PlantFiles: Bower Actinidia, Hardy Kiwi, Tara Vine, Yang Tao
Actinidia arguta

I planted actinidia arguta in the back of our 3-story condominium in 1995. It took 4 years for the first one to bloom, another year before the male bloomed and I began to have fruit. But the male was not well situated for pollination and I only had fruit from the blossoms that I pollinated by hand. Last year a second, well-placed male began to bloom and the crop improved. This year the fruit set is large (athough less on the vines that are farther from the male) and I look forward to lots of delicious fruit in the fall. I now have 5 females and 2 males and one vine on a fence fully shaded by a tree that has never bloomed.

Here are a few things I've learned over eleven years:
- Be patient. Actinidia evolved to climb up through trees, like grapevines. The plant will focus on establishing a root system and breaking through the tree canopy (real or virtual) before it decides it's time to start blooming and fruiting. Don't let it drive you nuts.
- What to call it? When New Zealanders first tried to market the hairy brown actinidia deliciosa in the U.S., they called it "kiwifruit", a cute reference to its appearance and source. We shortened it to "kiwi", which may dismay New Zealanders because they reserve that nickname for themselves. But the hardy actinidias - arguta and kolomikta - aren't fuzzy. They used to be known as "chinese gooseberries" or "monkey fruit". The Chinese name "mi hou tao" (rhymes with "we know how") means "macaque peach", referring to the fact that you have to be a monkey to pick them in the wild. Then there's "yang tao", meaning "sun peach". Other names like "bower vine" or "tara vine" make no sense to me. How about "bald kiwi"?
- Forget what the plant catalogs say about one male per five females and up to 25 feet away. Here in Chicago, I have seen NO insects on the flowers. Wind pollination or hand pollination seem to be the thing. And last year, the first time there was evidence of wind pollination, the ones I did not hand pollinate seemed to be smaller. So plant a male with every female and grow them as together as possible, or have the male above and upwind from the female.
- It's a great plant for vertical gardening, along with grapevines. These old Chicago 2- and 3-storey back porches are just perfect. So is the 6-foot fence around our parking lot. Just don't let them pave every square inch of ground.
- Actinidia arguta and actinidia kolomikta (I have a pair of them, too) are pretty forgiving. No problem with Chicago winters. No pests that I've seen. My soil is what's left after sifting out rubble - light, sandy, fairly alkiline, amended irregularly with occasional compost and mulch. If the ground gets too dry, the ends of the leaves will dry and die. The vines that do best have more fertile soil and more moisture.
- They need sunlight, but half a day of direct sunlight seems to be enough. Initially blossoms will only appear up high and in those parts of the vine with the most sun, but after a few years the entire vine will bear, including areas with only indirect light.
- The flowers have a wonderful fragrance. Imagine a porch shaded with a green curtain of kiwi leaves and the air filled with a smell somewhere between camelias and lily of the valley. Too bad its over in less than two weeks.