time. In summer or autumn, weak, fruit-bearing, thickening shoots are removed, leaving mostly horizontally growing ones at a distance of 30-40 cm from each other.

wintering kiwi

I have kiwis planted at a distance of 1 m from the southern wall of the house. In the early years in November, I untied the ropes from the racks for which the vines were attached, and lowered the whips as low as possible to the ground, trying not to touch it. To a height of about 10 cm, the trunk circle was mulched. I put two over the vines wooden shield in the form of a hut (0.5 m high), so that the liana does not break with snow falling from the roof, but covers the shields from above with 2-3 layers of polyethylene. Partially the hut was covered with snow falling from the roof. At the beginning of spring, when night frosts cease to fall below -15 ° C, the shelter was slightly opened to sunny days there was no greenhouse effect and the vine did not wake up ahead of time. For a vegetative vine, even a small minus is critical. A few years ago, when freezing at -5 ° C (May 8), the vines that started to grow froze to the ground. Fortunately, they did not die, and by August they had fully recovered. Mature plants are difficult to bend to the ground. I had to slightly change the design of the winter shelter. In autumn, on the racks to which the vines are attached, I lay cellular polycarbonate, I fasten it with one end to the wall of the house and make a small canopy. I untie the creepers from the racks and tilt them to the wall of the house. With outer side I close them with 2-3 layers of polyethylene, which I attach to the racks. In such winter shelter without additional heating, creepers hibernate almost without damage. Only unripened shoots freeze over. In May, when the threat of frost has passed, I remove the polyethylene.

Kiwi harvest

All varieties of kiwi ripen no earlier than December, but can ripen harvested. Therefore, they are torn off before the first frosts and I ripen at home. To speed up ripening, you can put kiwi in one plastic bag with (1 apple per 10 kiwi).

Popular varieties of female plants

• hayward - the most common variety in the world. Late ripe. Vigorous. The yield is high. The flowers are white at first, and after 2-3 days they are cream, up to 6.5 cm in diameter, solitary, rarely in inflorescences of 2-3 flowers. Flowering lasts 10-14 days. The fruits are large, leveled, oval in cross section. Fruit length up to 6.5 cm, weight up to 100 g. Straw-greenish pulp.
• Bruno - early maturing. Vigorous. The flowers are white-cream, 5.5 cm in diameter, they are both single and collected in inflorescences of 2-3 pcs. Flowering lasts 10-12 days. The fruits are cylindrical in longitudinal section, rounded in cross section. Length up to 8 cm, circumference - 12 cm, weight 50-70 g. The flesh is green.
• Monty - mid-season. Vigorous. The flowers are white-cream, up to 5 cm in diameter, solitary or in inflorescences of 2-3 pcs. Flowering lasts up to 12-14 days. The fruits are medium to large, slightly pear-shaped in longitudinal section and oval in cross section. Their length is 6.4 cm, circumference 13.8 cm, weight is about 30 g. The flesh is greenish-yellow. The taste, unlike the listed varieties, is mediocre.
• Abbot - mid-season. Medium height. The flowers are white-cream, up to 6.5 cm in diameter, both single and collected in inflorescences of 2-3 pcs. Flowering lasts 10-12 days. The fruits are evenly colored, elongated in the longitudinal and rounded in the transverse directions. Fruit length 6.6 cm, weight 65 g. The flesh is green.
• Jenny - medium early. Medium height. Self-pollinated. Fruits weighing up to 60-80 g. Similar to hayward , but has smaller fruits.

Popular varieties of male plants

• matua - plentiful and long flowering variety. Vigorous. Flowers - from single to collected in inflorescences of 3-5 pieces. The villi on the pedicel are single, short.
• Tomuri - blooms a few later varieties matua . Vigorous. Flowering is long, but less abundant. The flowers are large, from single to collected in inflorescences of 2-7 pcs. The villi on the pedicel are thin and long.