Actinidia

Family. Actinidiaceae.

Origin, where it grows. Most species grow in the warm and humid atmosphere of Asian countries - China, the Far East, and the foothills of the Himalayas.

Description - what it looks like. Actinidia - growing deciduous vine with thin and flexible shoots covered with brown bark, a very close relative of the well-known kiwi.

The leaves are green, simple, arranged alternately on thin petioles. The leaf blades are heart-shaped, with small teeth along the edge, reaching a length of 15 cm. The surface of the leaves is glossy, covered with numerous veins. Some plants may have large white and pink spots on their leaves.

Ornamental species boast brightly colored leaves with white or pink spots. This feature does not appear immediately - until the age of 3, the bushes form ordinary green leaves. Mostly adult specimens have spectacular leaf color, and it is more pronounced in males than in females. 

In spring or early summer, plants form small, few-flowered axillary inflorescences or single flowers. The buds are cream, white or light green with corrugated, thin petals and large, orange or yellow stamens, appearing on one-year-old young shoots. Young branches may be covered with short light pubescence.

Often the flowers remain completely hidden by the foliage. During the flowering period, the bushes have a very pleasant aroma (it will be especially pronounced in polygamous actinidia).

Plants are divided into male and female - fruits are formed only on female vines. You can distinguish the sexes by the structure of the flowers - female buds form a few stamens and have a pistil, male buds have only stamens. 

After flowering, the plants form oblong-oval edible berries with a fluffy surface. Depending on the type, the berries can be colored brown, green or burgundy. Inside each berry contains greenish juicy pulp with a sweet and sour taste and numerous black, small seeds. The berries ripen in early or mid-autumn, often when the leaves have already fallen. The number of fruits may change from year to year - not every season will be fruitful.

Modern cultivated varieties are often self-fertile, that is, they do not require the presence of another vine of the opposite sex.

Interestingly, with good care, plants can easily reach 100 years of age and continue to produce abundant harvests. This genus includes only about 70 species of perennials.

It is believed that actinidia is a very ancient plant and it existed even before the Ice Age.

Dimensions. Actinidia shoots can reach 3 - 5 meters in length. The stems of some species, for example Actinidia arguta, can reach a length of 30 m.

When actinidia blooms and bears fruit

The flowering period is quite early and can occur as early as mid-spring, lasting approximately 10 days. Some species bloom in late spring - early summer. The first fruiting can occur at the age of 3 or more years. Most often, this period depends on the specific variety of actinidia. During the flowering period, plants fill the garden with a wonderful aroma.

Actinidia chinensis has the earliest onset of fruiting. Abundant fruiting develops at the age of 7 - 8 years. and with proper pruning it is preserved until old age.

Each fruiting vine can produce about 60 kg per season. berries There is no need to worry that they will become overripe - even fully ripe fruits do not fall off the plants. The harvest ripens gradually - some berries earlier, others later.

Planting and care

When growing actinidia as an ornamental foliage plant, it is enough to place several male vines; to obtain fruits, it is worthwhile to plant one male vine for every 3 - 4 females. For some varieties, the presence of plants of the opposite sex is not required - this information should be clarified with the seller.

Lianas with male flowers have brighter leaf colors; many modern varieties have been bred from them, serving as garden decorations. 

To grow kiwi, it is better to choose a well-lit location - if there is a lack of light, the leaves of decorative varieties will fade, and the flowering of fruit-bearing vines will become scarce or not occur at all. Fruit ripening in insufficient lighting occurs at a later date; in some cases, the berries will remain unripe.

Actinidia loves warmth and when grown in harsh climates, it is better to place plants on the south side of buildings and structures. Having heated up in the sun during the day, the walls will give off heat to the vine at night. Sunlight should reach the site in the first half of the day. Most vines will like it if the base is in lacy shade, and the top can receive enough sunlight. Actinidia loves high air humidity.

It is interesting that this species does not tolerate close proximity to apple trees; such “neighbors” as currants and many legumes have a positive effect on the condition of the plants.

Flooded areas and areas with shallow groundwater are not suitable for growing actinidias. If there is no other place, then plants are planted on the top of some hill.

Since the vine attracts the attention of cats with its smell, it should be surrounded with a small fence. The thing is that cats can sharpen their claws on plant trunks and they can die, bleeding juice.

How and when to plant

Planting in the garden is carried out in spring or autumn, and planting holes should be made ahead of time - in the fall or a couple of weeks before planting. The fact is that during this period the walls and bottom of the hole will become dense and will allow plants to be placed at the required depth, without subsidence of the soil.

In the case of autumn planting, plants should have the opportunity to adapt to open ground before the onset of frost. For spring planting, it is worth using the time when the snow cover has just melted, and the plants have not yet begun to flow sap. Saplings with an open root system should only have swollen buds, but not unfolded leaves. 

