Actinidia is an exotic liana that may well be grown in the country. She is able not only to decorate your site, but also to become a source of valuable and delicious fruits – kiwi.
Actinidia: growing and caring for kiwi
Actinidia is a widely growing ligneous vine. Most of its species bear sweet, aromatic fruits. So, Kiwi, which can be bought in a supermarket, is the fruit of Chinese actinidia. True, it is this species that cannot be grown in the conditions of most of the territory of Russia – it is too thermophilic. However, other species of this genus are successfully grown even in the Far East. Their fruits are somewhat smaller and sour and resemble gooseberries, but they are no less useful.
In addition to its value as a fruit plant, actinidia is also interesting for its decorative properties. Some species are very good at vertical gardening of the backyard.
The most promising for cultivation in Russia are the following species: – actinidia kolomikta (Actinidia kolomikta); – actinidia arguta, or acute actinidia (Actinidia arguta); – actinidia Giraldii (Actinidia giraldii); – actinidia polygamous, nasal, or Actinidia polygama).
Actinidia kolomikta and polygamous are distinguished by very decorative foliage, which changes color during the growing season from bronze to green, white and pinkish. At the same time, the species of kolomikt grows more widely, and its shoots climb to a height of seven meters. This is the most common species in the culture and a very beautiful dioecious vine. The flowers are medium-sized – about 1,5 centimeters in diameter, single, but they have an unusually pleasant aroma.
The largest representative of the species (up to 30 m in height) is acute actinidia, it also differs in fragrant sweet fruits with a pineapple smell. Actinidia Giralda is the largest-fruited among the frost-resistant kiwi species. True, its fruits are not so tasty and aromatic. The flowers are white, up to two centimeters in diameter, collected in inflorescences-shields.
Actinidia polygamous is not so hardy, but very beautiful. She begins to bloom at the age of four and blooms with very fragrant large flowers (up to 2,5 cm in diameter). It is curious that the unripe fruits of this type of kiwi have a pungent taste like pepper. Only by ripening, they become sweet. The fruits can also ripen indoors. On the branches of the creeper, they look very decorative.
Actinidia bloom lasts about 20-30 days in June. Kiwi fruits ripen in September. In early autumn, you can collect them and leave to ripen at home.
Kiwi can be propagated quite easily by both seeds and cuttings. Cuttings are cut in the spring, they root perfectly. So, in actinidia polygamous, almost 100% of cuttings take root even without stimulant treatment. Actinidia Chinese can be propagated by seeds after cold stratification, but it can grow in Russia only on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus.
Plants obtained from cuttings begin to bear fruit in the third or fourth year. Grown from seed – a year or two later
When choosing a place for planting, keep in mind the strong growth of kiwi and keep in mind that actinidia can actively bloom and bear fruit for up to 30 years. Do not plant this powerful vine under large trees, especially fruit trees, in order to avoid competition between plants for moisture and sunlight. Especially kiwi does not tolerate the neighborhood of apple trees, but it gets along well with currants.
A young plant is planted in the ground at the age of two to four years. The planting hole must be well drained. In this case, it is impossible to use drainage containing lime (for example, construction crushed stone), as well as chlorine-containing fertilizers, including potassium chloride. Organic fertilizers are suitable – compost, humus, peat.
The root collar should not be buried when planting. Leave a distance of at least two meters between young plants – otherwise the liana will not have enough space for branching and growth. Cover the soil around with compost or peat.
Already in the second year after planting, it will be necessary to install a high reliable trellis with a height of at least 2,5 meters, along which the plant can curl. Pay attention – the liana is ligneous and very heavy, so the support will need a major one. Leave two main shoots on each plant and cut off the rest. Tie the remaining shoots to the trellis in a common vertical plane. Next year, it will be necessary to cut out weak, diseased shoots, and tie up healthy and young shoots in such a way that they do not get confused with each other. In the fourth year, one of the oldest vines is cut out and replaced with a new main one. Sanitary pruning and removal of weakened and excess shoots should be carried out annually in the future. This can be done only in summer or late autumn – in no case in the spring. For the winter, the plant is not removed from the trellises. Deep digging of the soil around the vines is unacceptable – only careful loosening.