The kiwi plants are dioecious. Fruits can only develop from the flowers of the female plants. However, only if there is also a male plant growing nearby, which is necessary for pollination.
The kiwi shrub is a dioecious plant. In order to harvest fruit, you must plant a male and a female kiwi next to each other. The distance between them should not exceed four meters. A male plant is capable of pollinating six to nine female bushes. The monoecious breeds, which combine male and female flowers on one plant, do not need an additional pollinator, but the dealers themselves recommend planting a female and a male kiwi to ensure a safe yield.
How to recognize male and female plants
In early May, the first flower buds appear on the biennial shoots, which develop into white-yellow, fragrant flowers about four weeks later. You can tell from the flowers whether you own a male or a female kiwi. The female flowers have a white style located in the middle of the yellow stamens. The male flowers, on the other hand, have no style.
care mistakes
Even if the fertilization conditions are observed, it can happen that the fruits and often the first flowers are a long time coming. In the case of the grafted plants, flowering and fruit formation are expected from around the 3rd or 4th year. It can take 10 years or more for the plants you grow yourself from cuttings or seeds.
Although the kiwis do not require intensive care, the lack of fruit formation can indicate mistakes in care that should be avoided:
- Weather conditions are not taken into account (flowers of the early varieties are endangered by late frost),
- insufficient nutrient supply, possibly over-fertilization,
- incorrect pruning (before flowering, so that the newly formed flower buds are cut away).
tips and tricks
The smooth-skinned mini kiwi varieties are becoming increasingly popular because they are also considered to have a reliable yield in our latitudes.
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