Which Kiwi?

Hi gardeners!
I am keen to plant a kiwi in a soutfacing Victorian unheated glasshouse but am undecided about what to plant: self-fertilising or non (male and female required) and then of course, varieties.
Any advice appreciated!
thanks

 

I'd like to know that too. I always tend to "These new fangled things need to be much better than the old ways to actually be worthwhile", so I'll start off thinking that a pair of Males and Females will be better. What is used, these day, for commercial crops? If the commercial boys aren't using self-fertilising types then I don't think I will either; although they are all I seem to see being advertised

 

Cant help on varieties but the reason, I think, why the self pollinating variety is mostly available is because most people dont have the space for two plants, one of which produces nothing.

I have grown then from seed years ago but they never reached flowering.
Covered a very large fence though.:D

 

Go for the tried and tested. A. hayward ( female ), and A, tomuri ( male ).

 

"Go for the tried and tested"

I like the sound of that. Thanks.

 

Should I be putting it in the greenhouse, or a south facing wall? I had thought to put it in my cropping greenhouse, but there again they are pretty hardy.

 

The only nursery I found was Burncoose £9.50 each (2= £8.50 )

Do I need two females, and one male? I know they grow pretty huge, but I suppose I should decide based on the number of fruit a mature plant will hold - anyone know?

 

And more on the kiwi, a friend told me yesterday they had a friend who took theirs out because it STANK so much!

Ever hear of that??

And tried and tested is good.

Oh, hardiness, I am in Scotland so I think I need the glasshouse.

 

Links:

RHS : Growing Kiwi fruit

"Plant 3-5m (10-17ft) apart. One male can pollinate up to eight females Self-fertile â??Jennyâ?? is partly self-fertile, so is ideal where space is limited. Fruit are small, however, and it is of borderline hardiness, so not suitable for colder areas."

Fruit expert

"The bushes will start to fruit when they are five years old. They fruit on the previous yearâ??s wood and can produce up to 100kg of fruit per plant"

Dobbies - can't link to the right page directly, follow the link and press "K". £17.95 each s00k

GrowFruitAndVeg "Anyway, best way of pruning them is to find the new growth in February or March, the long whippy bits because that's where the fruit will be. You should see some small, probably red, what look like roots/very small fingers hanging down and they are the embryonic fruit. Cut the new growth back to two 'eyes' after the last of the new fruits.

By July the same new growth should be covered in leaves and will have the new fruits visible. Count further along the new growth to the 6th or 8th leaf and then cut the vine back to that point. It also helps if you cut off any side shoots also.

Ideally you should harvest in October/November after the last leaf has fallen and before the first frosts but the plants are frost-hardy down to -15, though try to pick most of the fruits before it gets too cold.

If you leave the plants to just grow and don't prune, you can end up with 30/40 feet long and wholly unproductive vines and they most certainly don't need putting under glass or in a polytunnel. With winter temps here down to -10 almost every winter and huge kiwi farms growing on old stock, it's managing ther plant that's important."

Blackmoor Jenny, self fertile, container plants £9.95

BBC and here - discussion about difficulty of getting Jenny to fruit in the UK unless there is a very good Summer - and recommending growing under glass.