Growing actinidia: planting, care and reproduction.

Actinidia is an exotic plant that is famous for its tasty, healthy fruits and is a close relative of the well-known kiwi. Thanks to the development of varieties that are unpretentious and adaptable to different climatic conditions, actinidia can be special effort grow in a garden plot next to the usual fruit trees and shrubs.

What is actinidia

Actinidia in appearance resembles kiwi without fibers

Actinidia is a deciduous perennial plant (woody liana) with a superficial fibrous rhizome and branched lateral shoots reaching up to one and a half to two meters in length. Its stems are quite flexible and covered with smooth brownish bark. The leaves of the plant are oval or ovoid, the color of which varies depending on the species and can be green, red-green, with a yellowish border or a bright pink tip.

Actinidia is a dioecious plant. There are “individuals” with only male colors or only female ones. The flowers are small, odorless, and can be single or collected in inflorescences. Actinidia begins to bloom at the age of five to seven years in June-July. Pollination occurs with the help of wind, bumblebees and bees, due to which, already in September, fruits begin to ripen on female plants - oblong, tasty and very healthy berries ranging in size from 1 to 8 cm, depending on the type of plant.

Breeders have developed many varieties of actinidia, and it can be not only green. The photo shows the Kens Red variety

The cultivation of actinidia in Russia began at the beginning of the 20th century in St. Petersburg in the Imperial Botanical Garden. A huge contribution to the development of the culture was made by I.V. Michurin, who in the 30s was actively involved in breeding new varieties (especially winter-hardy ones), distinguished not only by valuable taste qualities, but also by high yields.

Actinidia fruits have many beneficial properties:

• are a source of vitamins and minerals (especially vitamin C);
• strengthen the immune system, making it more resistant to various infections;
• stabilize the functioning of the cardiovascular system (reduce blood pressure, improve vascular tone and blood composition);
• normalize the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract (eliminate heaviness and heartburn);
• promote the removal of toxins and radionuclides from tissues;
• have a beneficial effect on the functioning of the lungs and bronchi;
• improve skin condition (increase elasticity, tone, saturate with vitamins).

Views from photos

In total, there are more than 70 species of actinidia, including varieties with both pronounced fruit and decorative properties. But there are three main species that are most often found in gardens.

Kolomikta is popularly called Amur gooseberry

This species is the most frost-resistant and can withstand winter cold down to -42 degrees without shelter. It reaches a length of up to 5-10 m. The leaves are ovoid, serrated, covered along the veins with red hair and “attached” to reddish petioles. During flowering, the tip of the leaf becomes whitish-pink, acquiring a bright crimson hue over time. In autumn, the foliage turns incredibly beautiful yellow-pink and red-violet tones. The elongated green fruits, 2–2.5 cm in size, ripen by early September and have thin skin, a fragrant aroma and a sweet and sour taste.

Approximately 15–20 kg of berries are removed from an adult plant

It's more large plant, the length of the vines reaches 36 m. The rounded oval leaves have a “satin” texture with fine teeth along the edge. At good care quickly forms beautiful “walls” of a dark green hue. This species is distinguished by abundant fruiting and good preservation of the ovary even under unfavorable conditions. The fruits ripen by September, reach a diameter of 3 cm, have a delicate taste and, depending on the variety, can be either green or purple.

This species has weakly branching shoots reaching a length of up to 5 m. The oval, pointed leaves partially change their color during growth. Young leaves are considered edible and taste like watercress. The orange fruits contain beta-carotene and have a special fig-like taste.

Actinidia polygamum is not highly frost-resistant

Is it successfully cultivated in the regions?

The listed varieties are prone to certain requirements, so not each of them will grow equally well, for example, in the north or in the southern regions.

Moscow and Moscow region

Subject to planting conditions and sufficient care, actinidia in this region takes root well and brings stable yields. Various varieties of the kolomikta species feel best here, which can do without shelter, since they are adapted to winter average daily temperatures down to -20 o C.

Leningrad region

Actinidia kolomikta, which is resistant to low temperatures, is also widespread here. The most popular varieties are Lakomka, Sugar, Fantasy, Sweet Tooth, Fairy.

In the middle lane

For this region, varieties are suitable that tolerate a changeable climate with characteristic not very warm summers and frosty winters with frequent thaws. Actinidia kolomikta, which does not require complex care, and argut, which should be covered in winter to prevent freezing.

On South

In private farms in Crimea there are entire actinidia plantations

The southern climate is especially favorable for growing all types of actinidia. Here they have gorgeous foliage and produce rich harvests. In addition to fruit purposes, actinidia is also grown here as an ornamental plant.

In Siberia

In this region, actinidia is least susceptible to frost due to the late appearance of foliage and the formation of new shoots instead of branches that are frozen. For good yield, the plant must be planted in shaded areas, providing meticulous care. A suitable species for Siberia is kolomikta, in particular its varieties: Sakhalinskaya, Universitetskaya, Priusadebnaya, etc.

In the Urals

The hot summers and snowy winters of the Urals make it possible to grow Actinidia kolomikta here. Winter-hardy varieties of this species perform well during the growing season (from early May to late October) and bring a good harvest, especially: Vafelnaya, Maritsa, Uslada, Robinson, etc.

In the Far East

Two species of actinidia are cultivated in this region - kolomikta and arguta. Moreover, gardeners prefer kolomikta for its ease of care and endurance, especially noting the incredibly sweet varieties (Sladkoezhka, Sugar, Honey).

Role in landscape design

Actinidia is an excellent ornamental plant. During the flowering season, it decorates the garden with flowers delicate aroma, and by autumn it adds bright colors with its variegated leaves of incredible shades. In landscape design it can be used for:

Using a vertical support will help set the desired direction for the growth of the vine, and planting it near the walls will allow it to feel most comfortable and ensure maximum growth and branching.

What conditions must be provided before planting?

When selecting seedlings, ask about their “gender”: males will not bear fruit

Before you start planting actinidia, you need to take care of some important points:

1. Selection of seedlings. You should only buy those from whom root system covered, which means protected from damage. It is very vulnerable, and therefore even a short stay of bare roots in the wind or heat can cause significant harm. In addition, the age of seedlings should not be more than three years.
2. Correct selection of male and female “individuals”. For full fruiting, for 5–10 “ladies” it is necessary to plant one “gentleman”, and of the same type as them;
3. Choosing a location. Since actinidia is a climbing plant, before planting it is necessary to select a support that will ensure its growth in a vertical plane. To do this, you can use trellises placed around the perimeter of the site, or plant actinidia along the wall (house, gazebo, fence), which will protect it from freezing in the harsh winter. Do not plant the vine under a drain or in places where water stagnates, or in direct sunlight. The ideal location for it is openwork penumbra.
4. The soil. Actinidia is unpretentious and grows normally on land where nitrogen and phosphorus are contained in small quantities. At the same time, slightly acidic and neutral soil is considered optimal for it, and alkaline, clayey, with close groundwater, is considered unacceptable. Under such conditions, the plant will stop developing and may even die.
5. Plant protection. During the first three years, all types of actinidia are quite vulnerable and often suffer from cat claws. To protect the plant if cats have access to it, you can fence it on all sides with a net.

Landing

Provide the plant with strong support

The optimal time for planting actinidia is spring or autumn (a couple of weeks before the first frost). The planting process consists of several stages:

1. Prepare planting holes measuring 60 by 60 cm at a distance of one and a half to two and a half meters from each other;
2. A ten-centimeter layer of drainage (expanded clay, broken red brick, crushed stone or pebbles) is laid at the bottom of the pit;
3. Rich soil, humus (10 kg), superphosphate (150 g), wood ash (2 cups) are added to each hole, and on top - a layer of soil without fertilizers;
4. Make a small mound from the top layer of soil and place a seedling on it without destroying the earthen lump around the rhizome;
5. Carefully fill the hole and lightly compact it so that the root collar is at ground level. In this case, there is no need to make a hole around the seedling to prevent rainwater from stagnating;
6. Water each plant with two or three buckets of water;
7. Mulch by adding about 5–7 cm of large pine bark, rotted sawdust, compost or peat;
8. The first time (5–10 days) after planting, the plants are shaded from direct sun with paper or cloth.

What care to provide

Actinidia, regardless of the region of growth, requires certain conditions that are easy to create by providing proper care.

Watering

The plant needs to be both watered and loosened

Proper watering plays a role important role in caring for actinidia. If the soil is not sufficiently moistened, the plant may lose its leaves, slow down in growth and not prepare for the winter period. Excessive moisture also has a negative effect on it.

The optimal watering regime for lianas is two to four buckets per plant at least once a week, after which the ground around should be weeded, loosened and a new layer of mulch added. During particularly hot summers, you can increase the amount of water to six to eight buckets.

Trimming

Plants that have reached four to five years of age begin to be pruned to prevent the growth of dense thickets that stop blooming and bearing fruit. Shoots that drown out the crown are cut off and the ends are pinched to increase branching.

Actinidia is pruned in the fall after the leaves have fallen. It is extremely undesirable to do this in the spring, because at this time the cut branches begin to release juice abundantly, which leads to the drying out of the plant. If damage appears over the winter, they are cut off in late spring - early summer, when, after intensive growth of young shoots, the line between living and dried areas is clearly visible.

At the age of seven to ten years, the plant needs rejuvenation: replacing one old branch with a young vegetative shoot.

Trellis

Like any vine, actinidia needs strong support

In the second year after planting, actinidia must be installed with a trellis - a kind of support for the plant, which must be at least 2.5 m in height. To form a plant, only a couple of main shoots are left on the bush, and the rest are cut off. A year later, one of the old shoots is removed again, replaced by another, subsequently carrying out the procedure every three to four years.

Top dressing

It is advisable to carry out three feedings of actinidia for the season:

• spring (late April-early May), with the addition of nitrogen-potassium fertilizers to stimulate the growth of new shoots;
• summer (June-July), with the addition of phosphorus-potassium fertilizers, which have a positive effect on flowering and fruit set;
• autumn (September - October, after harvesting), for which you should purchase a special fertilizer “For autumn use”, which provides the plant with a good winter and energy for the next growth season.

Pest and disease control

Actinidia is quite resistant to diseases and pests. In order to protect the plant from adverse effects for a long time, you just need to provide it with proper, complete care.

To protect the plant from the appearance of spots on the leaves caused by various fungal infections, it is important to regularly trim damaged or dried branches and fruits.