Plants that are 2-3 years old are suitable for planting. Younger specimens are still too weak and may die, and adult plants can hardly tolerate transplantation. It takes too much time for a large bush to adapt its root system.

Actinidia purchased in a store with a closed root system can be planted in a container for a long period from spring to autumn.

The distance between the holes when planting several specimens should be about 1.5 - 2 m. - the vine develops quickly and fills the free space. If you need to get a dense decorative wall, then the distance between the holes is reduced to 50 - 90 cm.

The width and depth of the planting holes should be about 50 - 60 cm so that the seedling fits along with the root system.

If the soil is too dense, then a drainage layer in the form of river pebbles or ordinary broken brick is placed at the bottom of the planting holes - it will allow moisture to be quickly removed from the roots. The height of the drainage layer can be 10 - 12 cm. Crushed stone cannot be added to the hole - its alkaline reaction will not suit the vine. 

A nutrient layer is placed on the drainage, which should contain a sufficient amount of well-rotted organic matter and mineral complex fertilizers. Plants respond well to the addition of wood ash.

Planting methods will be different for bare-root plants and potted seedlings. If the vine’s root system is closed, then the bushes are simply transferred to the planting holes along with the root ball. In order for the soil to move well away from the walls of the pot, the plants are watered abundantly a day before planting. When planting, you should pay attention to the fact that the root collar of the plant should remain flush with the soil surface.

If the seedlings were purchased with bare roots, then it is possible to assess the condition of the root system - cut off old and rotten branches with sharp pruners, leaving only healthy tissue.

A clay mash is prepared for plants - rooting preparations and a little potassium permanganate are diluted in water. Clay is added to the water, bringing the solution to the consistency of liquid sour cream. The root system is lowered into the finished mash and the plants are kept in this way for 2 - 3 hours.

At this time, small earthen mounds are made at the bottom of the planting holes. The seedlings are lowered into the holes, straightening the roots, lowering them down and installing bushes on the top of the mounds. Plants are sprinkled with soil without deepening the root collar.

After filling the holes, the soil is carefully compacted to remove possible air pockets. The bushes are watered abundantly with settled or rain water - at least 20 liters of water per plant.

The bases of the vines are mulched with straw, sawdust or pieces of tree bark. During the week, the plants are shaded, protected from direct sunlight. Water the vine for another 3 to 4 weeks so that the soil never dries out. 

Soil for shrubs

Actinidia prefers neutral or acidic soils with sufficient nutrients. The soil should easily allow moisture to pass through after watering, and also allow the root system to breathe, absorbing oxygen.

You should not plant bushes in heavy loams with high density. Such lands retain water after watering or rain, which leads to rot in the root system. River sand is mixed into such soil - it makes the soil looser and prevents it from caking.

For additional nutrition, it is worth adding leaf and turf humus to the soil, as well as, if possible, well-rotted horse or cow manure. 

Growing in open ground

Of course, the tall stems of actinidia will need support. Without support, long shoots become tangled and flowering and fruiting suffer. The height of such plants often does not exceed 1.5 - 2 meters.

It is not necessary to arrange special trellises for the vines - the stems can perfectly shade and decorate the wall of a gazebo or veranda. It is interesting that actinidia always wraps around the supports counterclockwise. The trellises should be no more than 10 cm in diameter, otherwise the plant will not climb along them.

It is better to place fruit-bearing plants on special arches about 2.5 - 3 meters high. This is due to the fact that the most abundant flowering and formation of berries occurs closer to the top and their collection will be difficult. When grown on a garden arch, the fruits will fall down on their own as they ripen.

Trellis for grapes with horizontally stretched wire are also well suited for such plants. On such a wire shoots are launched at a height of 50, 100 and 150 cm above ground level horizontally.

Actinidia in the garden need proper pruning, timely watering and fertilizing. After each watering, the ground around the vine is loosened and weeds are removed, and the mulch layer is renewed. This vine cannot tolerate drying out of the soil - in such conditions, not only can you get fruit, but you can’t even expect flowers and buds.

Pruning and formation of actinidia

For the onset of abundant flowering and the formation of berries, the plants will need competent formative and sanitary pruning.

The bushes are trimmed for the first time at the age of 4 - 5 years; in the first 1 - 2 years, the planted plants are allowed to develop at their own discretion. There are sanitary, rejuvenating and formative pruning. 

During sanitary pruning, all old, dying or frost-damaged branches are removed, and shoots directed into the crown are also removed. When the flowers are very thick, fewer flowers are formed, since the strong branches remain in the shade; in such conditions, fungal diseases often appear.

Sanitary haircuts are carried out from early spring to autumn, as needed. In the spring, frozen shoots are removed in early spring, as soon as it becomes clear which branches did not survive the winter.

Actinidia are often formed in the same way as grapes, and this pruning is carried out in the fall. Spring and summer pruning can cause serious harm - during this period there is active sap flow and damage to large trunks leads to weakening of plants. In the first year after pruning, only 2 strong shoots of the first order are left, which are directed along the trellis in different directions. The next year, several of the strongest branches of the second order are left on the shoots, which will bear fruit.

