How to grow kiwi? Methods of cultivation

Useful and loved by many fruit kiwi is considered exotic in Russia. The second name is Chinese gooseberry (or actinidia). This plant is common in the tropics and subtropics. But to learn how kiwi grow, many gardeners in Russia are dreaming. As practice shows, you can grow a vine even at home, and without the extra costs and complex technologies. It is much more difficult to make a plant bear fruit.

Fruits have a juicy pulp of green color with a white center and black seeds. Above is a dark peel with coarse nap. For the first time, kiwis were cultivated in New Zealand, the name of the fruit was due to an external similarity to a small bird with the same name. The main thing for breeders was to obtain excellent taste and high yield. But it was possible much more. The fruits were not only delicious, but also extremely useful.

For those wishing to find out how kiwi grows, it is worth knowing that the plant is dioecious, that is, with female and male vines. Only thanks to the neighborhood kiwi of both sexes can you get a decent harvest. And to know what sex the plant, you can only during the first flowering. Flowers differ in form and flavor.

The second mandatory condition is high humidity and regular watering, and, of course, a temperature close to +30 degrees. To see how kiwi grow in a natural environment, it's enough to go to Abkhazia, Turkey, Italy. This fruit is very common here. At first glance it seems that the fruits are on the tree's crown. In fact, it is a tree-like liana, which needs support. A special frame of twigs for the summer is completely wrapped in greens, forming a living green dome, and the fruit hangs over the head with clusters.

Kiwi fruit is grown in artificially created conditions. The easiest and most economical way is planting seeds. Gardeners wishing to learn about how kiwi grow from a seed should understand that it is impossible to achieve fruiting. Seeds can be taken from ripe fruits, separated from the pulp, washed and placed in moistened sand, then put in a refrigerator. Seed should be aged for at least 14 days, this method is called stratification (or quenching).

After a lapse of two weeks, the seeds are removed, sown together with sand in the nutrient soil, sprinkled with a layer of 3 mm of earth. Further, the soil is moistened from the nebulizer and the containers are closed with glass. With periodic moisturizing and maintaining the temperature at 25 degrees, the shoots germinate after 2-3 weeks. By this time, the glass is slightly pushed aside, and then completely removed. In heat and moisture, the liana will grow rapidly. Here is the result of how kiwi grows - photos of cultivation at home.

To obtain fruits, either plant the vine or grow the crop from the cuttings. Adult plants should be formed by cutting weak lateral shoots. Proper pruning is necessary, especially in the spring, to start the development of sleeping buds. The first flowering begins only after 4 years. From the very beginning it is necessary to help the plant, having rested it on the trellis. In a warm climate, you can transplant kiwi into the open ground. Experienced kiwi plantations in Russia already exist in the Krasnodar Territory.