To prevent the appearance of leaf beetles on plants, which eat the buds and damage the leaves, every spring actinidia should be treated with Bordeaux mixture, a solution soda ash (0,5 %).

Reproduction of actinidia

Male flowers have almost no stamens

To successfully propagate actinidia, you need to know several important conditions.

How to distinguish female from male

The ability to distinguish between male and female plants appears only during the flowering period of actinidia, which begins in June. You can do this by carefully examining the flowers:

• in a male plant the inflorescence consists of three flowers, in the center of which there is no fruit embryo, but there are many stamens. During flowering, fallen flowers are visible under the bush;
• in a female plant the flowers are located one at a time on the stalk, and in the center of each it is easy to notice the ovary of the fruit with a ray-shaped stigma. There are few stamens on the flowers and they are short.

How to distinguish female actinidia flowers from male ones: video

Propagation by cuttings and seeds

Vegetative propagation using cuttings allows you to determine the sex of the resulting seedling without waiting for flowering, and also to preserve all the characteristics of a certain variety.

There are two main ways of such reproduction:

• Green cuttings, which are carried out at the beginning of summer by cutting one-year-old shoots up to 50–100 cm long. Pruning should be done in the morning, placing the shoots in a jar of water. Later, each branch is cut into cuttings (10–15 cm each) with three leaves. The lower cut is made under the leaf (the leaf itself is removed), and the upper cut is 4 cm above the leaf. Such cuttings must be rooted in a greenhouse, where moist sandy-humus soil has been prepared. Holding at an angle of 60°, the cuttings are buried to the middle bud at a distance of about 5–10 cm from each other and moistened by watering and spraying. IN autumn period The cuttings are sprinkled with fallen leaves and planted in open ground before the sap begins to flow.
• Rooting of lignified cuttings, carried out in late autumn. The shoots are cut and tied in bunches, stored vertically in a box with sand at a temperature not exceeding 1–5 ° C. In early spring, the cuttings are planted in a greenhouse. They are cared for in the same way as green ones.

For seed propagation, seeds can be purchased in a store or collected independently by mashing the pulp of a ripe fruit through gauze, washing and drying the seeds in a cool, dark place.

Before sowing, seeds are prepared:

1. soak in warm water for 4 days, replacing it daily;
2. put in a stocking and kept in damp sand for three weeks at a temperature of 18–20°C, removing and washing weekly;
3. in early January, the container with sand is placed in the refrigerator for two months, continuing weekly washing;
4. in early March, the seeds are sown in containers with mixed turf soil and sand to a depth of 0.5 cm, kept at room temperature and diffused bright light, waiting for the emergence of seedlings after a few days. You should definitely spray and water the crops, and after sprouts with three leaves appear in the summer, transplant them into a greenhouse, where they will remain for several years until the first flowering. And only after it is possible to determine the sex of the plants, they are planted in open ground in a permanent place.

Actinidia is a woody vine of the Actinidiaceae family. The name of the plant translates as ray. In the natural environment it is found in Southeast Asia, the Himalayas, and the Far East. China is considered the homeland.

It has been cultivated in European countries since 1958. Actinidia deliciosa is a plant whose fruit is the well-known kiwi. In temperate climate zone gardens, species that produce more small fruits and not so furry.

Botanical description

They are perennial deciduous. The stems need support. The leaves are whole, smooth or leathery, and have a variegated color - the main reason for the decorative nature of the plant. Flowers of white, golden yellow, or orange color appear in the axils of the leaves, they are arranged in 1-3 pieces. Flowers are fragrant only in some species.

Actinidia kolomikta ‘Dr Szymanowski’ in bloom photo

The actinidia fruit is a valuable food product. It is rich in sugars, ascorbic acid, and other biological active substances. They are consumed fresh, they are used to make jam, wine, and dried berries are similar to raisins. Actinidia is increasingly gaining popularity in gardening.

Male and female actinidia

The plant is dioecious, so to produce fruit it is necessary to have male and female actinidia on the site. Sex is determined by the structure of the flower: males have many stamens, but no pistil; female flowers have a large pistil surrounded by stamens containing sterile pollen (not involved in pollination). Pollen from male plants reaches female plants with the help of insects and wind.

How does actinidia reproduce?

Vegetative and seed propagation is possible. Actinidia grown from seeds are more hardy, but varietal characteristics are most often not transmitted, and you will only find out the sex of the plant during flowering, which occurs in the 7th year of life. At vegetative propagation Flowering will occur in the 3-4th year.

By layering

Reproduction by layering is a simple and reliable method.

• In the spring, when the young leaves have already opened, you should choose a long, well-developed shoot.
• Tilt it towards the ground, pin it and sprinkle it with a layer of soil 10-15 cm thick, the top of the shoot should be above the ground.
• Mulch the mound with sawdust and humus.
• Water regularly, remove weeds, when a young shoot appears, spray it.
• In the fall, as a last resort next spring, the young sprout will be ready to be separated from the mother plant and planted in a permanent place.

Actinidia propagation by cuttings

Reproduction is the fastest and easiest way to reproduce.

Green cuttings

• Root green cuttings in June. Select several annual branches 0.5-1 m long, cut them into pieces 10-15 cm long. Each cutting should contain 2 internodes and 3 growth buds.
• The cut under the lower bud should be at an angle of 45º, the upper one should be straight, 4-5 cm above the bud.
• Remove the lower leaves along with the petioles, and shorten the upper ones by half their length.
• Root in water, a greenhouse, greenhouse or directly in the garden bed.
• In the latter case, the cuttings are covered with 2 layers of gauze: spray daily 3-5 times a day, in cloudy weather in the morning and evening, remove the gauze, completely get rid of it after a couple of weeks.
• The soil needs a neutral or slightly acidic reaction, to which humus, river sand and complex mineral fertilizer (100 g per m²) should be added.
• Place the cutting at an angle of 60º, the middle bud should remain at the level of the soil surface. Compact the soil and water well.
• Cover with fallen leaves for the winter. With the onset of spring (before the buds begin to bloom), transplant to a permanent place of growth.

Lignified cuttings

Can be rooted. Cut them in late autumn, tie them in bunches, place them vertically in a box and store until spring at an air temperature of 1-5 ºC. For rooting, plant in spring.

Watch the video for rooting lignified cuttings:

Rooting of combined cuttings is possible: at the beginning of summer, select a shoot of the current year and separate it along with the heel (the part of the annual branch adjacent to it). Root in open ground or greenhouse. Water daily and shade from direct sunlight. These cuttings quickly develop a root system and next spring they can be transplanted to a permanent place of growth.

Actinidia from seeds at home

Let's consider propagation by seeds. Seedlings should be grown.

• Collect seeds from ripe fruits: mash the berries, place in a mesh bag and rinse under running water. Then remove the seeds from the bag, place them on paper and dry in the shade.
• Store until the first ten days of December, and then soak the seeds for 4 days, changing the water every day.
• Next, place the seeds in a nylon cloth and lower them into a box with wet sand, keep them at an air temperature of 18-20 ºC.
• Every week, remove the bag from the sand and ventilate for several minutes, rinse the seeds under running water directly in the bag and return it to the box.
• The seeds should not dry out.
• In January, wrap the box in cloth and move it to the garden, burying it deep in the snow for a couple of months. If there is no snow, store in the vegetable section of the refrigerator.
• After stratification, return to the room and keep at a temperature of 10-12 ºC. At the same time, ventilate and wash the seeds weekly.
• When the seeds sprout, it’s time to plant them carefully, trying not to break the sprouts. Fill the containers with a mixture of turf soil and river sand, spread the seeds thinly over the surface and sprinkle lightly with sand.
• You will need to moisten the crops with a spray bottle and cover them with film to create a greenhouse effect. When the plants sprout, it is better to remove the film.
• Spray the seedlings regularly and protect them from direct sunlight.
• With the appearance of 3-4 true leaves, plant actinidia seedlings in separate containers.
• in open ground in the 3rd year of life in the spring.

Planting actinidia in open ground

Actinidia grows well in one place for more than 30 years, but it is necessary to select a suitable site and follow agricultural practices.

Choosing a landing site

Actinidia is shade-tolerant, but the fruits will ripen fully only with access sunlight: Choose a site in bright sun with some shade during the midday hours. It is not recommended to plant next to apple trees. Suitable neighbors would be currant bushes.

Priming

The soil needs to be moist, loose, and drained. Does not tolerate clay and alkaline soils. Avoid areas with close groundwater (in this case, you will need to fill the hill). It is best to plant on hills or slopes - water will drain naturally without stagnating in the roots.

Preparing the support

Actinidia requires support, otherwise the stems will become tangled, caring for the plant will become problematic, and the fruits will then ripen unevenly.

• The vine doesn't have aerial roots, so calmly plant it near buildings, fences, and frame gazebos.
• Use classically shaped arches and pergolas (wooden, metal, concrete) as support.
• You can stretch galvanized wire (3-4 rows) between two concrete columns according to the principle of a grape trellis: actinidia will grow vertically, tie up the shoots as they grow.
• In areas with harsh winters, it is better to use removable trellises to remove the vine for the winter and lay it on the ground with the construction of a shelter.

When and how to plant

Plant actinidia in early spring (before the start of sap flow) or in the fall (2-3 weeks before the start of frost). It should be noted that in the fall it is better to plant vines that are 2-3 years old, since older specimens are difficult to tolerate autumn planting.

• Prepare the planting hole 2 weeks before planting. Length, width and depth – 50 cm each.
• Place a drainage layer of small pebbles or broken bricks at the bottom.
• Move the fertile soil with peat and compost, add fertilizer (250 g superphosphate, 120 g ammonium nitrate, 35 g of wood ash and potassium sulfate) and fill the hole.
• Cut off dry and broken roots on seedlings, treat the cuts with a fungicide, and keep the seedlings in a clay mash.
• Pour a mound of soil without fertilizer into the planting hole and place the seedling so that the root collar is flush with the soil surface.
• Cover the roots with soil and press the soil down a little.
• Pour 10-15 liters of water under the bush, mulch with a layer of compost or peat 4-5 cm thick.

Maintain a distance of 1.5-2 m between plantings. To decorate the wall of a building, plant seedlings in a trench, spacing 0.5 m between plants.

The aroma of the vine is attractive to cats, so protect the seedlings from their encroachment. Dig a metal mesh at least 0.5 meters high around the plant.

