Kiwi or Chinese actinidia - is a tree-like liana growing in the subtropics.
The plant, resembling a tree, has excellent palatability fruits collected in clusters and ripening on top of the shoots.
Kiwi is also called Chinese gooseberry, whose ripened fruit has a thin skin and an incomparable taste.
The flesh of kiwi, sweet and sour, has tiny black seeds and is represented on the inside by an emerald green color.
Kiwi loves heat and sunlight, therefore, for proper cultivation, this plant needs a room that matches the natural environment of its growth.
The weight of the fetus is approximately 80-90 grams. Kiwi fruit is literally enriched with vitamins "C" and "B", as well as its constituents - potassium, phosphorus, iodine. Fruit can be consumed both fresh and used to prepare a variety of dishes.
To grow this tropical fruit at home is not difficult, the main thing is to follow all the rules of this process and know the characteristics of the growth and vital activity of this plant.
Features of growing kiwi
It is quite possible to grow kiwi at home, you just need to remove the seeds from the ripe fruit and begin the process of germination.
• The soil for seed growth should consist of at least the following components mixed with each other - chernozem, peat and sand.
• At the bottom of small pots you need to lay small pieces of expanded clay, and on top of the existing soil.
• It is advisable to mix the surface soil layer with sand and seeds, and then sprinkle the earth with warm water.
• Pots with seeds should be removed under a film for better growth.
• When the first sprouts appear, they must be accustomed to fresh air, slightly raising the film for ventilation.
• Kiwi is a sun-loving plant, so you need to keep the plant on the windowsill, the window of which faces the south side.
• The place chosen for the life of the kiwi should be warm, bright and without possible drafts.
• During the growth of a plant in a pot, it is necessary to rotate around 5-10 cm round every half a month to obtain uniform light.
• For good fruiting of kiwi, it is necessary to provide regular watering and top dressing, which includes organic compounds
Kiwi cultivation: home care - the choice of planting material
The selection of the fetus needs to be given special attention. The fruit should be ripe and without any flaws. The best time for planting planting material in the form of seeds is the spring period.
A well-washed fruit should be cut into several slices and with great care knead the pulp that contains the seeds. Then all the flesh must be put in a cup and pour some water. Next, the existing consistency must be stirred and do not forget to change the water, constantly adding fresh fluid.
During the washing process with your fingers, the pulp must be carefully separated from the seeds. As a result, only kiwi seeds should float on the surface of the water.
Next, the seeds must be laid out on a dry towel to dry. Then, when the seeds reach a loose state, they need to be transferred to a rag in a saucer and covered with a cloth on top. Further, on the matter under which the seeds are located, you need to pour water until it is completely wetted and close the saucer from above with a plastic film.
Kiwi seeds will germinate in 10-14 days. Now the seeds will only have to be planted in the soil, but before this process it is necessary to carry out its disinfection by sterilization using the so-called water bath.
In order to properly plant seedlings, you need to use any shallow pot with a layer of drainage pre-poured into it, which may consist, for example, of expanded clay.
When the seeds germinate they need to be planted in holes 5 mm in depth no more. After sowing, the seeds must be shed with water and covered with a film, setting the pot in a warm place. A few days after the appearance of the first seedlings, the soil must again be shed with water, while removing all weak bores.
When the sprouts reach 10 centimeters in height, they will need to be planted in individual pots.
Saplings and cuttings - propagation of kiwi
Seedlings of seeds are germinated in the same way as described above, except with the difference that the seeds are sown in winter in January.
After a couple of years, any selected kiwi variety can be planted on a stronger seedling.
Vaccination methods:
• In the splitting hardened cuttings.
• In a cleft with a green shank.
• Framed.
At home, for a kiwi, you need to pick up a large container so that the root system can grow and develop freely.
You can also engage in the cultivation of seedlings from rooted cuttings. This is especially suitable for hardened or green cuttings of this plant. A seedling or a stalk is well adapted to frost and cold, so they can be planted directly in the open ground.
The matured kiwi is a powerful vine growing very well. This should be remembered when choosing a place for a pot with a plant. After some time, the kiwi will have to be removed from the windowsill and installed in a more spacious place. And for kiwi you will need to make a strong backup.
