A sunny location is essential for successful cultivation. The soil reaction should be slightly acidic. Do not overfertilize plants with mineral fertilizers. Instead, use some kind of organic fertilizer. A wire fence can serve as support for vigorous actinidia. Fruit-bearing annual shoots grow from two-year-old wood, and pruning is also tailored to this. From bud break to the end of June, ray-shaped stems form one to two meters long. Cut these annuals back to eight buds in the first half of July. Fruit-bearing shoots will then form on them. With this summer pruning, you can form beautiful, compact, and fruit-covered plants. Complete winter pruning by the end of February. Remove excess old wood and shoots that thicken the shrub.
Kiwiberry (Actinidia arguta) s a climbing fruit tree native to Korea, northern China, and Russian Siberia. The fruits, usually about the size of a walnut, are smooth and eaten with the skin. They are sweet and very tasty and contain plenty of vitamin C. The advantage is that even the first winter frosts can't harm them. This fast-growing vine is valuable because it easily survives temperatures below -30°C. A growing period of at least 150 days is required for fruit ripening, as the fruits are usually ripe in October. In practice, this means locations up to 500 meters above sea level. Flowering begins in May from the third year of cultivation. The flowers of Actinidia arguta are usually female and therefore require a pollinator, a male plant of the same species.
Kiwi (Actinidia deliciosa) is a large-fruited variant of the Chinese kiwi, native to southern China. With a few exceptions, it is usually dioecious. This means that a plant produces either only male or only female flowers. For female flowers to be pollinated and plants to produce a harvest, a partner plant is required on which male flowers produce pollen. It is grown exclusively in wine-growing regions up to an altitude of 200 m above sea level. The fruits are harvested when they have reached their final size, in October. If they are not yet ripe, they will ripen at room temperature in a few days.