How to care for actinidia in open ground

Watering and loosening the soil

Water the plant generously. During periods of severe drought, add 6-8 buckets of water under each bush once a week. Also spray actinidia in the morning and evening. This must be done to prevent leaf shedding. Young leaves will not have time to get stronger in the cold weather and will freeze in winter.

Loosen the soil and remove weeds.

Feeding

It is important to fertilize regularly. In early spring, apply 20 g of potassium and 35 g of nitrogen fertilizers per m². During the formation of the ovary, apply 10-12 g of phosphorus and potassium fertilizers and 15-20 g of nitrogen fertilizers per the same unit area. After harvesting (approximately the second ten days of September), add 20 g of potassium and phosphorus. Apply fertilizing in this way: embed granules with fertilizer into the soil around the plant to a depth of 10-12 cm, water thoroughly.

Trimming

Sanitary pruning carry out in mid-September: shorten the shoots by 1/3 of the length, remove branches that thicken the crown.

Upon reaching the age of 3-4 years, it should be carried out formative pruning creepers. Do this throughout the summer. Form a two-arm cordon along a horizontal trellis: point two shoots of the same level in the same plane in opposite directions and secure, cut off the remaining shoots. Next year, shoots of the second order will appear on them - it is on them that fruits are formed, they should be tied to a vertical guide.

Anti-aging pruning spend at the age of 8-10 years. Do this in the summer. Cut off the shoots completely, leaving a stump 30-40 cm high.

How to distinguish male and female actinidia, look at the video:

Diseases and pests

Diseases and pests rarely bother actinidia.

Possible diseases: fungal diseases (powdery mildew, phylosticosis, etc.), green and gray mold, fruit rot. For preventive purposes, treat the plant with Bordeaux mixture after the buds appear and 2 weeks after the first treatment. When a disease appears, the affected areas should be removed and treated with a fungicide.

Pests: leaf beetles, moth caterpillars, lacewings, bark beetles. In spring and autumn, treat the vines and soil with Bordeaux mixture.

Harvesting

Fruiting begins at the age of 3-4 years. Full harvests can be collected from actinidia aged 7 years or older: about 60 kg of berries per plant with proper care. The ripening of the fruits is uneven, but they do not fall off for a long time. Harvest time begins in mid-August and lasts almost until mid-October.

Wintering actinidia

Young plants (2-3 years of growth in open ground) will need shelter for the winter. Remove the branches from the supports, lay them on the ground, cover with peat, dry leaves, spruce branches (layer at least 20 cm thick). Mice can make nests there - use poison. Adult specimens overwinter without shelter.

Types and varieties of actinidia with photos and names

There are 70 plant species in the natural environment, 3 of them are cultivated with numerous varieties bred.

Actinidia arguta or acute Actinidia arguta

The most powerful plant among cultivated species. The length of the vine reaches 25-30 m, the diameter of the trunk is 15 cm. The leaf plates are ovoid in shape with finely toothed edges, their length is 15 cm. The flowers are fragrant, arranged singly or collected in racemes of 3 pieces. The fruits are spherical (diameter 1.5-3 cm), dark-colored green color, have a mild laxative effect, ripen at the end of September.

Varieties:

Actinidia self-fertile photo

Actinidia Self-fertile - fruiting begins in the second half of September. The weight of the elongated cylindrical berry is about 18 g, it is colored bright green color. Winter-hardy plant;

Primorskaya - medium-sized leaves, soft, oblong, green in color. The fruits are elliptical in shape, have an olive color, weight is 6-8 g. Average winter hardiness;

Actinidia large-fruited is an elliptical-shaped fruit, dark green with blush, weighing 10-18 g. Frost-resistant plant.

Other popular varieties: Mikhneevskaya, Relay, Zolotaya Kosa, Ilona, ​​Vera, Lunnaya, September.

Actinidia kolomikta varieties for the Moscow region and Leningrad region

Very resistant to severe winter frosts. The height of the plant is 5-10 m, the diameter of the trunk is 20 mm. The leaves are obovate in shape, stretch 7-16 cm. They have sharply serrated edges, the veins are covered with pubescence. orange tint. in males the leaves are variegated: in autumn they turn yellow-pink, red-violet. Female flowers are arranged singly, male flowers - 3-5 pieces each. The fruits are green in color and acquire a bronze, reddish hue in the sun.

Varieties:

Actinidia Pineapple- a very productive variety. The oblong berries, 3 cm long, have a pineapple flavor;

Actinidia Doctor Shimanovsky variety description- A climbing vine, the lashes reach a length of 3 m. The annual growth is about 1.5 m. Young leaves have light green spots, but quickly acquire a pink color. Liana loves warm, sunny, wind-protected places. Bisexual appearance. The flowers are white, fragrant, bloom in June. The fruits are edible, sweet, and ripen in August.

Gourmand– has fruits 30 mm long and weighing 4-5 g, taste: sweet and sour with a hint of pineapple.

Other varieties: Prazdnichnaya, Slastena, Waffle, Narodnaya, Moma, Priusadennaya.

Actinidia polygama

Liana 4-5 m high. Leaf plates are elliptical in shape with pointed tops and serrated edges, painted green with silver spots; in autumn the leaves turn yellow. Fruit weight – 3 g.

Varieties:

Actinidia polygamum Apricot– winter hardiness is moderate, fruits ripen late. The berries are slightly flattened, weighing about 6 g, and have a sweet and sour taste;

Beauty is a winter-hardy plant. The fruits are yellow-green in color and have a sour taste;

Patterned - cylindrical fruits, colored Orange color with longitudinal stripes. Has a fig-pepper flavor.

Actinidia giraldii Actinidia giraldii

A species listed in the Red Book. Similar to actinidia arguta, but has larger fruits.

Varieties:

Juliania - berry weight 10-15 g, taste sweet;

Alevtina – berries weighing 12-20 g, sweet;

Native - berry weight 7-10 g.

Actinidia purpurea

Actinidia purpurea Actinidia arguta variety ‘Ken’s Red’ photo

Shade-tolerant liana, low cold resistance. The fruits are purple. Their weight is 5.5 g. They taste sweetish.

Actinidia hybrid

The work of breeder I.M. Shaitana. This is a cross between Actinidia arguta and Actinidia purpurea. The fruits are large and purple in color.

Varieties:

Kyiv Krupnofrodnaya - oval berries of green color, weight - 10 g, taste - sweetish;

Candy – the fruits ripen late, have a sweet taste and a candy-fruity aroma;

Souvenir - greenish-red fruits weighing about 8 g, sweet.

Useful properties of actinidia

The fruits of the plant are excellent remedies for belching, heartburn, and other digestive disorders. They are also recommended to be taken for anemia, rheumatism, lumbago, gonorrhea, and colitis.

Other parts of the plant also have medicinal properties. Infusions, decoctions, and ointments are prepared from them.

Polygamol is a drug based on actinidia, which has a general strengthening effect.

A contraindication to the use of drugs is varicose veins veins, thrombophlebitis.

Many gardeners do not grow it due to ignorance about this type of plant. However, it is enough to recall the well-known delicious kiwi fruit, which also grows on vines of the Actinidia family. The actinidia kolomikta plant has very similar fruits, but smaller in size and different in taste. This representative of woody vines is ideal for use in landscape design. It can be used for weaving gazebos, house walls or fences. They are also attracted by the taste of the fruit, which is widely used in medicine and cooking. Of course, growing a strong and healthy actinidia kolomikta plant is quite difficult, but later you will get a beautiful decoration of the area with delicious berries.

In this article we will look at the features and description of actinidia kolomikta and learn about its most popular varieties. We will tell you in more detail about the nuances of agricultural technology for growing this crop in our area.

Features and description of actinidia kolomikta

Actinidia kolomikta is a perennial deciduous woody vine that belongs to the Actinidia family. This type of actinidia is widely used in Russia, since our climatic conditions are perfectly suitable for their cultivation. The natural habitat of actinidia kolomikta is East Asia, namely Primorye, Sakhalin, Korea, China, Japan. Here, in the territory of mixed temperate forests, wild varieties of Actinidia kolomikta grow. This type of woody vine was discovered in 1878 by the scientist Charles Marie, and since then this plant has been widely used in landscape design and home use.

Actinidia kolomikta is a fossil species flora, which once grew in East Asia. Before the onset of the glaciers, these plants grew in a subtropical humid climate, but after icing and the return of warmth, the climate became more severe. But actinidia have adapted to such conditions, spreading throughout the world.

Description of Actinidia kolomikta:

• Actinidia kolomikta is a perennial flowering deciduous plant that grows as a shrubby vine.
• This type of actinidia is considered one of the most frost-resistant, therefore it is perfect for growing in Russia and other CIS countries.
• This vine grows 5-10 m in height in natural conditions, and in the garden it can reach 3-7 m, so from the very moment of planting it requires the construction of a support. A shrub vine is formed by branching or erect shoots.
• The stem of Actinidia kolomikta is only 2 cm thick, but very strong, capable of entwining any nearby objects.

• The stem is covered with smooth chestnut-colored bark.
• The root system of Actinidia kolomikta is fibrous.
• All shoots are densely strewn with oblong, ovate leaves, jagged along the edge and slightly wrinkled. The leaves of Actinidia kolomikta are the main decorative value of this plant.
• The color of the leaves changes throughout the year. In spring, the leaves of actinidia are bronze in color, at the beginning of flowering they gradually turn green, then begin to turn white at the tips, and during fruiting the white spots become pink and crimson. In autumn, the entire vine is covered with yellow-pink and reddish-purple leaves.
• The leaves are quite large and can reach from 7 to 16 cm in length.
• Actinidia kolomikta is a dioecious plant, i.e. There are male and female actinidia. They can only be distinguished during flowering. The overall appearance of the plant depends on the type of actinidia.
• Actinidia kolomikta flowers are white or pale pink. Flowering begins in mid-June and lasts for 20 days.
• Flowers vary depending on the gender of actinidia. Female actinidia blooms with single flowers, and male actinidia blooms in inflorescences of 3-5 pieces. The average diameter of one flower reaches 1.5 cm.
• The flowers are delicate and strong aroma.
• After actinidia flowers fade, fruits appear.
• The fruits of Actinidia kolomikta have an oblong cylindrical shape, up to 2-2.5 cm in length. They are green in color; in the sun they can turn reddish. Ripen in August and are edible.

