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Kiwi Jenny Plant – A Self-Fertile Kiwi Plant for UK Gardens
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12 Litre: 2-3 years old and 100-200cm tall (depends what time of year you buy them) 12 Litre pot.
Kiwi Jenny, Actinidia deliciosa Jenny, is a self-fertile kiwi plant and is ideal for those wanting quality kiwis and to save space in the garden. This is because it produces male and female flowers so everything needed for a kiwi crop is right there on one plant. Usually, a kiwi needs a pollination partner i.e. a second different kiwi to produce fruits which is double the maintenance and risk of failure (if either plant struggles or dies, you get no kiwis).
Although often searched for as a kiwi tree, Kiwi Jenny is actually a vigorous deciduous climbing vine, and in the right conditions will grow fast up some means of support like a trellis, wire support or teenager sat still in the garden with their head stuck to a screen. You can be looking at 8 metres tall and 4m wide under ideal conditions although pruning management keeps it as you wish. A kiwi can put on 1-3.5m growth a year so best get your support system set up quickly otherwise you will be trying to untangle it later on.
Jenny has large heart-shaped, red-tipped green leaves and an attractive leafy habit, so it is not just a fruiting plant. It can also be used as an ornamental climber to soften a wall, cover a strong frame or add summer foliage to a productive garden space. In late spring to summer, it produces small clusters of creamy-white flowers, followed by fuzzy greenish-brown kiwi fruits.
The fruits are egg-sized and possibly slightly smaller than supermarket kiwis, but they have the familiar kiwi character and are well-suited to fresh eating when ripe.
Kiwi Jenny Plant Pot Sizes – P9 vs 3L vs 12L
A smaller and cheaper P9 pot looks good value because kiwi Jenny can put on up to 3.5m of height a year but you still have to wait three years for fruit whereas a 12L plant could fruit the same year as it is 2-3 years old. In summary, a P9 pot you will likely have to wait a minimum of 3 years for fruit and a 3L 1-2 years.
The main advantage of buying a 12L Kiwi Jenny is that you are not just buying extra height. You are buying an older, stronger plant with a much better-developed root system, thicker stems and more immediate framework to train onto wires, a pergola, trellis or wall support.
A 12L plant has more stored energy, more root volume and more top growth to recover from normal planting stress, dry spells, wind exposure or a slightly awkward site. A smaller P9 or 3L plant can still do very well, but it has more catching up to do before it has the same strength and presence.
Planting, Care and Maintenance for Kiwi Jenny
Plant Kiwi Jenny in a warm, sunny, sheltered position with fertile, moist but well-drained soil. A south-facing or west-facing wall is usually ideal because it gives the vine extra warmth and protection, both of which help with growth and fruit ripening. Avoid cold, exposed sites, frost pockets and waterlogged ground.
Give the plant strong support before it starts making serious growth. Horizontal wires, trellis, pergolas, arbours and sturdy fence or wall systems can all work, but the support must be strong enough for a vigorous mature vine. Train the main stems onto the support while they are young and flexible rather than letting the plant tangle itself first.
Water well after planting and keep the soil evenly moist while the plant establishes, especially during dry spells. A mulch of well-rotted compost or organic matter around the base can help retain moisture and suppress weeds, but keep it clear of the stem.
Kiwi Jenny can start cropping from around three years after planting, but this depends on the size of plant supplied, the site, the weather and how well it is trained. In less favourable positions, it can take longer. A warm wall, good light, regular watering and sensible pruning all improve the chance of useful fruit.
Pruning is important because Kiwi Jenny is a vigorous climber. Train a permanent framework of stems, then manage new growth so the plant stays open, supported and productive. It fruits on one-year-old wood, so the aim is not to cut everything back hard every year, but to keep a balance of established structure and younger fruiting growth.
Fruit usually ripens from late summer into autumn, depending on the position and season. In cooler years or colder gardens, ripening may be later or less reliable. For best results, give Kiwi Jenny the warmest suitable outdoor position you have, or grow it with some protection if your garden is exposed or colder than average.
Interesting Facts About Kiwi Jenny
There are trade claims that Kiwi Jenny may have New Zealand breeding links and may have been released in 2006 while others say Germany or the UK. So the honest version is: it was bred somewhere on earth.
It is a useful plant for customers who like tasty climbers, and we don't mean attractive mountaineers For those wanting a pergola or outside usable space covered in kiwi-bearing vines, it makes for quite the stunning garden feature.
Quick Fruit Tree Links
Take a look at our TOP SELLING FRUIT TREES, Wet ground issues then choose a PEAR TREE first, followed by APPLE TREES.
Fruit Tree Life Expectancy
Most fruit trees will give you AT LEAST 40 years of fruit. Pears can go to 70.
Do I Need To Stake My Bare Root Fruit Tree?
9 out of 10 times the answer will be no, especially if under 200cm tall. However our article on Tree Staking should help guide you.
