Does my kiwi need a partner to produce fruit?
Maureen Hayward, by email
AJAMES SAYS Kiwis are often ‘dioecious’, which means that both male and female plants are needed to produce fruit. However these days the self-fertile variety Actinidia deliciosa ‘Jenny’ dominates the market, so the chances are that this is what you have, especially if you bought it within the past 10 years or so. Still, it can require some coaxing to flower in the UK, as it needs warm summers to initiate flower formation and fruit set.
However, there are hardier species, such as Actinidia arguta, that are far less fussy about warmth, so are well worth growing. They produce their flowers on lateral spur growth, and these can be triggered to form at an earlier age and on much smaller, stockier plants by pruning the tips of the long vigorous stems produced in summer. I trim all these whiplike new shoots by half when they get to 50cm long, which means two or three trims every summer. But it really works!