Variety of Actinidia kolomikta varieties

Actinidia kolomikta is one of the most popular species of this unusual plant grown in the CIS. Today there is a large number of hybrid varieties actinidia kolomikta, which differ in external characteristics, taste and adaptability to cold growing conditions.

Actinidia kolomikta "Doctor Szymanowski"

One of the most popular varieties this species of actinidia. This is a female actinidia, which can reach a height of 4 meters. It grows quite quickly, in a year it can grow by 1.5 m. Actinidia kolomikta Szymanowski is distinguished by its particularly decorative variegated leaves. In May, the foliage turns green and white, then gradually appears pink and crimson. Such diversity is possible only 2-3 years after planting. The flowers are white. The fruits are up to 2.5 cm in length, green in color. The taste is sweet and sour with a clear apple-pineapple aroma.

Actinidia kolomikta "Pineapple"

This variety is characterized by fast growth. Dioecious plant, i.e. having a male and a female copy. Considered one of the most productive varieties Actinidia kolomikta. The fruits are quite large, reaching 3 cm in length. They have a pineapple taste, hence the name of the variety. The color of the fruits is green with a reddish tint.

Actinidia kolomikta "Adam"

An actinidia variety reaching a height of 4 meters. It is also distinguished by its highly decorative foliage, which changes color throughout the year: from green to white, then to pink and crimson. The Adam variety grows quite quickly. It blooms with small white flowers that emit a light lemon aroma.

Actinidia kolomikta "Gourmand"

This variety of actinidia is quite different large sizes. The fruits are oval shaped and green in color. Sometimes they may have longitudinal light stripes. Berries with a pleasant pineapple aroma and sweet and sour taste.

Actinidia kolomikta Moma

Actinidia variety with a pleasant pineapple aroma and very sweet taste. It is distinguished by fruits that are cylindrical in shape and green in color, sometimes with dark longitudinal stripes. Shrub vines are also quite large; they can reach 3-4 m in height.

Actinidia kolomikta "Marmalade"

A medium-sized shrub vine that can reach 3-4 meters in height. According to the timing of fruit ripening, the Marmeladka sea anemone can be classified as average. The fruits are oval in shape, slightly flattened on the sides. The color is light green with longitudinal stripes. The fruits taste very sweet.

In addition to these varieties, the following can be noted, which are also popular among gardeners: “Prazdnichnaya”, “Slastena”, “Vinogradnaya”, “Fantasy of Gardens”, “Prioradebnaya”, “Narodnaya”, “Primorskaya” and others.

Male and female Actinidia kolomikta: what are the differences

One of the features of actinidia kolomikta, like many other species of this plant, is the presence of male and female specimens, which is why actinidia is a dioecious plant. This is important to know, because if you buy only a male plant, you are unlikely to get a fruit harvest. For one male actinidia specimen, it is necessary to purchase from 2 to 10 female specimens; this is exactly how many plants one male actinidia can pollinate. How to distinguish male from female? Let's figure it out.

Actinidia kolomikta male

It is possible to distinguish male from female only during flowering by the appearance of the flowers. In male actinidia, the flowers are collected in thyroid inflorescences of 3-5 pieces. Flowers have a large number of stamens, but they lack a pistil.

Actinidia kolomikta female

Female actinidia is distinguished by the presence of single flowers on long petioles. Flowers have a large number of stamens and one large pistil. To obtain a fruit harvest, there should be no more than 5 female actinidia per male specimen.

Typically, pollen from male actinidia is carried by small insects.

Methods of propagation of actinidia kolomikta

Actinidia kolomikta reproduces by seeds and vegetatively. Seed propagation It is used less frequently, since the plant rarely inherits maternal characteristics and it is not immediately clear which actinidia will grow: male or female. Most often propagation by cuttings and layering is used in gardening. Let's take a closer look at all types of breeding of actinidia kolomikta.

Propagation by seeds

• Select the ripest and most undamaged fruits on the plant. Crush them and place them in a piece of gauze. Then rinse thoroughly under water. You should only have seeds left in the gauze.
• The seeds must be placed on paper and dried well. It is necessary to dry in the shade.
• In December, all seeds must be placed in a container with water that will completely cover planting material. The procedure lasts 4 days, and the water needs to be changed every day.
• Then the seeds are placed in a nylon stocking and lowered into a container with wet sand. Place the box in a warm room with a temperature of at least 18 degrees. Seeds need to be removed and ventilated weekly.
• In January you can start stratifying the seeds. To do this, the seeds are placed in a nylon stocking and lowered into moist soil. Place the container with soil in the refrigerator. This process lasts two months.
• After two months, the seeds should be placed in a room with a temperature of 10-12 degrees.
• When sprouted seeds appear, they need to be planted in prepared soil consisting of river sand and turf soil.
• When 3-4 leaves appear, the seedlings are transplanted into a greenhouse or greenhouse.
• Actinidia will bloom only after 3-5 years, and sometimes after 7.

Reproduction by cuttings

It's quite fast and effective way propagation of actinidia kolomikta and obtaining a large number of seedlings.

• Green cuttings are cut in June, at the time of fruit growth. To do this, you need to choose strong annual shoots.
• You need to cut shoots of 50-100 cm, and then divide them into cuttings of 10-15 cm. The main thing is that each cutting has 2-3 buds.
• The lower cut is made oblique under the bud, and the upper cut is made straight above the bud.
• It is important that the cuttings do not dry out. Therefore, immediately after cutting, place the planting material in water.
• Next, prepare the soil in the greenhouse by adding river sand and peat. as well as mineral fertilizer.
• After abundant watering plant cuttings at an angle.
• The cuttings are buried so that the middle bud is level with the surface of the ground.
• Cover the cuttings with covering material and spray them 2-5 times daily.
• A month after rooting, remove the gauze.
• In winter, cover the cuttings carefully using foliage, and in the spring you can plant them in a permanent place.
• Actinidia kolomikta can also be propagated by lignified cuttings, which are harvested in late autumn.
• Until spring, lignified cuttings should be stored in bunches in a vertical position, placed in sand.
• It needs to be planted in the spring, watering is carried out once every two days. Rooting occurs in the same way as with green cuttings.

Reproduction by layering

Another very simple way to breed actinidia kolomikta.

• Actinidia propagation by layering is carried out in the spring, when the leaves have already unfurled.
• On a strong and healthy plant, select one healthy lower shoot.
• Next, the selected shoot is bent towards the ground and sprinkled with soil so that only the top remains above the surface.
• The shoot can be secured in the soil with wire.
• Next, the rooting site is abundantly watered and mulched.
• Further care consists of watering, spraying, and removing weeds.
• Next spring, the young plant is carefully separated from the mother plant and transplanted to a permanent place.

Stages of preparation before landing

To get a beautiful and decorative actinidia plant, you must carefully prepare before planting. It is important to choose or purchase high-quality planting material and select the most suitable one for your site. appropriate place. It is also necessary to prepare the soil well.

Stage 1. Selection of actinidia seedlings

Actinidia kolomikta seedlings must be purchased from specialized nurseries or fairs. Never purchase planting material from spontaneous markets, near roads or from strangers. This way you run the risk of not getting exactly what you want.

• Buy seedlings that are no more than 3 years old.
• Since actinidia seedlings have a very fragile root system, it is better to buy them with a closed root system. These can be seedlings in a container or with tightly closed roots.
• The upper part of the seedling should also have a neat and healthy appearance.
• Actinidia is a dioecious plant, so if you want to get a harvest of berries, you must purchase at least two seedlings: a male and a female.

Stage 2. Selecting a landing site

Choosing the right planting location is the key to getting a beautiful and healthy plant. Actinidia has short roots, so the seedling needs to be planted in slightly elevated areas. It should not be planted in lowlands, as this plant does not tolerate stagnant moisture.

The optimal place for planting is a slightly shaded area. A too open sunny place may cause actinidia to lose its decorative effect.

When choosing a location, keep in mind that this plant needs support. It can be made specially, or a seedling can be planted near existing buildings or trees. Fences, gazebos, benches, various arches, trees and house walls are suitable for this purpose. You can make special gratings of various shapes yourself.

Stage 3. Preparing the soil for planting

Actinidia kolomikta prefers to grow on fertile loamy soils, light and airy. The soil for planting should be full of humus; it is preferable to plant seedlings on neutral or slightly acidic soil. If the acidity of the soil in your area is high, then the soil needs to be limed before planting.

Before planting, carefully dig up the planting area, avoid heavily moist areas.

The process of planting actinidia kolomikta

Actinidia kolomikta are planted in early spring before the sap begins to flow through the plant. Alternatively, shrub vine seedlings can be transplanted into open ground in the fall. This should be done two weeks before the start of frost. However, it should be taken into account that only young seedlings that are 2-3 years old can be planted in the fall. Older plants will not be able to withstand cold and frost.

Planting actinidia kolomikta:

• Prepare the area a few weeks before planting. Dig the area thoroughly.
• Next, you need to prepare the planting holes. Actinidia kolomikta grows very quickly and needs a lot of space. In addition, due to the characteristics of this species, several specimens need to be planted. Therefore, strictly maintain the distance between seedlings. It should be approximately 1-1.5 m.
• The dimensions of the planting hole should be 50 cm in width and length, and 50 cm in depth.
• Next, you need to place in the planting hole good layer drainage This way you will protect actinidia from stagnation of moisture at the roots. Broken bricks, small stones and gravel can be used as drainage.
• Pour some fertile soil mixed with humus and chlorine-free mineral fertilizers into the holes. All this needs to be formed into a slide at the bottom of the holes and left there for a couple of weeks.
• Before planting, it is imperative to prepare the seedlings. This should be done on the same day that the process itself is scheduled. Inspect the roots and trim off any dry or damaged roots.
• Carefully place actinidia seedlings on the settled soil in the pits and gradually cover them with soil.
• At the same time, make sure that the root collar is flush with the surface.
• The soil around the plant should be compacted with your hands and watered abundantly. One plant will require approximately 2-3 buckets of water.
• Mulch the tree trunk with dry peat and cover the seedling with paper from the sun's rays. This must be done until the plant takes root.
• Also do not forget about support for shrub vines. If you planted actinidia kolomikta along the fence or walls of the house, then they no longer need support. They will cling to existing structures. Otherwise, make your own arches or trellises along which your vine will grow.

Features of caring for actinidia kolomikta

The further growth and development of your actinidia will depend on careful and painstaking care for her. It is imperative to monitor the watering regime of this vine and use timely means to combat diseases and pests.