Closer to winter, the liana will begin to drop the leaves. At winter, the plant should be in a bright room, where the air temperature reaches at least + 10 degrees. Water the plant at this time less often than always. With the onset of spring, the plant again begins to grow with leaves. At this time, you need to start circumcising the vine and remove the sick and weak shoots from it.
It is better to transplant a creeper every spring.
Liana needs to provide constant watering, fertilizer in a warm and bright room.
Kiwi cultivation: home care - soil, lighting, flowering conditions
The soil
The soil for the fruit called kiwi should consist of peat, chernozem and sand. Moreover, peat should be present in smaller quantities. The soil should be moist, drying out for kiwi is simply unacceptable and loose.
In addition, after disinfecting the soil with boiling water, and maybe bleach, as well as filling the soil in a pot, it is recommended to add a spoonful of eggshell and wood resin to the soil.
Lighting
Kiwi is a southern and tropical plant, as a result of which this plant is demanding for good and necessary lighting. It is recommended to install a pot with kiwi on the southern part of the balcony or window sill.
You can also use additional lighting with artificial light bulbs. It is possible to arrange special vertical lighting for the creeper.
For kiwi, it is important to prevent direct sunlight from entering, as the plant may get burns. Light should fall on the plant from the side or from a window curtained with gauze or some other material.
Flowering conditions
Kiwi begins to bloom, and after bearing fruit in the third or even fourth year of life. Flowering in creepers begins at maturity. Flowers should turn out large with 5-6 petals starting with white and gradually turning yellow.
Male plants in a flower have many stamens, while female representatives of kiwi have both a pistil and stamens. And due to the fact that the pestle in the flower of a female plant is located above the stamens, it can undergo cross-pollination with pollen from another plant. Here insects come to the rescue, which transfer pollen from one flower to another.
In order to get fruits from this kiwi tree in the future, you need to learn to pollinate yourself, since in natural conditions bees and bumblebees are involved in this process.
If more male plants have grown, then they can easily be planted buds from female species for normal flowering and fruiting.
Kiwi cultivation: home care - top dressing and watering
Top dressing
In the spring, during the period of growing kiwi, you can start feeding. This process should be carried out as follows - top dressing is applied twice a month from spring to autumn.
Feeding itself consists of an alternation of mineral fertilizers and organic.
Minimally apply fertilizer three times:
• During the growing season in March.
• After frost - in May.
• At the end of fruit formation.
It is best to use top dressing, consisting of vermicompost or compost, but not more than once a year. You can also make a small trench around the plant and lay fertilizer there. When watering, gradually, the substances necessary for eating kiwi will reach the root system of the plant.
Watering
Kiwi should be watered abundantly. And in order for the root system not to rot excess water from the pallet, it is necessary to drain on time.
On very hot days in the summer, in addition to watering, the vine should be regularly sprayed. In the summer, the water temperature should reach 25 degrees, and in winter, you can allow the temperature to drop to + 10 degrees, and therefore watering at this time of the year must be reduced.
During the growth period, the plant should be watered more often at least 2-3 times a week.
Growing Kiwi: Home Care - Why It Dies
Leaflets on the plant need to be inspected from time to time for the presence of fungus or for the possible appearance of pests.
The plant may die:
• If you do not find the fungus that has appeared on time and do not cleanse the leaves.
• Kiwi can, having been infected by other plants, catch insect pests. In this connection, it is considered more expedient to keep a liana far from other indoor flowers and plants.
• In the fall, it is necessary to remove old shoots from the plant - if the branches of the creeper are already bearing fruit, then it will be better to remove them. Such a method will enable the liana to grow with new branches and bear fruit abundantly for many years.
• If the kiwi is not provided with adequate watering, necessary top dressing, and poor lighting, it will die.
If kiwi grows on a balcony or veranda, it is better to wrap the plant, and thereby protect it from cold and frost.
Important! Pets, namely cats, according to many observations love the leaves and twigs of this plant. Therefore, in order for the plant and fruits of kiwi not to die all the time from broken twigs and eaten leaves, it must be fenced with a net, for example.
But by and large, kiwi is rarely sick and infected with pests, even at home. But regular inspections of the plant still need to be carried out. For faithful and good care, the plant will thank its household and give them tasty and juicy fruits grown independently.
