Actinidia arguta - hardy kiwi

''Bingo"(female)

Dioecious plant! A female and a male plant are required.

Height: 8m

Growing conditions in Latvia’s climatic zones: western, central, more rarely eastern zone.

Crown: vine

Flowers: white, up to 2cm wide, fragrant, blooms in mid VI

Fruit: oval, slightly elongated berry, approximately 3cm long, 2,5cm wide, with an intense pink-red blush. Tasty, aromatic, with a light pineapple aftertaste, sweet. Ripens gradually from mid IX. Weight of one berry 8-14g

Foliage: leaves glossy, dark green, 6-15 lighter underneath, with red hairs, turning yellow in autumn.

Winter hardiness: slightly lower than Actinidia kolomikta, frost resistance to -28⁰C

Growing conditions: A very vigorous, deciduous vine that can reach even 30m in height. Trunk diameter 10-15cm with light brown bark. Young shoots are light grey or light brown, and attach themselves to support by twining around it. Dioecious plants producing fruit – berries with kiwi flavour, containing a lot of vitamin C. It is recommended to plant in a sunny location protected from prevailing winds. Fertile soil is required. Plants are planted 2m apart from one another, at the same depth as grown in the container. Does not tolerate dry air and dry soil. Fast-growing, may suffer from spring frosts. Plant together with "Weiki M" (male).

Care:Fertilising. In spring, before bud break, apply 30g of ammonium nitrate around the plant. Well-rotted manure may be incorporated. Later fertilise with a compound NPK fertiliser. In autumn, after harvesting, at the end of September, fertilise with phosphorus and potassium mineral fertilisers.

Training: Must not be pruned in spring while leafless, because then it bleeds sap and normal growth is disturbed. Actinidias are pruned in autumn, after the first serious frosts, when the leaves have already fallen. Cut out thin, weak, broken and unnecessarily crown-thickening shoots. Vegetative shoots are pruned to achieve the desired shape of the actinidia crown. Mixed shoots are pruned, leaving no more than 30 cm in length.