How to grow kiwi to get your own harvest?

What kind of overseas fruits have we tried to grow at home: lemons, and pomelo, and avocado... But what about growing kiwi? For some reason, this plant is not so often found in pots, but in vain: planting and caring for it is not difficult, although a couple of nuances, of course, are available.

What are we going to plant?

There are two ways to get your own kiwi vine: plant a stalk or grow seedlings from seeds. Each method has its pros and cons, but in general it doesn't really matter which one you choose.

Cuttings

+ The growth process will go somewhat faster than when planting with seeds.

— It is necessary to find a branch for planting, which can be a problem even in the southern regions of the country.

The branch is cut into sections with 2-3 buds, the cuttings are kept in water for 4-5 cm until roots are formed for 1 day, then another day in a root-forming solution, and then planted in open or closed ground.

Seeds

+ You can get planting material from any store fruit.

— You will have to wait longer until the seedlings reach a sufficient size for planting in the ground. Care of fragile sprouts is more difficult, and the number of manipulations with the plant increases dramatically.

The seeds are germinated in a warm place in a mini greenhouse, for which you can use a bowl, a damp cloth and film. After pecking 2-3 seeds are planted to a depth of 1 cm in seedling box, closed with a transparent plastic lid or foil. Do not forget to periodically open the lid or remove the film for airing! When the plants sprout, which happens after 6-8 days, they must be thinned out in order to get rid of weak specimens, and when the sprouts reach a length of 10-12 cm, they are transplanted into individual pots or into open ground.

Advice

Kiwi seeds are more convenient and quickest to extract from the fruit with tweezers, but if you are afraid of damaging the planting material, you can crush the pulp, put it in a glass and wait a little: the pulp will settle to the bottom, and the seeds will float.

Planting at home or outdoors?

Yes, a kiwi vine, launched on the metal frame of a gazebo in the country, would shock the guests of your house, but, unfortunately, it is possible to provide kiwi with proper care in the open field without a greenhouse in our country only in the south, and even then not everywhere such a plant will deign to take root due to some other factors. But growing a vine at home is not a question.

• Temperature regime

You have probably already realized that kiwi is a thermophilic plant (and what else can you expect from a tropical liana?), And with warmth and sun in most of our country, everything is not very rosy. At home, the situation will be corrected by supplementary lighting and central heating, although in winter a cold window sill with drafts can become a problem, and in summer - burns from direct sunlight. But even in the south, a street plant will have to be wrapped up or even cleaned indoors for the winter because of the cold and even in spring and autumn due to temperature changes, which kiwi does not like much more than frosts.

By the way

Most kiwi varieties that you find in the store can tolerate temperatures down to -15C, and sometimes up to -20C, but this does not mean that the plant will feel comfortable at this temperature.

• Priming

The right soil is another challenge for growing kiwi outdoors, as it loves nutritious aerated soil, and the soil in your area may not fit this description. Here the problem can be solved by self-collecting soil (the root system of kiwi is quite superficial, so this is quite realistic) and fertilizers: it is best to use organic matter for kiwi.There are no problems with home planting here: the substrate from the store is quite suitable.

Important!

Despite the love for aerated soils, kiwi does not like loosening. In addition, it is also dangerous for him: it is almost impossible to loosen the soil and not touch its root system.

• Watering

And in the open field in the country, and in a decorative pot at home, you can regulate watering yourself: 2-3 times a week for the warm season and 1 time in 2 weeks for the cold, when growth slows down - sufficient moisture for this plant. True, there is such a nuance: like indoor flowers, kiwi is recommended to be watered only with settled water. But with the issue of stagnant water, which is fatal for kiwi, everything is somewhat more complicated. Yes, you can put expanded clay in a pot, but kiwi is unlikely to make friends with clayey open soils.

Advice

In the heat, spraying with a spray bottle is added to the care of kiwi, regardless of whether the plant is in the house or on the street.

It turns out that growing kiwi in the open field is possible, but not for the lazy: only an interested gardener with some experience will be able to provide comfortable conditions for the plant and wait for it to bear fruit. But even a person far from gardening can grow a kiwi in a pot.

When is the harvest expected?

If you can provide favorable conditions for kiwi to grow, you can count on a harvest. True, the minimum waiting time for the first fetus is about 3 years, and with each violation of the rules of care, it will become more and more. So, in middle latitudes, even experienced gardeners sometimes wait for their first harvest for 8-10 years! At home, flowering may also be slightly delayed.

But the main thing is not to miss this: kiwi is a dioecious plant, which means that for fruiting you need to have female and male plants. When planting with cuttings, you will know the seedling gender and will be able to plant several female and a couple of male plants. But when growing from seeds, you will not recognize the sex until the first flowering, which will happen only in 3 years the shapes of the flowers will not show themselves.

So you have a chance to enjoy your own grown kiwi, although this will take some effort and patience. But if one day you can say: "I grew this kiwi myself!" - then it will be worth it.