Buying Kiwi Plants

I’m thinking about buying a Jenny and Issai kiwi which are both self fertile. Would they help pollinate each other? I was wanting a 3rd kiwi plant, any advise on another verity for North Florida zone 8a?

Issai is a “hardy” kiwi in the the Actinidia arguta family. Jenny is a “fuzzy” kiwi in the Actinidia deliciosa family. From my reading, these 2 families will not pollinate each other. Hardy kiwi and fuzzy kiwi growers generally keep a male kiwi from each specific family for pollination. (This would not apply to a self-fruitful variety, although it might increase yield.)
If you got a 3rd plant, either from the A. arguta or A. deliciosa family, I think you would still need a male from that family for pollination.
Others chime in in case I’m mistaken.

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I think both issai and jenny where supposed to be self fertile.

I remember reading they benefit heavily from a male around though.

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Issai has fruited without a male for me. Issai also produces pretty quick. Many of the other varieties I have still have not done much, including the males
Jenny is said to be self-fruitful, but I do not have it.

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None of the the self-fruitful varieties are actually self-fertile, but can set fruit parthenocarpically. They don’t produce viable pollen, so they can’t pollinize other females.

Chill requirements may be your most limiting factor. Issai may work for you there, but you really need a male for good fruit. Flowercloud is the best pollenizer for Issai. Both are highly precocious, so you don’t have to wait long to know if they are going to bloom in your climate.

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Go to page 6 of 24 (or page #4 of the PDF)- it says a “fuzzy” male produces more pollen and can pollinate a “hardy” female. I think I’ve read somewhere about “Arctic” and “hardy” kiwi being able to pollinate each other but can’t find the reference at the moment. If you live in a warm climate, then it might be worthwhile to use a “fuzzy” male.

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Wow how amazing. Good retrieval of chance comment!

So if a fuzzy kiwi can pollinate a hardy kiwi, it makes you wonder what kind of hybrids you could make from the seeds? It’s interesting that Ken’s red kiwi is sold as a hardy kiwi when it’s actually a hybrid itself- a cross between Actinidia arguta and Actinidia melanandra. I had never heard of melanamdra kiwis before.

I’m still waiting for my Acrinidia polygama (silver vine) to flower.

Then to find out if actinidia arguta will pollenate it.

don’t even get me started on the insect necessary to make the fruit “irresistible” to cats.

Scott

A. melanandra is also a type of hardy kiwi, closely related to A. arguta. Usually not quite as hardy as A. arguta.

While fuzzy kiwi can pollinize hardy kiwis, the bloom periods usually do not overlap. You can hybridize the two, but fuzzies are hexaploid, so the resulting hybrids are 5X, unless you use a 6X arguta (round fruit Issai is probably the only one available outside of Japan). However, odd ploidy is not much of an issue for fertility, at least at the 5X level. Better to use tetraploid yellow kiwis crossed with hardy kiwi, also 4X. I have a bunch of seedlings from similar crosses growing up right now.

BTW, Arctic kiwi, A. kolomikta does not work with A. arguta. Different chromosome numbers and bloom periods.

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Scott, A. polygama is one of the very latest kiwis to bloom, several weeks after arguta, and is diploid. A. arguta pollen may work if you dry and freeze the pollen, but fruit set may be poor due to the different chromosome numbers. A. kolomikta pollen works, but bloom periods are even further apart.

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Thanks, so if you were planting a Issai and Jenny you would just plant a Flowercloud? Could I plant a male directly in the same hole as the Issai and Jenny? Is so, what would be a good pollinator for Jenny?

Flowercloud will only help with Issai. I would not plant in the same hole, but both are low vigor and can be close together.

I’m not sure if Jenny will bloom that far south. Most fuzzy kiwi need relatively high chill hours, so you would need a low chill male. I’m not really that familiar with fuzzy kiwi, since they don’t do well for me. The Auburn selections may work, if you can find them.

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Great PDF. The article does say that a Deliciosa can pollinate a Arguta. Since I will be buying a male Deliciosa for my Jenny and I really only have room for 3 plants I will see if the male will pollinate the Issai.

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