Finn's Fruitful Vancouver Kiwi

Actinidia chinensis var. deliciosa

Origin: China via Vancouver, BC

Improvement status: Breeding population

Seeds per packet: ~25

BOTANICAL SAMPLE - NOT GERMINATION TESTED

Life cycle: Annual or Biennial

Kiwis are native to central and eastern China, where they have been eaten — largely foraged from wild plants — for centuries. The first large-scale cultivation of kiwis, which were then known as Chinese gooseberries, began in the early 20th century in New Zealand. The fruit didn't get it's now ubiquitous name until the 1950s, when Jack Turner of Turners and Growers, a major New Zealand exporter, started calling them kiwifruit (after the nickname for New Zealanders, which comes from the name of the country's famous flightless bird, which got its name from the Māori interpretation of the bird's call). A few edible species of kiwi exist, including the so-called "hardy kiwis" (Actinidia arguta and A. kolomikta), and less common wild species in China, but these seeds come from the common supermarket kiwi species, Actinidia chinensis var. deliciosa.

These seeds come from US-grown cuttings from a vine originally found by Finn Cubitt of Small Pharma in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Finn has informally surveyed Vancouver for years, fascinated by the sprawling kiwi vines found in many parts of the city, and this plant — growing off Main Street in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood — is the most productive one Finn has found, despite not having a pollinator in its immediate vicinity. Kiwis are typically dioecious, with different pollen-producing and fruit-producing plants, but some self-pollinating cultivars do exist and this is likely one. The fruits are smaller than the average supermarket kiwi, but with some thinning and pruning they can be probably get bigger.

There's a solid chance the large, decades-old plant in Vancouver is an existing cultivar, but the name has been lost, so we've given it this new one. There is a cultivar bred on nearby Vancouver Island over 50 years ago called 'Saanichton 12', noted for its productiveness, earliness, and cold hardiness — able to grow a full USDA zone colder than the longtime market-standard variety 'Hayward' — so that's a strong candidate. There are also quite a few Chinese cultivars, of course, and Vancouver has had a Chinese-Canadian population since its founding, so it may have Chinese roots too. Nevertheless, seeds from kiwi don't exactly grow true to the parent, so you can expect to produce a diversity of different kiwis by growing the seeds (hopefully including pollen-producing, fruit-producing, and self-pollinating types). Please let us know if you end up growing something special!

GROWING TIPS: Seeds should be soaked for 24 hours, then cold-moist stratified for 4-5 week before beginning germination. Plant seeds in good sterile growing medium in a warm place (at least 68 degrees F). Plants should be put in final position somewhere with a good strong trellis or something else to climb. Kiwi vines are woody and can get quite enormous. They like lots of sun and good rich soil. These can likely succeed in most parts of Zones 7 to 10.