My daughter bought me a kiwi - Jenny, for Father's Day. How hardy is it? Have seen -5 but also half hardy! Will it grow in an unsheathed greenhouse or should I plant on a trellis and fleece in frost? Thanks!
Well I was asking in another thread if anyone was getting fruit and successfully ripening it in the UK. Don't think I got a response yet. In theory they should be hardy enough, I had some seed grown ones on fence about 30 yrs ago and they seemed totally hardy,but being seed grown I got fed up waiting for flowers. 'Jenny ' is a self fertile clone I believe. Unless you have a big green house I'd go for out doors in a warm sunny spot.
Thanks for your response. Notice you live in Kent, I in West Midlands/Shropshire - a little colder perhaps? Usually hardy salvias (-10) are ok here but have read -5 and 'half hardy' about Jenny. Was thinking about a trellis in shelter of greenhouse, plus possibility of some fleece in really cold spell. Take your point about taking up lot of space in greenhouse!
Well, to be honest I really dont know, I'm fairly sure the plants are hardy, but as you say, things change and locations vary. My main concern was getting decent fruit, its no use having a hardy plant if the summer isn't long enough to grow good fruit.
The quality of the answer you will get is approximately proportional to how you ask it. Had the title included "mini kiwi", I would have responded with my Actinidia arguta Issai. The biggest harvest from a single plant was back in 2018. Issai is (London) winter hardy. The Beast from the East in 2018 caused little to no damage to it. In years where there is a cold and wet June (like earlier this month), it will suffer a June drop and the total harvest will only be up to half as much. So, in order to get more fruit, I am propagating more plants by air layering.
Amazing plant, and what a harvest! I've decided to plant my 'Jenny' outside on a trellis under a pollarded hawthorn. Here's hoping it survives!
