IF the seed has dried then must store at 40F for 4 weeks... then lightly cover the seed soil temp 65-70F & takes 14-21 days to germinate.

Thanks soooo much George. I've been wanting to grow these and figured that I'd save some money and see what I could do with their seeds.

Xtal

Crystal, I have started both the brown and golden kiwi from seed. The way I did it was to take the seed, put them in water in a small jar, put them in the fridge. Every few days I would change the water. Left them in there for a month or so and then planted. I had excellent germination. Beautiful vines. They do not like our Central Texas summers tho. The ones I planted into the ground all died in August heat. I still have a few growing in pots.

Patsy

Are you starting cold hardy or fuzzy kiwi? The kiwi patsiB describes sounds like fuzzy kiwi, which can germinate without stratification. There are about 600 seeds/fuzzy kiwi, so one fresh kiwi will give you plenty of seeds.

georgez5il, are you describing the stratification for cold hardy kiwi? I have had problems getting it to germinate with the low chill in Southern CA so I am going to use the refrigerator. Can I store it in the refrigerator in moist peat or a paper towel for 1 month and then plant it out? If not, what media will work?

Patsy or Baci,
Do you know the variety of the kiwi's that you buy at the store?

Also, I'm wondering if growing them in part shade might help them survive our extreme heat and drought here.

Patsy, have your vines produced any fruit having grown in a pot?
Xtal

Xtal, I can get the green and gold fuzzy kiwi in my local grocers  I do not know the specific varieties.
An easy way to germinate fuzzy kiwi seeds is to place them in moist peat in a baggie & place in a warm place. They will look for a long time like they are doing nothing  then in about a month you will have a baggie of sprouts. The pulp needs to be cleaned from the seeds or it can mold.
This method does not work for the cold hardy kiwi.
I also have problems with intense heat burning my seedlings, especially those I start in the spring. I am going to keep mine in a peat material over the winter & place them in a greenhouse & see if that helps my survival rate.
I also read somewhere there is a high rate of seedling die off with the kiwiÂs.

Well, the two of you have been great. I was in denial over being able to grow these. You both helped me come around to reality. I'm sooo glad that I didn't send off for these vines through a commercial vendor.

It just goes to show you how valuable we are to each other here in being able to share our own experience with plants.

Again, thanks for holding my hand till I surrendered to common sense,
Xtal

Just entered this site. Have a whole mess of Kiwi that are ready to eat. Can I actually plant the seeds and have them grow into something? Aren't they native to Australia which has the exact opposit weather of NY?

Also, I also have a mango that I would like to try an germinate the seed. Any one out there daring enough to try to help

Hi everyone! I started to plant kiwi seed but I don't know what color or what kind will it grow or become. I cannot distinguish the weed or the kiwi sprout. You see two kind of plant sprouted from the pots. One kind is all green the other is a little purplish. Thats why I don't know which one to pull out. Should I place it in shady areas or should I expose it to morning heat or what. I'm really confuse here. Any suggestions will really be appreciated.

well i do know that they need a male and a female to pollinate each other.

How can I tell the difference from a male kiwi seedling and a female? Or, should I just plant the most I can and see what happens?

Patsy,
From everything I've read, you are very correct that kiwi's won't grow in our heat. So, that goes for Watermelon 7 who is in zone 9 as well.
Thanks for all the responses. I've surrendered about this fruit and think I'll stick with known natives.
Xtal

No. KiwiFruit vines thrive in US zones 7-9.

Proof:
http://www.organicgardening.com/feature/0,7518,s1-5-16-131,00.html

I've grown kiwi here in VA for 10 years and I'm not an expert but here goes.

You have to get a male and female plant to get pollination.
The vines grow really fast so prunning is a real chore each year.
Vines must be on a large and very sturdy arbor. They are very heavy.
Only the female gives fruit and it takes 4 years for a plant to mature and produce.
Animals like possums will strip every fruit you have. It happened to me.
Good luck!

Watermelon's website is full of info. Harold, both you have changed my mind about growing them. I do appreciate your experience. I had no idea that they were heavy. Would a chain link fence be strong enough to support vines?
Thanks!

Hello. I don't have kiwi myself, but I'd like to tell xtal about my neighbor's kiwi. It is not the fuzzy kind, but smooth and green when ripe. (They are about as big as your thumb and don't get ripe until into November.) Anyway, he planted his vine next to the corner of his house. It is big and strong and has pulled down the gutters and downspouts. Twice. The original ones are still inside the vines - no getting them out. Those vines wind around everything and anything and once it grabs, forget it. It's toast. It's a little scary. No, it's a lot scary! A chain link fence would never stand a chance. Really. ;-)

Funny you should ask about the fence. Yes, I have a 12 foot section pulled to the ground as we speak. And yes, I did prune it last year. It is near my flower bed and I really have to check it often because it is a grabber as kiddo 1 stated.