Planting In The Corner Of A Garden
Air and light is reduced in this location which could promote fungus and bacterial issues. Corners of houses and fences can also suffer leeching issues so we advise against it.
General Kiwi Plant Information
Although Kiwis are quite forgiving (good candidates for working on the Samaritans Help Line?) in terms of temperature preference, best results will be gained by planting them in full sun with shelter e.g. a garden with fences to keep the high winds off. Although they will tolerate less than perfect soils, a deep sandy loam is preferable but try to keep them out of clay.
Newly transplanted Kiwi plants should be watered every day until you are sure they have taken hold. Evidence of this could be new shoots or visible growth.
A kiwi plant will need 240 frost free days to perform well so if you are in less than perfect conditions, under glass or polythene will be your safest bet. A general rule of thumb is that if peaches, almonds and citrus are growing in your area then kiwi will be fine also.
On the flip side, if the winter is not cold enough, the kiwi may fail to loose all its leaves and will then fail to flower.
The easiest and arguably the best place to plant a kiwi fruit is along a trellis or some other form of support. An overhead trellis is perfect as the fruits will drop making them easier to harvest.
For the purists out there, an acidic soil of 5 to 6.5 will yield best results along with lots of organic matter and not too high in salt. If the soil is lacking, the leaves will show nitrogen deficiency. This will be evident by pale green or yellow leaves on the older leaves and poor growth. The older leaves show first as the plant will move nitrogen from the older leaves to protect the newer ones. Adding too much carbon to the soil e.g. sawdust can cause this problem as the soil organisms use the nitrogen to break down the carbon. A quick fix is to mulch with grass clippings or use a fertilizer high in nitrogen. A longer fix is to build organic matter up in the soil or use green manure techniques such as planting red or white clover.
If the leaves turn brown and fall off, especially in the summer, this could be a sign of insufficient watering.
Kiwi vines are quite nitrogen hungry especially early in the season. If you are going to feed them, do this around March time.
Mulching is recommended but don't let it come into contact with the vine. Do this in mid-spring and make it at least 3 inches deep. This will suppress weeds, retain soil moisture and help keep the root system cool.
If you catch your cat rubbing your kiwi or digging at the root, it is because there is a scent coming from the tree that is similar to catnip.
Unknown Kiwi sex
If you have a single kiwi fruit vine that is not producing fruits then you have a male or female vine and require the opposite sex planted nearby. To establish which sex you have, look at the blossom. Female flowers will have a pure white star shaped stigma. This is the central part of the flower and looks like thick hairs. The male flower will have a central section that also looks like thick hairs but they will be yellow or orange in colour.
Kiwi Fruits
Some chefs use kiwi fruit to tenderise meat as there is an enzyme in the fruits that makes meat softer.
Most kiwi fruits are high in Vitamins A,C and E along with potassium and the seeds are high in ALA (part of omega 3 fatty acid)
You can eat the skin of Kiwi fruits but it is an acquired taste. If you do not know where your kiwi came from e.g. the supermarket, then it is possible it has been sprayed and these chemicals will still be in the skin. The same problem occurs if you live close to a busy road, particulates from the engine exhaust could be in the skin regardless of the amount of washing. In these instances, best to peel. The benefit to eating the skin is that it contains flavonoids, insoluble fibre and anti-oxidants.
When you harvest the fruits, they might be quite hard. Finish ripening by putting into a bag of apples.
The fruits will last several months inside a plastic bag and chilled and will be ripe when the seeds are black.
Kiwi History
They were introduced to the West at the beginning of the 20th century when a missionary called Isabel Fraiser took them to New Zealand after visiting China. The seeds were planted in 1906 and the first kiwi fruits harvested in 1910. It took another 42 years to bring them to England when 13 tonnes of them were exported to us...nothing like a sense of urgency then.
Kiwi Pruning
Kiwi are a bit like teenagers. Leave them unsupervised and they take the easiest route. If you leave your Kiwi plant un-pruned, it will put its efforts into leaf and stem production rather than fruit.
If you are training it to climb a trellis, let it grow until it reaches the height you want it to be and then train the main stem to grow to the sides. Train side shoots to grow out horizontally as well and when they all get to the end of the frame, cut the tips. These will then be the permanent growing structure for your fruits. All new shoots that then come from this structure, prune back to 4-5 leaves. This then forces the vine to put its resources into blossoms and fruits.
As blossoms only grow on one year old wood or at the base of new shoots, your growing structure will soon become congested. The time to cut out the congested sections of your growing structure will be in the winter. It will look harsh but if you choose a section of the vine to do each season your losses will be minimal. You then train in a shoot to replace it.
In the summer, all the shoots that have fruit on them, remove the shoot past the fruit except 4-5 leaves. Once the fruit has been harvested, shorten the shoot to around 5-8 cm. This again forces the vine to put resources into the fruit and also lets in valuable heat and light.
