Issai Hardy Kiwi Plant

Wow this is an interesting thread.
I planted my Issai in April last year and after almost freezing to death during a cold wave in early May it recovered and grew almost 2 meters.

It's planting partner "Jenny" suffered the same fate but I hope they start growing happily after it gets a little warmer


PS:
In the window reflection you can actually see the full metal pavillion they are using now as a climbing aid.

 

@misterQ
Those plants look fantastic. I am so hoping mine will grow the same way. Can you say something about the taste? And do you eat them with or without the skin? Issai should be smooth whereas Jenny looks like a normal Kiwi but tiny

 

@Black Dog

I already described the taste in post #9 in reponse to a similar query by CarolineL.

I will further add that the skin imparts a slightly sharp tangyness to the taste in the same way that the skin of a ripened plum does.

The average size of the kiwi "berries" is about 2cm in the longest dimension. They can reach up to a plump 3cm under perfect growing conditions.

I have no personal experience regarding the fruits from Jenny but I may just order a plant to find out.

 

if you can get jenny to set fruit and up to now one has

 

@misterQ
Thank you for your answer. I seem to have totally overlooked the part where you described it. My bad.

Can't say a lot for "Jenny" yet, but she grows as promised. Seems to be a little bit more affected by the cold than "Issai". And the fruits are supposed to be as hairy as the "normal" Kiwis. We will find out and let you know.

I actually bought them for less than 5€ per piece in our local hardware store.

 

I did indeed order a Jenny about a week after my last post.

It cost £9.99 for a plant in a 9cm pot.

Here is its current progress:







So far, it has not fruited. However, it did produce flowers last year.

 

We planted a Jenny more than 15 years ago. 4 years ago it produced flowers for the first time. No fruit. The following year I did try self pollination. No fruit. The next year did the same and small fruits started to develop but dropped off. Last year......our first fruits. Not huge but a decent size and very tasty. Hopefully we will get more this year.

 

That is fantastic, On the Levels.

But, 15+ years does seem to be an excessively long time to wait for fruit. Maybe I will try to speed up the process by grafting it next year.