Watering

Watering of actinidia kolomikta is carried out by airborne droplets. This is done by spraying from a spray bottle or hose in the morning or evening. During particularly dry days, it is recommended to thoroughly moisten the soil around the plant. It is necessary to pour 6-7 buckets under one plant. If this is not done, then actinidia may shed its leaves due to extreme heat, and the young ones will already have time to get stronger before frost.

Loosening and mulching

The root system of Actinidia kolomikta lies close to the surface of the earth, so the soil under the plant cannot be dug up. Shallow loosening is allowed, which must be done very carefully and try not to damage the roots. Loosening should be done quite often, while simultaneously removing emerging weeds. After loosening the soil, the tree trunk circle needs to be mulched. This way you will reduce the number of weeds and protect the plant from moisture evaporation. Dry peat can be used as mulch.

Feeding actinidia kolomikta

Fertilizing actinidia kolomikta with mineral fertilizers is the key to the appearance of new shoots, increasing winter hardiness and productivity. Feeding is carried out three times per season.

• The first fertilizing is carried out in early spring, during which it is necessary to apply 35 grams of nitrogen fertilizers, 20 grams of potassium and 20 grams of phosphorus fertilizers per square meter.
• The second feeding is carried out at the moment of formation of the ovaries. Fertilizers are applied in the amount of 20 grams of nitrogen, 12 grams of phosphorus and 12 grams of potassium.
• The third feeding should be carried out in September, after harvesting. At this moment, only phosphorus and potassium fertilizers are applied, 20 grams of each.

All fertilizers are applied under the plants and carefully embedded into the soil to a depth of 10-15 cm. After which the tree trunk circle is watered abundantly.

Pruning actinidia kolomikta

Actinidia shoots grow very quickly, gradually thickening the crown and reducing the yield. To improve the condition of the plant, it is necessary to carry out formative pruning. However, it should be remembered that pruning can be carried out if the plant has reached 3-4 years of age. It is also important to prune in summer or autumn, but never in spring. The plant may begin to dry out. It is also recommended to carry out anti-aging pruning once every 8-10 years, during which only a stump up to 40 cm in height is left from the plant.

Disease and pest control

Actinidia kolomikta is characterized by good resistance to diseases and pests. And with proper care you will reduce the risk to a minimum. However, sometimes your vine may suffer from certain insects and diseases.

Actinidia diseases:

• Powdery mildew.
• Fruit rot.
• Gray mold.

If spots appear on leaves and shoots that indicate disease, it is necessary to remove the damaged areas and treat the entire plant with a weak solution of Bordeaux mixture.

Actinidia pests:

The most frequently occurring pests include the following:

• Leaf beetles.
• Larvae of leaf beetles.
• Moth caterpillars.

As preventive measures in spring and autumn you need to treat the soil around the plant and fallen leaves with Bordeaux mixture. This is carried out to destroy pests living on the ground, which could then spread to the plant.

Use of actinidia kolomikta

• Widely used in landscape design for weaving arbors, arches, fences.
• The fruits are used to make jams, preserves and preserves, as well as marmalade and marshmallows.
• Actinidia fruits can be eaten fresh.
• The bark of the plant, as well as the fruits, are used in folk medicine and in traditional medicine to create drugs.

Actinidia kolomikta is a beautiful and bright plant, which, in addition to its decorative benefits, also pleases with delicious fruits. Such a plant will certainly become the central decoration of the site, requiring only a little effort from you when growing actinidia.

Actinidia berry remains exotic for many gardeners. It is believed that you need to know the secrets of its cultivation in order to get at least some decent harvest. Actually this is not true. The proposed description of actinidia will dispel all fears and doubts, since the culture is quite simple in everyday care. Numerous varieties allow you to select suitable species for any climate zone. See the description of actinidia and photos, choose, learn new things and experiment in your garden.

Plant liana actinidia kolomikta: leaves and how it blooms, fruits and fruiting (with photo)

Sem. Actinidiaceae

Homeland - countries of East Asia, Russia (forests Far East)

Genus Actinidia (Actinidia Lindl.) belongs to the Actinidia family (Actinidiaceae Van Tieghem), has from 36 to 40 species. The genus name was given because of the star-shaped ovary columns. Translated from Latin, "actis" means "star". According to another version, the name was given from the Greek word activiziov, which means “ray”.

The actinidia liana plant grows well in mixed cedar-deciduous and fir-deciduous forests, as well as birch and alder forests, in thickets of bushes and bamboo, along the banks of streams and rivers, on the northern slopes of mountains, rising to a height of 800 m above sea level. The Actinidia kolomikta plant prefers to grow in groups of 5-10 vines. Selects soils that are well-drained, rocky, with a sufficient degree of moisture so that there are groundwater outlets. On sand dunes, the plant has the form of a low-growing shrub, up to 50 cm high, with short, non-climbing shoots.

This Far Eastern liana came to us quite recently and our gardeners fell in love with its “kiwi” taste. But some difficulty in cultivating it confuses many and sometimes forces them to abandon its cultivation. Although, having some knowledge about the basics of cultivation, you can successfully cultivate it in our gardens and enjoy the amazing fruits of the actinidia vine, which diversify your daily diet.

In nature, the greatest species diversity of actinidia is noted in Southeast Asia and the Himalayas.

In Russia, actinidia grow under natural conditions in the Far East, mainly in sparse forests, distributed up to an altitude of 1300 m above sea level. Actinidia is also common in the south of Primorsky Krai, in the south of Sakhalin Island and in the southern Kuril Islands. For normal height and development, actinidia need support. In forests, such support is provided by trees, along which they rise to a decent height, grow widely, bloom and bear fruit.

The two most common types of actinidia are: A. kolomikta (A. kolomikta) And A. acute (A. arguta). Also found A. Chinese (A. chinensis).

Actinidia is a climbing vine, sometimes climbing trees to a height of 10 m, and in open areas it is a small climbing shrub. The trunk and branches are smooth or slightly pubescent, 2 - 3 cm thick, reddish-brown in color. The roots have a fibrous appearance; they do not go deep into the ground, but in the plane they can spread over a radius of up to 1.5–2 meters. Actinidia leaves are alternate ovate, red-green in color, 8 - 15 cm long. The shoots are dark brown or red. It is interesting how actinidia blooms: the flowers are white or slightly pink, with a pleasant delicate aroma, formed on the shoots of the current year. The plant is dioecious. Female flowers are solitary, male flowers are 2-3 collected in an inflorescence. Blooms in June - July. When actinidia bears fruit, a berry with numerous seeds, round or cylindrical in shape, is formed. Fruit weight is 4-12 g, color is brown or green. The berries ripen in September. Naturally, fruits are formed only on female plants. An adult vine at the age of 10 years produces up to 5 kg of berries. The seeds are small, dark brown or yellowish, located in the seed chambers in the center of the berry. Weight of 1000 pieces is from 0.8 to 1.0 g (one berry contains more than 100 seeds, 1 kg contains 600...700 thousand seeds). The seeds give the fruit a peculiar nutty flavor. Seed germination is maintained throughout the year. The following is a photo of Actinidia kolomikta, illustrating the grace of this vine:

The plant easily tolerates low temperatures. A. is especially suitable for central Russia. spicy. Actinidia arguta and kolomikta are also cultivated in the gardens. The berries of the former are 1.5 times larger and practically do not fall off when ripe, and its bushes are more productive. Fruiting of actinidia kolomikta begins in the 3rd–4th year of the plant’s life, arguta – in the 5th year. Although it sometimes loses its first bloom. The kolomikta berries hang on the vine for another 5–7 days and then fall off. Therefore, eating berries should be timely and controversial. When the first scree appears, it is necessary to collect all the berries and scatter them on a tray, where they quickly ripen. Arguta berries hang on the vine quite firmly and longer. The taste of the berries is reminiscent of the taste of kiwi fruit, but even more delicate and soft.

Types and varieties of actinidia: description and photo

Of all the species diversity, they have become widespread as a berry crop. the following types and varieties: Actinidia kolomikta (A. kolomikta Maxim.); Actinidia arguta (A. arguta planch. ex Mig.); Actinidia giralda (A. giraldii Diels.);Actinidia polygamum (A. polygama Maxim.); Actinidia purpurea (A. purpurea Rehd.); Actinidia chinensis (A. chinensis), synonym Actinidia deliciosa (A.deliciosa) is a well-known kiwi. Let's look at the description of the actinidia variety in a brief summary to get a first impression.

The first four species are successfully grown on the territory of Russia, but the last two - Actinidia purpurea and Actinidia sinensis - can grow in Russia only in the south, in a subtropical climate. The most winter-hardy, and therefore the most widespread in the conditions of central Russia, turned out to be Actinidia kolomikta. Description of the actinidia variety with photos allows you to carefully study the culture and make right choice seedlings or seeds:

Kolomikta is a dioecious plant, that is, there are male and female specimens of this plant. They can only be distinguished when they enter the fruiting phase, at the moment of flowering. The female flowers are white bells, not very large, located singly 5–7 cm along the entire length of the vine. Male ones are exactly the same, but they bloom in groups, from 3 to 15 at once in one bunch. Without male vines, female vines will naturally be barren, and you will not get any harvest from them.

The flowering of Actinidia kolomikta can last up to 20 days and is accompanied by a strong aroma. After flowering, the vine bears edible, also very aromatic, delicate-tasting fruits. The fruits of Actinidia kolomikta are cylindrical in shape, up to 1.8 cm in length, dark green, with dark longitudinal stripes.

Kolomikta has a very strange feature: she produces the pigment atecian, and this happens at any time in the summer. For example, red-colored shoots of peonies, newly emerging tulips, and new shoots of roses are red only in spring. Actinidia has the ability to color its leaves in different colors at any time in the summer. Her tips may turn white, don’t be alarmed - this is not a lack of nutrition, not a disease, but simply a feature of her. In addition, it may have silver stripes in the middle of the leaf - also a feature of this vine. This variety of colors makes the liana very elegant, and that is why it is called a variegated liana.

Actinidia kolomikta is very frost-resistant. It came to us from the Far East and can withstand -40 degrees. However, there is another danger: in the spring, at a temperature of only -4...-5 degrees, all young shoots die, and once they die, then the flower buds also die. This means that you will no longer receive a harvest. In spring they need to be protected from spring frosts, throwing lutrasil on them. But the vine grows up to 3–5 m in length, and how will you cover such a plant? There is a way out, the only way is to drive a stake and let the vine go not along the support, and not along the fence, and not along the wall, but around this stake. It will curl counterclockwise and create a funny bush. You will get a green fountain.

