Any experience with AU Fitzgerald? Would like at least one fuzzy green in 6b… after protecting for 3 years do you think its safe to leave the goldens unprotected? The weather does fluctuate above and below freezing here but not dramatic drops very often, and rarely do we get to -5 could I just come out and wrap them before a severe winter low for those few nights?
kiwinut and Scott: I too paid too much in shipping for the 6 plants that I got. Was disappointed in that aspect. The plants were good sized though, exceeded expectations. (2 Dragons, 2 Sunshines, and a single recommended pollenizer for each female pair.)
My hope is to drive down there in February, start over again since I failed in my caretaking responsibilities. I was too paranoid about under watering so I over did it, am pretty sure that’s what happened. Both Sunshines died, the Dragon did not come out of dormancy. The only ones that did well were the 2 pollenizers (Tiger and Meteor/CK3). ::embarrassed::
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I tried searching to see if either of you answered a similar question before, so sorry if I missed it and being repetitive.
I am in zone 6a and want to try fuzzy kiwis, I am in upstate NY and get lake effect as we are by Lake Ontario. My site is exposed at the top of a slope but I really want to know if I would have any luck with fuzzy kiwis, and if so, which varieties? Would like to try green and the yellow ones discussed here, but any advice on your previous trials would save me from throwing money in the garbage.
I read Saanichton might be ok here? I am fine wrapping the trunks for a few years.
I really doubt that fuzzy kiwis will survive there and I also doubt they would ripen even if they do survive. Saanichton is grown in the Pacific NW (zone 8a), so it can ripen in a shorter season. I just don’t think it would be hardy in 6a. I also don’t know of any males that are very hardy. In my experience, even zone 7a is borderline. The yellow kiwis have done better for me, but the coldest they ever experienced is -5 F. Until hardier hybrids are available, you probably are limited to hardy kiwi for now.
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ostrya. I had problems at first but am finding more success with a mound that is a mix of sand, vermiculite, compost, local dirt. I then put a layer of wood chips on top. The idea is to keep the roots moist but not too moist. Also I see they have an overhead irrigation system but not much details so I got a rain bird setup with the 1/2 inch line about 5 foot above the ground with 1/4 inch lines dropping down and a micro-sprayer on each vine. They seem to like this approach in North Alabama. I maybe at the northern most reaches for this plant. These are still young so I have years to wait for fruit.
Can you let me know where you got your Gulf coast kiwi plants from
They are sold by the wild life group out of Tuskegee Alabama
<< https://www.wildlifegroup.com/ >> Talk to Kandis. They have several varieties that do not show on the growaukiwi.net page.
Okay I ordered some from them this year didn’t know they had gulf coast available too
Do you know anything about the Rootstocks they use
Sorry my mistake it is growaukiwi.info
I had visited the page several times. Impossible to keep track lol
I PM ed you before. Noticed you just started here
Reading the comments above it seems they may be using an AU fitzgerald rootstock.
Kiwinut. I live in Huntsville (North Alabama) and I am growing Golden Sunshine and Gulf coast along with the males Tiger and Chieftan. Have you had any success with propagation by hardwood cuttings? I want to have a couple standby plants in case a late freeze takes one of them out.
I did have some success saving mine previously with frost cloth and Christmas lights for warmth. Is there any method to delay early bloom? Maybe dense shade cloth and deep wood chips or even thick white ground cover (plastic).
The yellow kiwis are much harder to root than hardy kiwi. I have had some success with semi-green single node cuttings in seed starter trays. They take a long time and often fail to grow even after roots develop. Direct sun with intermittent mist is used by nurseries. I had some success with this method as well, but don’t have the mist system set up anymore. I plan to try layering in spring and I will take some cuttings next fall as insurance.
Is that air layering or other? I have a misting bench and shade cloth 50% over it. May try this early summer.
I will be trying air layering, but I also may just bend a shoot over and bury it so it will eventually ground layer. A misting bench is probably the best way to root these.
Are these really that much more difficult to root than hardy kiwis?
Have you tried rooting hardy kiwis?
I’m tempted to hunt down a couple cuttings of these and try to root them.
Scott
Scott, yes I have rooted many hardy kiwi. They are relatively easy to root compared with the yellow kiwis. The yellows take a long time to form roots, often 6 weeks or longer for me. Green cuttings are said to root in 3 weeks in a mist system. The timing of when to take the cuttings may be important too.
I suspect you could root dormant cuttings if you used bottom heat and kept the tops cold and dormant long enough. One method worth trying would be to bury the dormant cuttings upside down in deep sand covered with black plastic, with the bases near the surface. The top of the cuttings would stay cool and dormant. Once roots develop near the surface, they can be dug up and planted in the proper orientation.
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