I am looking for experience from those that have grown Actinidia kolomikta (not Arguta) regarding planting location and support.
Can one plant these kiwis in full day sun? Does it have more sensitivity to sun when it is young, but when more mature full sun is fine and may produce more fruit, like a pawpaw?
Because they are less vigorous than Arguta, has anyone experience growing up structures other than a trellis system, such as a tree, rock wall, fence etc? Is it worth it?
If I build a trellis, I was planning on cutting down dying trees to use as the vertical posts. I’m wondering if anyone has experience treating the posts themselves with non-toxic substances to counter wear from weather/insects etc?
I have a couple of kolomikta varieties here. They’re definitely less vigorous than arguta, though I saw an old vine of ‘Kruplodonaya’ at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden and it was as big as the argutas it was growing next to. That one is a Michurin variety and so may be a hybrid.
Full sun is fine. Shade is said to help preserve the colorful leaves on variegated varieties, but otherwise its not a requirement so much as a tolerance, IME. Argutas are similarly some what shade tolerant, as are many/most temperate woody vines.
I have grown some kiwis up other things besides trellises and have dabbled in growing them as standards. Ive seen it work pretty well a couple of times so that led me to experiment with it here. I cut several mid-sized (10-16”) or so white pines a little above head height on the edge of a planting area at my place and planted kiwis at their bases. Cutting them was tricky, but doable. Theres no real way to keep them from rotting from the bottom up, though they should last for a decade or two at least Id think. To protect the tops, I was planning to cut them at an angle and roof over them with cedar shingles. Ive yet to, but I really should since I think it will help keep them sound much longer.
Variety wise, ‘Kruplodonaya’ is quite good, nearly the equal of an arguta in size and flavor. The other one I have, ‘Sentyabraskya’ aka ‘Sept Sun’ isn’t nearly as tasty. It has sort of a soapy aftertaste and since it ripens early when other better fruits are in season it tends not to get picked here. There may be other good cultivars available now. If so, give us the skinny!
I’m not familiar with your species, but I found the best way to anchor your wooden trellis post to prevent rot is to avoid contact with soil, so if you dig a hole about 2’ deep, then place a 3-4” diameter 4-5’ long black poly sewer pipe in the hole and back fill the hole around the pipe while holding it vertical, you can avoid contact between soil and your wooden trellis supports. After 3-4 days the concrete will cure and you can then place your wooden vertical supports inside the pipe, bore a couple of holes to secure the wooden insert to the pipe. My grape arbor was constructed in 1994 and is still in good shape. I used western cedar lumber for all wooden parts.
Dennis
Kent wa
I have 30 Actinidia arguta vines, and 25 Actinidia kolomikta vines. I still don’t have much experience with them, as I planted them all in the last 2 years. I made trellises out of dead white cedars, and leftover odds and ends from work, (I am a construction crew foreman). Kolomikta do prefer shaded roots/base especially. Most everything I learned going forward with kiwis was from @JesseinMaine; his knowledge sharing gave me the confidence to try them for myself. Also, I purchased a lot of cutting wood from him which I then rooted. Very easy, and it saved me a lot opposed to buying potted plants.
As far as low impact wood preservatives, I would suggest Eco Wood Treatment from Amazon.
Here is one set of kolomiktas behind a shipping container, as you can see one of the male vines has found the crabapple tree.
Thank you for sharing those photos here. I will consider that eco wood treatment if I go the route you took with timber posts. Do you have the kolomiktas planted near a forest/tree line to provide half day sun? Im assuming you plan to harvest on the one side only
Yes, for half day sun, as well as frost protection from late spring frosts. The evergreens hold a lot of heat underneath. I’ve noticed about a 30-ft frost free strip, even when the temperature falls in the mid-20s, close to the woods in spring. I keep a thermometer under the trees, as well as one out in the field. On cold mornings in May and June the difference is often five to six degrees.
I did not place concrete inside the pipes, that’s one option, but only around the pipe at the depth of 2’, then I backfilled the hole with soil.
Dennis
I built my trellis with 6’ green & white metal T posts. I pounded them into the ground at 8’ intervals with a sledgehammer and post level. I attached pressure treated 2"x4" studs to them with U-bolts. I used existing side posts at 16" displacement (one side only) for stability. I joined them with short sections of studs and L-brackets. I vertically attached 1" garden lattice to the lower section of each main post. I also used pressure-treated studs for the top rail, attaching them with joist hangers.
This structure has supported 80’ of grapevines for 10 years, albeit in my mild climate. At present I have removed the grapevines for replacement by blackberries. I no longer need the original height, so I am lowering the top rail to an appropriate height for berry canes.