Many varieties of Actinidia kolomikta were created by I.V. Michurin: Harvest, Early, Late, Pineapple Michurina. On the development of actinidia varieties for Leningrad region The outstanding Leningrad professor F.K. Teterev worked a lot. He and his followers from the All-Union Institute of Plant Growing (VIR) created varieties quite viable for our climate: Leningradskaya rannyaya, Leningradskaya krupnaya, Pobeda, Pavlovskaya, Dostoynaya, Krupnaya. Selection work continues today.

There are several purely decorative species of actinidia, among them actinidia Polygam, growing in the Far East, a rather heat-loving plant.

Actinidia is a taiga plant, several species of which grow in the Ussuri taiga in the Far East of our country. There is a variety called Kishmish, a large Ussuri actinidia, whose shoots can reach 20–30 m and produce a yield of up to 20 kg.

There is also Manchurian actinidia, it is called Ussuri gooseberry. The aroma of its flowers resembles the smell of lily of the valley, the fruits are tastier than those of other actinidia. They are similar to gooseberries with smooth, thin, translucent skin.

Growing in the Far East nosed actinidia, which is called “pepper” for its fruits, which have a nose like a pepper, a bright orange color and a burning taste. After autumn frosts, this pungency disappears and the fruits become very tasty.

Produces the largest fruits actinidia kiwi, which was bred in Australia and got its name in honor of the kiwi bird, which lives exclusively in this country and is a symbol of Australia along with the kangaroo. Everyone is familiar with the fruits of this actinidia, covered with a hairy brownish skin. They have a delicate aroma and taste.

Grows in natural conditions actinidia arguta, whose fruits are as shaggy as those of kiwi, and have the same taste, but much smaller. Flowering usually occurs in early June, so the ovaries are never damaged by return frosts and the adult vine bears fruit regularly and abundantly.

The berries of Actinidia arguta are large, one-dimensional, and, depending on the variety, solid green, purple, or tan. Their shape can also vary: from ovoid-oblong to pronounced pear-shaped, like the Figurnaya variety.

Actinidia arguta or kolomikta: which is better?

Actinidia arguta is inferior to actinidia kolomikta in decorativeness, but significantly surpasses it in terms of commercial output in the form of fairly large, weighing 13–18 g, oblong fruits, sweet and with a delicate pineapple smell. If the yield from one actinidia kolomikta vine averages 3 kg, then for arguta this figure is 40–50 kg or more! Each gardener must answer the question of which is better: actinidia arguta or kolomikta.

The actinidia arguta liana lives 70-100 years and is distinguished by its rapid growth, power, durability, and its trunk at the base can reach the size of the trunk of an average fruit tree - 10–20 cm! The leaves of Actinidia arguta are round-ovate, up to 15 cm in length, very dense, bare, dark green on top; in autumn they turn yellow and light yellow.

Unfortunately, both kiwi and arguta are heat-loving plants and in our country can only grow in the southern regions.

Until now, Russian gardeners have been growing actinidia of Michurin varieties in their gardens: Pineapple Michurina and Clara Zetkin.

Clara Zetkin. The fruits are large, weighing 3.5 g. The shape of the berries is cylindrical or oval, elongated. The color when ripe is light green, with a yellowish tint. The taste is sweet and sour, with a strong aroma. The variety is relatively large-fruited and resistant to fungal diseases.

Pineapple Michurina. The fruits are medium-sized, weighing 2.3 g. The color is dark green when ripe, the taste is sweet, with a strong pineapple aroma. In the nursery I.V. Michurin, the yield from a fifteen-year-old liana was about 5 kg (Figure 2). Fragrant. The fruits are large, weighing about 2.9 g, cylindrical in shape, yellowish-green in color, with light longitudinal stripes. The surface is slightly ribbed. The taste is sour-sweet.

VIR-1. The fruits are large, weighing 3.0 g, cylindrical, with a smooth green surface. The taste is sweet and sour, with a weak aroma (Figure 3).

Leningradskaya large-fruited. The fruits are large, reaching a weight of 4.3 g, cylindrical. Color – dark green, with light longitudinal stripes. The surface is smooth. The taste is sweet.

Leningradskaya late. The fruits are medium-sized, weighing 2.2 g, ovoid, green, with vague light longitudinal stripes. The surface is smooth. The taste is fresh and sweet. Matte. The fruits are medium-sized, weighing 2.4 g, elongated, light green in color. The surface is smooth, matte. The taste is sweet and sour.

Nakhodka. The fruits are medium in size, weighing 2.8 g. Oval in shape, dark green in color, with longitudinal light stripes. The surface is slightly ribbed. The taste is sweet and sour, with a pineapple aroma.

Pavlovskaya. Is different large fruits oval in shape, compressed from the sides. The surface is slightly ribbed, green in color, with white longitudinal stripes. Taste – sweet, aromatic.

September. Lianas with large fruits, with an average fruit weight of 3.3 g. The shape is elongated-oval, the color is dark green with light longitudinal stripes. The surface of the berries is smooth. Taste – sweet, aromatic.

Waffle. Lianas with medium fruit ripening periods (mid-August). The average weight of the berry is 2.9 g, the shape is cylindrical, very elongated. Color – from olive green to dark olive. The taste is sweet, sour, with a pleasant aroma.

Grape. Early ripening. The average weight of the fruit is 2.1 g, the shape is cylindrical, slightly compressed from the sides. The color is uniform from olive green to dark olive, with vague light longitudinal stripes. The taste is sweet and sour, with an apple-marmalade aroma.

Abundant. Average fruit ripening period, berry weight – 2.6 g, shape – cylindrical. Color - from yellowish-green to dirty green. The taste is sweet and sour with a pineapple aroma.

Queen of the Garden. Early ripening, with large fruits, weighing 3.4 g. The fruits are cylindrical, very elongated. The color is uniform, olive green. The taste is sweet and sour, with a pineapple aroma.

Gourmand. A large-fruited vine of medium fruit ripening, weighing 4.4 g. The fruits are cylindrical, uniformly olive-green in color, with thin, smooth skin. The taste is sweet, with a pineapple aroma.

Coin. Medium early ripening, berries with an average weight of 2.2...2.7 g, oval, compressed, with light longitudinal stripes. The surface is smooth or finely ribbed. The taste is sweet and sour, with a strong pineapple aroma.

Folk. Medium ripening period, with large fruits weighing 3.1 g, cylindrical shape, uniform yellowish-green color. The taste of the berries is sweet and sour, with a strawberry aroma.

Stranger. Early ripening, with an average fruit weight of 1.9 g, shape – cylindrical, color olive green to dark olive. The skin is thin, the surface is smooth, ribbed from the base of the berry. The taste of the berries is sweet and sour, with a strong pineapple aroma.

Lovely. Early ripening, with berries weighing 2.6 g, cylindrical in shape, tapering towards the apex. Color - from dark olive to green. The taste is sweet and sour, with an apple aroma.

Homestead. Early ripening, with cylindrical elongated fruits weighing 2.8 g. Color from olive green to dark green. The taste is pleasantly sour-sweet, with a pineapple-apple aroma.

Early dawn. Early ripening. The berries have a mass of 2.6...3.5 g, conical in shape, elongated, compressed on the sides. The surface is smooth, shiny, dirty green in color. The taste is sweet and sour, with a strong pineapple aroma.

Magpie. Medium ripening period. The weight of the fruit is 2.5 g, the shape is cylindrical, very elongated, with a smooth surface, the berry is finely ribbed from the base. Color ranges from green to olive green. The taste is sweet, with an apple aroma.

Fantasy gardens. Early ripening. It is distinguished by cylindrical, highly elongated fruits of green color with a dark olive tint, with light longitudinal stripes. The taste of the berries is sweet and sour, with a strong pineapple aroma.

All varieties are winter-hardy, resistant to diseases and pests.

Actinidia: how to distinguish a male plant from a female

Although today there are self-fertile varieties Actinidia, usually, in order to get a harvest, you need to plant both male and female specimens, because this vine is dioecious, just like the well-known sea buckthorn. Up to 10 female plants can be planted for one male plant. In nurseries, male actinidia plants are usually planted along the edges of trellises; in home gardens, you can have one male plant for all those vines that grow in adjacent areas - with the only caveat that tall buildings should not interfere with the transfer of pollen. Experienced gardeners know how to distinguish a male actinidia plant from a female one: to do this, you need to wait until the flowering period and carefully examine the buds.

Application of actinidia

Actinidia fruits usually ripen from late August to mid-September. They are not afraid of the first frosts, but the main crop must be harvested before frosts, which can cause massive fruit drop; in addition, frost-damaged fruits are not stored. The uses of actinidia are limitless: literally anything can be prepared from its fruits: compotes, jam, wine, liqueurs. They make wonderful candied fruits and raisins, but fresh fruits bring the most benefits - they are used in desserts, fruit salads and even added to cucumber and tomato salads, thereby giving this everyday food a bit of Australian exoticism - it was in Australia that they began to add actinidia to vegetables.

Actinidia - valuable plant, containing a lot of sugar and pectin. There is more vitamin C in actinidia fruits than in lemon fruits. In terms of ascorbic acid content, actinidia is second only to rose hips. An actinidia bush can provide ascorbic acid to a family of 3-4 people for a whole year. In addition to vitamin C, fruits contain a lot of sugars, organic acids, tannins and other useful to the body substances.

In folk medicine of the Far East and other regions, actinidia fruits are very widely used as a prophylactic for scurvy, various bleeding, tuberculosis, whooping cough, and dental caries.

Actinidia is useful not only for vitamin C deficiency, but also for exhaustion, in the postoperative period, and for constipation. In fresh fruits, ground with sugar, vitamins are preserved for a year.

Autumn leaf color, reddish, can decorate any garden. Actinidia is good for vertical gardening of walls, fences, pergolas, gazebos, verandas, and single trees.

How to properly trim actinidia for formation

When and how to prune actinidia correctly, considering that all vines absolutely do not tolerate spring pruning (just like stone fruits). They do not tighten the cut, and the juice flows all the time through the wound until the entire branch is dry. So all pruning of vines is done in late summer or early autumn. Only broken or too old branches are cut out.

