Yeah zespri is clearly a winner when it comes to yellow kiwi. I have sowed few zespri seed hoping to do something like you(graft on to my sunchine) but what time is the best to graft for kiwi wine ? I was told summer time ?
So, Actinidia deliciosa will pollinate A. chinesis if blooms overlap? I donāt think there are any golden females or males available to purchase at this point, is that right? Everyone is grafting or growing from seed? If thereās a reliable fuzzy male that overlaps, that would simplify things.
I know I asked you about Jenny on another thread. Iām planning on getting one next yearā¦would its bloom overlap a sunshine grafted or seedling zespri? I want to see if it can pollinate.
Yes, fuzzy kiwi will work if bloom periods overlap. Fuzzy will also work for hardy kiwi, but most fuzzy males are too late for either hardy or yellow kiwi. Jenny (which is really a male that also makes small fruit) should also work as a pollenizer, but I donāt know how late it blooms. Probably similar to other fuzzy kiwi. It should work for fuzzy kiwi females.
I think available options for yellow kiwi are very limited. If you want yellow kiwi, it may be best to grow some seedlings from SunGold fruit. They are precocious and should bloom in 2-3 years from seed. They can also be used as rootstock for grafting if you can get some scion material.
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Thank you for all the information. Thatās really cool that sungold will fruit so quickly. Do you cold stratify in the fridge for a month or more?
If the fruit has been in cold storage for a while you may not have to stratify, but I think I stratified for about a month in damp seed starting mix.
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@kiwinut Do you know if fuzzy kiwi will graft to hardy kiwi? A google search claims yes, but Iād like to get a second opinion.
Hardy kiwi will graft with fuzzy or yellow kiwi, but grafts are usually short lived, maybe one or two years. For a long lasting graft, you would need a hybrid interstem or another species compatible with both. Arctic kiwi are usually compatible, but trunk thickness and vigor are very different.
Have you actually tried it? Did none of them survive? Iāve got a bunch of hardy that I want to get rid of, but would rather convert them to fuzzy.
I have not tried it. Fuzzy kiwi are not hardy for me, so there would be no point grafting them. There is a published study out there that I have seen where lots of grafts were made in an attempt to develop better rootstocks for āHaywardā and followed for 7 years. Most grafts failed within a year, but some would occasionally last longer. I donāt think any grew that well on arguta roots. I would only try it as a temporary way to get the scion on its own roots by layering the new growth, so it could help in getting new vines established faster.
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I graft mine in early spring before bud break and i get close to 100% takes with dormant scion. I started seeds in late fall then planted in the ground around late april and had graftable diameter scion on about half of the seedlings after one summer of growth.
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Re timing for grafting fuzzy kiwi
Last spring I grafted 6 yellow kiwi scions (from Really Good Plants - Marta) onto a vigorous male Matua, two years in the ground.
I waited till Matuaās leaves were 1/2 size- I think I remember this timing from @scottfsmith 's recommendation from years ago. The weather here at half leaf size was relatively warm. I was happy that 5 of the grafts took.
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sorry what do you mean by 1/2 size?
I actually just grafted golden onto Hayward early last monthā¦ got two takes with Soreli, and nothing else (albiet, Iām not the most deft with a grafting knife). One of those two has since shriveled up and died, but I suspect that was from moving it into my greenhouse just before it got hammered with some freak hot days. The other is still growing its first leaves, but is grafted on an in-ground plant so its begun slowing down from the weather.
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1/2 size leaves are about 3ā across.
Full size leaves are about 7-8āāacross.
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