I just planted two Ken’s Red kiwis on my trellis. The Mrs. is taking off really well, and the Mr., not so much. Oh well, boys are late bloomers. I also have a potted fuzzy kiwi of unknown gender which I grew from seeds from a walmart kiwi. It’s about two-three years old, and should probably flower soon. Once I determine its gender, will I need to buy another fuzzy for it? Also, can Anna kiwi pollinate with Ken’s Red? I’d like to get another variety, but don’t have the room for another male and another female.
Great questions, I’m pulling up a chair.
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Ken’s Red is female.
I ordered from burpee, and the kiwis came labeled as hardy male and female. I guess the pollinator is well suited for a Ken’s red. I guess I just need to know whether any hardy male will pollinate any hardy female.
I think the confusion may be that sellers offer a Ken’s Red male pollinator. I’m not sure if this is a specific male cultivar and if it is sufficient to pollinate anything other than Ken’s Red Female. Other sellers will just offer a hardy male as a pollinator. This may just be a marketing gimmick.
Well this is very old but since the topic is already started… Did anyone find out if different cultivars of cold hardy kiwi can cross pollinate? I have an unknown variety of cold hardy female so I want to pick up a male but if they are cultivar specific that creates an issue.
@kiwinut can likely provide a better answer but believe the Kiwi Genius ACTINIDIA of around 60 members can largely cross pollenate each other. And apparently feralization can even occur with diffrent counts of chromosomes. The problem is two cultivars must overlap there 2 week flowering period by 80% to stand a chance of getting a good fruit set.
Cold hardy cultivars are nearly all compatible, as long as they are the same species. Any arguta male is likely to work well enough with most female argutas. Just be sure you don’t get an Arctic kiwi male, A. kolomikta, unless the female is also A. kolomikta.
Many different Actinidia can cross pollinate, but the small fruited species will often fail to set fruit on the larger fruited species. Some researchers have speculated that the pollen tubes from small fruited species don’t reach the ovaries due to longer styles, but there is some evidence they just “get lost” along the way. I have successfully set fruit on A. chinensis tet females using arguta pollen, but I have also had failures. I suspect it has more to do with genotype and not small fruit.
A. kolomikta females will set fruit with most Actinidia pollen regardless of species or chromosome number, but will usually only produce viable seeds with diploids. A. kolomikta pollen does not usually work on arguta females or other species, even diploids. A. chinensis tets and A. deliciosa males can pollinize arguta females, but only if the bloom periods overlap. Most fuzzy kiwis are too late, but there are a few with long bloom periods that could work.
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Awesome. Thank you both for the information. I’m afraid that I will need to wait for the plant to set flowers before I can figure out what period the male will need to be but its good to know that I will not have to be species specific in addition to bloom period. I really wish that i wrote the species down when i purchased it so they could grow concurrently. O well, you live you learn.