When the vine begins to grow, its stems are immediately tied to supports. In the future, it will spin itself around the supports counterclockwise.

The most important link in the technology of caring for young plantings is the correct formation of actinidia and further pruning.

In a garden plot, it is best to form actinidia in the form of a trellis. To do this, drive into the soil metal poles, onto which 3 - 4 wires are pulled at a height of 70, 120, 160 and 200 cm. At each level of the trellis, “sleeves” are formed in opposite directions.

When forming actinidia in a fan-like manner, the shoots are evenly directed upward in the form of a fan of six shoots. Pruning is done in the fall and repeated annually. When planting actinidia, you must remember that for every two or three female plants you need to plant one male one.

The formation of actinidia should begin in the spring of the next year after planting. From the left buds, climbing the trellis, two strong shoots develop. They grow until autumn.

In the fall, one weaker outer shoot should be cut into two buds, and the inner one should be left on a support until spring.

In the spring, after the end of sap flow, all weak, damaged and side shoots are cut out, except for 2 - 3 main shoots, which are tied vertically to supports. The following year, lateral fruit-bearing shoots form on the main shoots.

To increase the winter hardiness of actinidia, the crown should not be allowed to thicken.

Pruning should be done at the end of May - beginning of June. Cannot be carried out early pruning, as it causes abundant sap flow and weakens the plant.

Planting and caring for actinidia in open ground: when is it better to plant and in what soil (with video)

The answer to the question of when is the best time to plant actinidia is quite simple - it is better to do it at the end of summer. Planting and caring for actinidia in open ground is not particularly difficult.

It is best to plant actinidia on the south, southeast or southwest side of buildings, in a place protected from cold winds. You should not plant in such a way that rain falls on it from the roof, and do not plant closer than 75–100 cm from the foundation of the house. You can plant it next to some tree that is not very dear to you. The liana will wrap around it and gradually strangle it, but it will grow well itself. This tree just needs to be considered as a support for the vine.

Typically, plants that require support are planted against the wall of a building, but you should know that the trench for planting them must be made at a distance of at least 75 cm from the wall, otherwise the powerful root system of vines will gradually destroy the foundation. Arches, pergolas, gratings, nets made of nylon fishing line or nylon ropes can be used as supports.

Don't be afraid if the vine clings closely to the wall. This well-established misconception that a tree will begin to rot under the canopy of its foliage was completely destroyed when the house of the writer Dickens began to be restored in England. It turned out that under the liana the tree was dry and intact, in contrast to the rotten walls, free of vines. There is a simple explanation for this: the leaves of the vines are arranged like a tiled roof, one above the other, water flows down them without hitting the wall. In addition, on the lower surface of the leaves there are stomata, through which the vines suck moisture from the surface of the wall.

When planting, you should not dig a separate hole for the vine. It is necessary to dig a trench along the house, along which the roots will subsequently go. You need to plant several plants at once. Firstly, because actinidia is a dioecious plant, and it is best to plant two female specimens and one male plant between them.

Unfortunately, until the vines bloom, it is impossible to distinguish a female plant from a male one, so you should not buy actinidia from random sellers at any exhibition. You should only buy directly from nurseries or from people you know well.

The trench should be dug 50 cm wide and the same depth. One plant from another can be planted at a distance of 1.2–1.5 m from each other, because the vines grow widely in the future and do not tolerate transplantation well in adulthood. So plant them correctly and immediately in place. Remember: vines do not like acidic soils! But they grow well and bear fruit on slightly acidic soils.

At the bottom of the trench you need to lay stones, broken silicate (but not red clay) bricks, crushed stone, pebbles, then fill them with coarse river sand(for foundation work). And only after this can the trench be filled with soil. The soil for actinidia must be specially prepared from a mixture of leaf humus and sand in a 1:1 ratio.

What to do if there is no leaf humus? Replace it with rotted compost. If there is rotted manure, then it should be mixed halfway with the soil that you took out of the trench (of course, if it is not solid clay). The soil must be soaked very well with water, mounds must be made, the roots of the vines spread over them and carefully covered on top with soil taken from the trench. Plantings should not be trampled! To ensure that the soil adheres well to the roots and no voids form under them, gradually water the plantings from a watering can, and the soil will stick to the roots. When you trample down, you compact the soil too much, and the air needed by the roots does not penetrate into it well. The top of the soil should be mulched, that is, covered with dry soil or peat to prevent moisture from evaporating from the surface of the earth. But the peat will have to be deoxidized; to do this, sprinkle it with ash or lime.

At an early age, actinidia can be destroyed by cats that dig up and chew off the roots. To protect against these uninvited barbarians, iron bars will have to be placed over the plantings. When an actinidia's trunk becomes woody, cats will lose all interest in it and stop touching it. The trellises can be removed approximately 2-3 years after planting. Watch the video of planting and caring for actinidia, which demonstrates all the main steps:

How to grow actinidia: cultivation and care, frost resistance and how to prepare for winter

Growing and caring for actinidia requires minimal attention from the gardener. In the spring, after frosts have passed, the vines can be fed with organic matter containing nitrogen. Before flowering it is necessary to give phosphorus fertilization(1 tablespoon of double granulated superphosphate per 10 liters of water) for each vine and after fruiting, feed with potassium that does not contain chlorine. To do this, it is enough to embed 1 tbsp into the soil under the vine. a spoonful of potassium or sprinkle the soil with ash (1 cup is enough). Just before winter, you can pour out half a bucket of rotted manure or compost. Actinidia is not removed from the supports for the winter. This winter-hardy plant does not require shelter, but in the spring it is very vulnerable and suffers greatly from spring frosts. Before growing actinidia, you need to find out about the regionalization of the selected variety.

In the spring, immediately after the snow melts, it is necessary to free the vine from winter shelter, lift and secure its branches to the support threads. Prepare arches and protective covering material in case of return frosts. The best material is non-woven material spandbond. It penetrates air and moisture and at the same time protects plants quite well from frost.

Starting from the third year of the plant’s life, every spring it is necessary to add organic and complex fertilizers to the bite area. mineral fertilizers, combining it with watering. The next watering is carried out during the period of completion of flowering and the appearance of berry ovaries. During dry summers, regular monthly watering is necessary. It is a good idea to combine the last water-recharging watering in October with the application of potassium fertilizers to better complete the ripening of the vine. During growing season V middle lane Actinidia damage by berry pests was not noticed. However, infection with gray rot spores is often observed in late May - early June. Suddenly, all at once, the outer side of the leaf becomes covered with a white coating. To prevent further spread of the disease, it is necessary to immediately treat with Skor or other means against fungal diseases of berry crops. Still, it’s better to be proactive. In mid-May, in order to prevent diseases, it is necessary to treat actinidia with phytosporin three times at weekly intervals. It is important to know how to prepare actinidia for winter: what mandatory measures should be taken. And in the fall, before laying the vines for the winter, treat the bushes with a 3% solution of Bordeaux mixture. And although there is an opinion about the frost resistance of actinidia, nevertheless, in order to avoid drying out the vine by winter winds, it is better to lay it on the ground and cover it with spruce branches throughout winter period. And one more thing: cats love actinidia, especially young seedlings. During the period of forcing young plants, it is necessary to arrange some simple barriers around them, say, made of barbed wire.

How to propagate actinidia: propagation by cuttings and growing from seeds

Actinidia propagation by cuttings is the main method. It is also possible to do this by green cuttings in the summer in a greenhouse, grafting, or seeds. Growing actinidia from seeds will require a long period; they usually begin to bear fruit in the 4th-7th year. After sowing, actinidia seeds germinate quite quickly - after 15–17 days. After the second pair of leaves appears, the seedlings dive from the boxes into cups or directly into the garden bed. Seed propagation may not give a reliable result regarding the variety, and the most reliable and at the same time simplest way to propagate the plant you like is summer cuttings. It is usually done at the end of June - beginning of July. Before propagating actinidia, select suitable way and follow agricultural practices. When cutting actinidia, cut cuttings with 1–3 buds. They are left only top sheet, which is also shortened. The cuttings are placed for 24–32 hours in a container with boiled water, to which a growth stimulator (Kornevin, Heteroauxin) is added. Then the cuttings are planted in glasses filled with substrate. Peat, sand or coco soil can be used as a substrate for cuttings. The cutting angle is 30–35°. The bud with the leaf is left on the surface, and in no case is it covered with soil. After planting, the substrate around the cuttings is well crushed, watered and the glasses are placed under the film. Optimal temperature for actinidia rooting – 18–24 °C. In extreme heat, the cuttings are regularly ventilated and transferred to a bright but not sunny place. Typically, the rooting of actinidia takes 3–4 weeks, and green cuttings take root better than those that have already partially become lignified. Until spring, the rooted cuttings remain growing in glasses, which can simply be buried in the ground, covered with a fallen leaf in the fall.

Actinidia can also be propagated by green cuttings up to 10 cm, which are taken from the most productive bushes at the end of June. After removing the leaves from the bottom of the cuttings and keeping them in heteroauxin for 24 hours, they are planted in a greenhouse, creating a moist, constantly maintained environment under cover. After 3–4 weeks, the young seedling acquires roots. After this, the seedling can be planted in a permanent place. It is advisable to place the seedlings so that their root system is in the shade and the vine is in the sun.

Many gardeners claim the advantage of propagation by layering, by digging up the lower branches of the bush, as is practiced with gooseberries. Then in the fall or early spring, the rooted young shoots are dug up, separated from each other and planted in a permanent place in pre-prepared planting holes or buried in a school for growing.

Problems when growing actinidia

Why do actinidia leaves turn white or red?

If the tips of your actinidia leaves suddenly turn white for no reason, don’t worry. This is just a feature of actinidia. And if the edges of the leaves turn red, don't worry either. You have actinidia kolomikta growing, it changes the color of the leaves. So everything is fine with your vine.

Why does actinidia bloom but not bear fruit?

Because it is a dioecious plant. Obviously, you either have only female plants or only male plants. They differ from each other in that on female plants the flowers are located singly, while on male plants they are collected in a bunch of 5–15 pieces.

Why did the plants disappear after planting actinidia?

Most likely they were eaten by cats digging up the root. After planting, you need to protect the plants metal mesh. After 3–4 years, the nets can be removed. Cats only dig up young plants.

