Kolomikta Kiwis

Does anyone have any experience with these? I'm hoping they cover my trellis and don't die off.

Hi LTilton, I've tried these here in OR zone 5, and so far it hasn't gone too well. :( I planted a male and female last May, and a late frost got 'em. So naturally I bought two more in July. A freeze in Sept zapped those plants. I'm waiting anxiously to see if they made it through the winter.
A couple of days ago, I ran across this info in The Berry Grower's Companion by Barbara Bowling:
"Furthermore, these cold-hardiness ratings do not take into account injury from frosts in the spring. As an example, hardy kiwis (actinidia arguta) are extraordinarily cold hardy when dormant, tolerating temperatures into the -40F range, so we call them "hardy." Once they have lost dormancy in the spring, however, the plants leaf out extremely early, and the tender shoots are often injured by late frosts."

That doesn't bode very well. We get a lot of late frosts. Thanks.

L
I just want to point out that kolomika and arguta are two very different species of kiwi, with regard to general hardiness. I am growing a number of argutas in zone 5 and do not have any problems with hardiness. Yes there is the problem with the late frosts occasionally doing some damage, but they recover very quickly. Established vines grow like weeds. I need to prune mine back frequently, just to keep them in some semblance of control. They do great in zone 5.

On the other hand, my trials with kolomikta have not been successful. The vines of kkolomikta are much less vigorous than that of arguta. I have the impression that if I get a kolomikta established, it will be more tolerant of cold temps than the arguta. However, when young, the kolomiktas are much more sensitive to problems than arguta. At least that's my experience. Consider the var Issai, which I hear is a hybrid of an arguta and a kolomikta. Cold temps don't seem to bother it much, but it is less vigorous than an arguta and does suffer from some die back each year. When I plant kolomiktas, they languish for a year or two before dying in a late spring or summer.

[gloom]

Thanks, krowten

Ltilton, is there a particular reason for you to favor kolomikta's over arguta's? I'm puzzled. My interest in the kolomikta's was primarily as root stock for some of my arguta's, to force them to fruit at smaller sizes. You should be able to grow arguta's without major issues in your zone. Also, I did not mean to discourage you from the kolomikta's. Each climate/location is slightly different, so they might do OK for you.

Yes, because they are supposed to be less rampant in growth and because of the variegated foliage.

If space is a concern, then I would suggest trying Issai to see how it does for you. It is self-fertile, so does not require a pollinator and so far has not gotten large for me. My young plant fruited two years ago while still very small, but last year dropped its fruit during a dry spell, but fruit quality was excellent.

I thought the Issai was not so cold hardy. The Kolomikta is the one they call "Arctic," and it is disappointing to learn they have freeze issues.

I don't believe that the issue is cold temps with the kolomikta's. Rather I think that the younger, less established plants are more sensitive to any adverse conditions until they get going. My Issai (not a kolomikta) have not had problems with cold temps so far but my kolomiktas survived winters but died in warmer weather. The NAFEX chair of the kiwi interest committee told me that the kolomikta's are sensitive to too much sun when young. The information I have, as well as personal experience with argutas and kolomiktas suggests to me that you will not have problems with cold temps with either of these species. Now that is not to say that the occasional late freeze will not trim new growth or early flowers for these. However, in the occasions where that has happened to me with my established argutas, the vines just put out new growth and flowers. A month or two after the killing frost you could not tell that there had been any problem. Its really hard to discourage an established, healthy plant.

One thing to watch out for is that the term "Arctic" as applied to kiwis is not done so consistently. There are a number of companies that label argutas as "Arctic" and the use of the term arctic for kolomiktas is not exclusive. Last year my local WalMart was selling arguta kiwis labeled as Arctic kiwis.

Zone hardiness for any of the kiwis appears to be somewhat ambiguous. I'm in zone 5 and I know of a large fuzzy kiwi growing about 20 miles from here. The plant is huge and very beautiful. I have not been around when it has flowered, so do not know if it is male or female. As there is no pollinator, there has never been fruit but it is amazing to see this warm climate kiwi succeeding in zone 5. I beleive that appropriate hard pruning of kiwis helps to trigger fruiting, so if you are space constrained, there is some hope. It is apparently not the size of the vine, but rather the size of the supported root mass, that enables fruiting. If you have space to grow some grapes, you should be able to grow kiwis.

I'm beginning to think I should forget about the kiwis and buy grapes, instead!

Which reminds me - does anyone have experience with kiwis and Japanese beetles?

I'll always choose to grow kiwi over grapes myself. To each his own, I guess. If you are not familiar with hardy kiwi (arguta) one of the best features is that you harvest mature but unripe fruit before frost, then refrigerate. It keeps for months in that state. Want to eat some, just let it sit on the kitchen counter and it will ripen. A good storage crop and tasty too.

Yes, the beetles do like kiwi as well as grapes. I patrol my garden daily during the season, hand trapping them (hold a container of soapy under them and they will usually jump in for you). Here again, the vigor of the plants means that the beetles don't hurt them.

Re space constraints - for pollination purposes a section of a male plant can be grafted onto a female vine.

Good idea, that.

I came in to see what I could find out about kiwi, since I just bought two beautiful plants, one male and one female and haven't planted them. Wanted to see what I need to know before I put them out. I'm in zone 8 and the ones I planted year before last did not make it thru the winter. Would you advise me to maybe just cover them when it is going to be cold? It rarely gets into the 20s here and never for long. But we had a couple of nights like that this year. My daughter in Florida advised me to put them in large containers that can be brought in during a cold snap.

What kind of kiwis do you have?

Some are considered hardy, others not.

Update: The kiwis came, potted, with a few leaves. I planted them. Leaves promptly went brown and died.

Vines still seem to be alive, I see buds developing.

Not overwhelmed with optimism at this point.

Belated update: both vines died.