Actinidia Chinensis - AU Gold Kiwi

Discussion in 'Fruit and Vegetable Gardening' started by pmurphy, May 13, 2019.

  1. pmurphy

    pmurphy Contributor 10 Years

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    Listed as hardy to zone 8a, Actinidia chinensis grows to 30 ft and is still often confused with Actinidia deliciosa as both plants were originally lumped together as A. deliciosa.
    A. chinensis has pale orange flowers and produces a smooth skinned fruit that has golden yellow flesh.
    These were very difficult plants to obtain and only recently started producing fruit.
     
    Last edited: May 13, 2019
  2. vitog

    vitog Contributor 10 Years

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    The photo seems to show male blossoms. Do you need A. chinensis male flowers to pollinate female A. chinensis flowers?
     
  3. pmurphy

    pmurphy Contributor 10 Years

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    This is the male 'golden tiger' but there are also 2 female 'golden sunshine', one planted on either side.
     
  4. pmurphy

    pmurphy Contributor 10 Years

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    FYI, you can use any male to pollinate a female kiwi if you are looking for fruit however the biggest problem is getting varieties that flower at the same time - but if you want the seeds to be true you must use the same variety.

    Besides A. chinensis you will also find A. kolomikta 'Arctic Beauty' flowering now as these are both early bloomers and you could try crossing them.
    A. arguta and its many varieties (ken's red, anna, dunbarton oaks, meader to name a few) are mid-bloomers and will not be in full flower for another 3 to 4 weeks but you might get lucky and still be able to use them to pollinate an early bloomer.
    And then you have A. deliciosa which is a late bloomer and could never be used to pollinate A. chinensis or A. kolomikta as these would be long finished flowering by the time A. deliciosa even started.
    The "self fertile" variety A. arguta 'Issai' will give some fruit but the yield is much better if you have 2 or more plants.
    You also have the beautiful pink-flowered ornamental A. pilosula which will also flower in about 3 to 4 weeks. I'll have to try cross pollinating mine this year to see what sort of fruit they will produce - being an ornamental variety it's difficult to find them and when you do they are not sold as male or female so you don't know what you have until they actually flower.

    A. kolomikta 'Arctic Beauty'
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    A. arguta 'Ken's Red'
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    A. chinensis
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    A. kolomikta
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    A. arguta 'Ken's Red'
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    A. pilosula
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    Last edited: May 14, 2019
  5. Gorgi Petkov

    Gorgi Petkov New Member

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    Hi, I’m new on the ubc garden forum. I grow kiwi, Actinidia Deliciosa var. Hayward and Tomuri male in Abbotsford. Also I have A. kolimikta and A. Argura. I have also A. Chinensis, local selection from Agassiz research station, I got them scientist Mr. Kempler. The problem was the male plant what I got was week and died, so for few years I could not pollinate. The bloom time on the golden was at least 3 weeks ahead than the green and hardy kiwis. Only one year I hot some pollen from the research station and got some fruits just to see how they will perform. The size was small to medium, but the taste was great. When is usually the bloom time of your golden kiwi? Are you happy with the size, productivity, taste and storage ?
    If you have and green kiwi, how your golden kiwis compares to the green regarding the storage- how long they can be kept?
    Btw. I imported my 2000 kiwi plants from Italy ( tissue culture) in 2008.
     
  6. pmurphy

    pmurphy Contributor 10 Years

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    A. chinensis flowers ahead of A. argura but with just enough of an overlap to pollinate my large female argura. I don't know how it compares to A. deliciosa as I don't have any of those but my understanding is that A. deliciosa are late bloomers. My goldens are budding out right now and will be in flower in a few more weeks (I think the stretch of dry weather we had was helpful this year).

    As for size, production, taste and storage:
    Size - average fruit is about 6 cm which seems to be about the same size as store bought fruit
    Production - 2019 was the first year of any real crop and I got enough fruit for my needs - about a dozen 125ml jars of jam and some left over for eating
    Taste - I never cared for green kiwi but find the golden are sweet without the "bite", and entirely edible....skin and all (very tasty)
    Storage - about a week to 10 days in fridge
     
    Last edited: May 3, 2020
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  7. Gorgi Petkov

    Gorgi Petkov New Member

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    Thank you very much for the information.
    Yes, the golden kiwi have totally different taste than the green. Are you harvesting them when they are getting little bit soft and ripe or before that? If harvested earlier than they should last at least a month. Same with the hardy kiwis.
    I tried to get from New Zealand few plants to try them but with no success. I found company in China which developed and grow golden and red core kiwi willing to export to Canada, but unfortunately I checked with CFIA and we are not allowed to import kiwi plants from China. Right now we are allowed to import kiwi plants only from USA.
    Do you get any damage on the plants from insects, diseases or animal? I had problems with squirrels, they were eating unopened flower buds in thousands.
    If you have walnuts or some hazelnut trees the squirrels will come after them but will use the unopened flowers as a green salad.
     
  8. vitog

    vitog Contributor 10 Years

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    Pmurphy, do your golden kiwis ripen on the vines? If they only store a week to 10 days, I suspect that they must already be ripe when picked. My green kiwis almost never ripen on the vine but ripen slowly indoors after being picked just before a killing frost arrives. Some of the fruit picked last November is just now ripening at room temperature after spending most of the time in a cool basement room.
     
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  9. pmurphy

    pmurphy Contributor 10 Years

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    My fruit ripens on the vine. I've never tried picking them early and storing because (from experience) I've found that the store bought fruit that is not ripe when sold never really gets ripe, it stays too firm and is not as sweet.
    If you are referring to A. deliciosa as "green kiwi" then it would be harder to get them to ripen on the vine as A. chinensis flower and ripen earlier than A. deliciosa. Store bought gold kiwis are usually available starting in about June/July; my fruit is ready for harvesting in early September.

    That being said, I'm looking for help in propagating these vines. I've tried many different ways with cuttings and have had no luck. I've also had a handful of others who have taken cuttings with no luck either. Does anyone have any experience in this area?
    Any help would be appreciated.
     
  10. justalittlegardenobsessed

    justalittlegardenobsessed Active Member

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    Hi PMurphy -- I am one of the people who have taken your cuttings with no luck. However there's a report here of success with dormant cuttings buried upside down in sand: Kiwi varieties - what's your favorite?.
     
  11. pmurphy

    pmurphy Contributor 10 Years

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    Thanks for the tip, I'll give this one a try next winter.
     

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