Hey Kiddo and Harold,

IF I had ever wanted to grow a kiwi, I can thank God that I pursued those questions here. Egads! How on earth are these fruit grown? The strength they must exhibit must be tantamount to wisteria. Now, it's not a question of whether I can grow them, but would I want to wrestle this plant for its fruit. Kiddo, thank you ever so much for having shared that story about your neighbor with me. Heaven forbid that I'd ever consider growing kiwis.

It look like I need to stick with growing my goji berry plants. Hey, I don't know if any of you would be interested, but I could send you a goji berry that you could grow from seeds. I'd be more than happy to do this out of consideration for having educated me. Mine are now about 2 years old and need to go down. I would want to give you my own tips on growing the seedlings that would help you. Now, also bear in mind that these plants are still young and I haven't had the experience of working with a mature plant.

So, gracias to my northern neighbors!
Xtal

Hi xtal. Yes, I would rate my neighbor's kiwi right up there with wisteria and trumpet vine. Very much a 'strangler'. (And we are in a northern climate so at least the plant freezes every year. In your climate I imagine a kiwi would just keep on growing and growing....) I do know that when I get seed catalogs and see those beautiful tri-colored leaves of kiwi I think: how pretty, must have... then I look over to my neighbor's and a saner head prevails. ;-)

Thanks for the offer of a goji berry. Probably too tender for our -20F winters up here. But really appreciate the offer! :-D Good gardening!
Kris

Hey Xtal, I just found this thread when searching how best to plant hardy kiwi seed that I got from Baker Creek seed. I have a grape arbor made of metal pipe and covered with stock panels that would probably be good enough support. The grapevines that I planted aren't doing so hot so I thought I might plant these there instead. Now I'm kinda wondering whether I want to plant them at all....

But I'd like to try your Goji berries, if you have seed now or a few small plants. Will they grow in zone 6? If you have some to spare please e-mail me. Thanks! Ilene

I have 3 large kiwi plants growing on a strong trellis
I have enjoyed them for 15 years. They are the fuzzy green varity. when mature are hardy to 20degrees F.
There is much production in central Georgia. Must protect young plants from cold with insulation for the first or second year. These plants are a joy to have. NOTE: they are very pH sensitive. I tossed 10-10-10 fertilizer on the female plants and have missed the blooming season for three years now. Hope the ph adjustment to 5.0 to 6.5 will end the4 no blooming proiblem. this was the first time in 13 years that i had used fertilizer. I will only use organic materials in the future.

Has anyone had this problem and how did you solve it?

B

I know this is a stupid question as I have read all of the coments already but would I be able to just plant the seeds in the ground strate from the kiwi and have it grow? From all the other friuts I have planted that seemed to work but I just wanted to ask with this one cause it seems more complicated

I know you haven't been on here in a long time xtal. I read about your goji berries, and if you still want to give some away, I would LOVE to try growing them. I am new on here, but was reading everyones comments, and I found I can learn alot from this site. Hope you get this soon. beverlee-2008

Anyone still growing these from seed???? I just started about 30 of them....got my from tradewindsfruitstore.com

I planted 2 female and 1 male hardy kiwis (anna I believe) about 9 years ago and moved them 2 years ago. This year I built a strong trellis out of 4X4 posts with 2-2X6 cross pieces on each and connected these with galvanized wire. The vines drooped the wire too much this year, so I will tighten them up when I prune this winter. So far no fruit. I am hoping for next year.

I have a couple of questions. Can you air layer hardy kiwis? I live in northern VA and want to plant a fuzzy kiwi pair. Any advice on the variety for this zone? It is called zone 7, but on the northern edge.

I had a couple kiwi images, here are male and female

I am currently growing about thirty so far that have come upI am excited because they look so nice now i have second thoughts LOL I am fairly new so love growin anything right now I am sure that will change!!It took minbe bout a month to come up but seem fine so far any other info will help me as well!!good luck

Old thread but worth revisiting...

Many are discussing sprouting Kiwi from seed
then mention that one needs a male and a female plant. Other than growing
many plants that take up a lot of space and waiting 3 - 4 years to bloom, is there any way to determine
the gender to know which ones to keep in the first place?

Why is this never discussed by any of
these authors touting growing from seed?
I tried peeking under the leaves but
no dice….