Actinidia kolomikta is a plant that can be used not only as decorative element for your garden, but also how fruit crop. Michurin himself also noted high quality fruits of this plant and foreshadowed that it was very likely that the time would come when actinidia would completely replace grapes. First of all, it owes such laudatory ode to its high winter hardiness and good tolerance of our climate. In this article you can find the information you are interested in about this plant, the principles of planting it and caring for it.

Description and winter hardiness

The type of this plant can best be described as a woody vine. The trunk of actinidia can reach 5 cm in diameter, multiple shoots of a brown hue extend from it, smooth to the touch, with curly or straight branches, capable of climbing to a height of up to 15 meters. On young shoots there is a presence small size lentils When confronted with an obstacle, the shoots wrap around it counterclockwise.

Did you know? The Greek name of this plant comes from the word “aktividio”, which literally translates as “ray”. This name is probably due to the radial arrangement of the ovary columns.

The main feature of the leaves of this plant is their constantly changing color: at first they have a bronze tint, which over time turns into green; just before flowering, the ends of the leaves become bright white, and at the end of this process they become pink, crimson or red. Each leaf is located on petioles 3-7 cm long, has the shape of an ellipse or egg, the leaf itself is quite thin, has a small number of hairs along the veins, and is smooth underneath.

The flowers have a pleasant, delicate aroma, most often white in color, actinomorphic, located on thin stalks, unisexual, drooping, sometimes bisexual specimens are found. Each flower includes five petals and the same number of sepals. The calyx of the flower remains with the fruit after it dries. This plant begins to bloom at the age of five; usually the period of active flowering occurs in June-July and lasts 20-25 days.

The fruits are dark green berries, with a large number of longitudinal stripes of an even darker color than the main one. They have a somewhat elongated, elliptical shape, sometimes they can be round.
If you pick them when ripe, they will surprise you with their sweetness, mild taste and spicy aroma. Inside each berry there is a fairly large number of small seeds (up to 90 pieces) of a dark brown hue. The fruiting period begins at the age of nine.

Did you know? Actinidia kolomikta is a long-lived plant. Under favorable environmental conditions, its lifespan and active fruiting can reach up to 80-100 years.

Varieties of actinidia kolomikta

This plant can be cultivated by a gardener on a plot for two main purposes: as a fruit and berry crop and as one of the elements landscape design. Breeders have bred many different varieties this woody vine, you can find a small list of the most popular of them below.

• "Magpie". Produces bushes of medium size. The ripening period is average. It is characterized by extremely high winter hardiness. Average weight The fruit size is 2.5-3 g, the taste is very sweet, and the berries have a specific actinidic smell. In the center of the berry there is a core, occupying up to 1/3 of the entire diameter of the berry;

• "Queen of the Garden" Bred at the Moscow VNIIR. Is different early fruit ripening, has high resistance to diseases and pests, winter hardiness is average. The fruits are cylindrical in shape, laterally compressed, olive in color, have a sweet and sour taste, and the aroma has pineapple notes. The average fruit weight is 3.4 g.

• "Large-fruited." Early ripening. The main distinguishing feature is the extreme fast growth and early onset of fruiting. The average weight of the berries is 4.4 g. The fruits are cylindrical, olive in color, with a kiwi aroma and a sweet and sour taste. They tend to fall off when fully ripe. Refers to self-fertile;

• "Commander". It has moderate winter hardiness and high resistance to pests and diseases. It is a male pollinator and therefore does not produce fruit. Flowers are collected in inflorescences of 1-3 each. There are no ovaries on flowers;

Actinidia male and female: differences

It must be said right away that almost all varieties of this plant for normal fruiting and adequate flowering processes require planting actinidia of different sexes next to each other or grafting branches with different sexes onto one bush. Sometimes it happens that your vines bloom consistently every year, but no berries are formed on time or after it. Most likely, this phenomenon is due to the fact that actinidia of only one sex grow on your site.

VIDEO: HOW TO DISTINGUISH FEMALE ACTINIDIA FROM MALE ACTINIDIA Here's how to distinguish female plants of this species from male ones:

• on male plants, flowers are most often collected in inflorescences of 3 pieces;
• there are no fruit embryos in the center of male flowers;
• V male flower a large number of stamens can be found;
• during the flowering period, many fallen flowers can be found under the male plant;
• flowers on female plants are often placed one at a time on a long stalk;
• in the center of the flowers female plants a clear ovary of the future fetus is determined;
• The flowers of female plants have fewer stamens, and they are much shorter than those of male plants.

Important! When planting male plants, try to position them in relation to the female ones so that they are on the windward side. To improve pollination processes, you can also install a hive with bees next to them.

How to choose seedlings when purchasing

It is best to purchase seedlings of these plants in specialized stores, nurseries or breeding centers, since when buying young plants at spontaneous markets or second-hand from sellers, you risk purchasing a variety that is not the one that was originally declared, a variety with unsatisfactory organoleptic properties, and possibly even that instead of actinidia they will sell you a completely different plant.

First of all, when choosing a seedling, it is recommended to carefully examine its root for damage, both mechanically (by human hands) and natural (various fungal infections, damp areas, frostbite, etc.). The root of a normal actinidia seedling should have its own overall size proportionally match the trunk (that is, be neither thinner nor thicker than it).

Next, you should pay attention to the condition of the trunk and leaves. If you see traces of obvious painful manifestations on them (white, gray or black spots, holes, bitten spots, etc.), then you should not purchase such a seedling. In addition, you should not buy a seedling whose top has clearly been cut. Seedlings that have not yet reached 4 years of age are suitable for planting in the ground.

Landing rules

In general, planting actinidia is no different from planting any other fruit and berry bush, however, due to some biological features of its structure, there are aspects that should be mentioned separately. Below we will discuss such nuances in more detail.

Optimal timing

The most optimal time for planting actinidia is spring, but planting in autumn term, best 2-3 weeks before the first frost. If you decide to plant actinidia in the autumn, you will need to properly mulch the bushes with peat or rotted compost.

Where to plant on the site

This plant does not tolerate stagnant water quite well, so you should not plant it near drains and places where groundwater accumulates, but at the same time, planting it under a house wall or a stone fence will help it better cope with harsh winter conditions and increase its chances of successfully surviving this period .

Important! As already mentioned, actinidia is a climbing vine, so it would not be amiss to prepare in advance for it a certain number of supports along which it will crawl upward. The number and height of supports directly determines how high its yield will be.

This plant shows the best growth and development indicators in partial shade, this is primarily due to the fact that under natural conditions it mainly grows in sparse forests. Open spaces and constant exposure to direct sunlight have a detrimental effect on this plant.

Soils with an alkaline composition are very unsuitable for it, but at the same time it is quite undemanding in terms of the content of mineral and organic fertilizers in the soil and takes root well and shows significant growth rates in soils with poor nitrogen and phosphorus content. It is undesirable to plant this plant in soils with a heavy, clayey composition.

Step by step planting process

An approximate planting algorithm is as follows:

1. First, you need to prepare planting holes measuring 50x50 cm. The distance between the bushes at bush method landing should be 1.5-2 meters, and if vertical - at least 50 centimeters.
2. A layer of drainage is placed at the bottom of each hole, preferably broken brick, shell rock or crushed stone.
3. Next, a layer of chernozem, 10-12 kg of humus, 150-200 g and several glasses are added to each hole.
4. A layer of fertilizer is sprinkled with a thin layer of soil in order to protect young roots from possible chemical burns.
5. After this, the seedling is placed in the hole so that the root system is completely expanded in it, and they gradually begin to sprinkle it with earth, compacting it.
6. Next, water the planted bush (1-1.5 buckets of water) and mulch the ground around it with peat, sand or fallen leaves.

VIDEO: HOW TO PLANT ACTINIDIUM CORRECTLY

Important! If you are replanting actinidia from a pot of soil, then try not to shake off the earthen lump from it, as this can significantly damage the delicate root system of the plant.

How to care for actinidia

Caring for actinidia does not require any special skills from the gardener, however, even in such a simple task there are some subtleties that are worth focusing your attention on.

Watering

These bushes do not require particularly active watering, however, in extremely dry and hot weather, it is recommended to water them at least once a week at the rate of 1 bucket of water for each plant. In dry air and a long absence of rain, it is recommended to spray the plants with water from a spray bottle in the evening.

This plant, as already mentioned, is extremely sensitive to excessive waterlogging, so it is recommended to check the soil for moisture before each planned watering. This can be done using a simple stick: dig up the soil in the tree trunk circle to a depth of 3-5 centimeters and see if the plant needs additional moisture.

Mulching

For better preservation moisture, reducing the frequency of watering, as well as to provide the plant with more comfortable conditions for wintering, it is recommended to mulch the tree trunk circle with sand or rotted leaves. Every few months the layer of mulch must be renewed, and once every six months it must be completely changed.

A support is one of the very useful devices that will serve you especially well if you are growing actinidia for the purpose of producing fruit. The fact is that on supports the vine has the possibility of almost unlimited upward growth; accordingly, the area where ovaries are likely to appear on plants increases, which, in turn, leads to an increase in productivity.

For these vines, supports 2-2.5 meters high are best suited, which can be used to increase usable area It is recommended to bend the visor at an angle convenient for you at the height of human height. Thus, the stems of the plant, when they reach highest point will not stop growing, but will continue to curl along the support, but at an angle to the vertical support.

Pruning is a fairly important aspect of caring for this plant, as it sets the further vector of development of the entire vine and helps provide you with an abundant and high-quality harvest. It should be noted that spring pruning for some reasons (actinidia “cries” very actively, which is why it can even die) is extremely undesirable.
It is best to prune during active flowering or late autumn, after all the foliage has completely fallen. First of all, it is worth removing all thin, dried and weak shoots. In addition, it is recommended to cut off all young shoots that have not yet become woody, since they can significantly reduce the quality of wintering of your vine.

Preparing for winter

In addition to the already mentioned pruning and mandatory mulching of the tree trunk circle, it is also recommended to remove the plant from its support and place it under polyethylene or a canvas bag. However, if the winters in your area are not particularly severe and are quite snowy, you can do without this.

VIDEO: SHELTER OF ACTINIDIA FOR WINTER So, we hope that this article helped you find answers to many questions regarding Actinidia kolomikta. Treat all areas of your garden with love and respect, carefully monitor the condition of each plant, follow all recommendations for caring for them, and then you and your family will definitely receive a generous reward in the form of a bountiful harvest!