At the end of summer, it is worth removing the unripe tops of the vines - this will allow the remaining part to ripen faster and be overgrown with tree bark that protects from frost. During this pruning, from 1/3 to half the height of the shoots is removed.

Every 5 - 7 years, a rejuvenating radical pruning is carried out, during which old branches that are 8 to 10 years old are cut off, leaving only 30 - 40 cm of growth from the surface of the ground. For such shoots, replacement young branches are prepared. 

The stumps remaining after pruning must be treated with garden varnish. Pruning is carried out with a sharpened and sterilized garden tool - a knife or pruning shears. You should not prune plants during the period of active sap flow - they can die, bleeding juices.

Grafted plants require special pruning - all stems appearing on the rootstock should be removed, otherwise within a few years they will completely replace the grafted part and the plant will go wild.

Feeding and watering

When growing in the garden, it is enough to fertilize 2-3 times per season. As fertilizers you can use both organic substances - manure or humus, and ready-made mineral compositions.

For the first time, you can apply mineral fertilizers in early spring by simply scattering granules directly on the snow. At this time, you can apply nitrogen compounds to help the plants form sufficient green mass. Organic matter can also be placed on the snow, but care must be taken to ensure that the fertilizer does not touch the plants themselves.

The second feeding is carried out with the appearance of the first buds - potassium-phosphorus mixtures are added. 

As a third top dressing, it is worth using potassium fertilizers, which strengthen the root system and help plants survive the winter in open ground. Carry out the third feeding after fruiting.

It is impossible to feed plants with fresh organic matter - such fertilizers weaken them and are susceptible to many fungal diseases.

Water actinidia in the morning or evening. Moisture on leaves during the day can cause sunburn. When watering, add 40 - 50 liters of water to each adult plant so that the moisture penetrates deep to the roots.

For irrigation, always use warm water - rain or well-settled tap water. When the soil dries out, the bushes begin to shed their leaves, the leaves are restored late and often die from the onset of night frosts. 

Transplant

It is not recommended to change the location of adult plants unless absolutely necessary - with age they form a fairly large root system and replanting is difficult for them. You should immediately choose a permanent place for the bushes.

If it is still necessary to move the plant, then it is worth minimally damaging the roots and keeping the earthen lump at the base of the vine undestroyed.

Transplantation is carried out in the spring, before flowering. For planting, prepare holes of sufficient depth and width that can accommodate actinidia along with the root system. 

In order to carefully move the vine, prepare a piece of plastic film, which is spread near the bush. The plant is dug in a circle, gradually going deeper under the roots. The dug up specimens are placed on film and transferred to a new location.

After planting, the flower is watered generously with warm water. Transplanted plants should not be exposed to direct sun for 5 to 7 days.

The soil at the foot of such vines should remain moist, but not swampy, for a month. About what the plant. managed to take root in a new place, one can judge by the new shoots and leaves that appeared. 

Care in autumn, preparation for winter

Actinidia kolomikta has the best frost resistance. Young plants do not have proper winter hardiness and will need shelter for the first 2 to 3 years. Mature vines overwinter in fairly harsh conditions without additional shelter.

In order to prepare plants for winter, in October - November the shoots are removed from the trellis or laid on the surface of the ground along with the structure, if it is collapsible. The plants are covered with a layer of dry leaves on top or covered with cut spruce branches at least 20 cm thick. The cover is removed in early spring, as soon as the snow cover melts in the given area.

You can use a small frame made of mesh - chain-link or a special garden plastic mesh as a shelter. Plant shoots are tied and surrounded with a net, the entire internal volume of which is filled with dry leaves. From above, such a shelter is additionally wrapped with non-woven material. 

Useful properties and harm

It is interesting that the currently widespread actinidia fruit, kiwi, appeared in European countries recently - in the second half of the 20th century.

The berries have a very pleasant taste and contain many useful substances - including the record holder for ascorbic acid content. Kiwi is eaten both fresh and used to prepare various desserts.

The berries also contain vitamins A and P, a large amount of fiber that is beneficial for the intestines, alkaloids, pectin, carotene, iron, saponin, and alkaloids. 

Doctors recommend consuming fruits in case of disturbances in the gastrointestinal tract or lack of iron in the body. In autumn and winter, berries will help strengthen the immune system by saturating the body with ascorbic acid.

Eating fruit before a main meal helps increase appetite. Cardiac glycosides contained in the plant bark help strengthen the heart muscle and regulate cardiac activity.

It is known that the juice of the fruit can significantly soften even the toughest meat, so it is often used as a marinade. Eating kiwi after meals helps relieve heaviness in the stomach and heartburn. It is believed that actinidia is capable of removing harmful compounds from the body - waste and toxins.

A decoction of bark helps relieve tension and improve immunity, is used as an expectorant for respiratory diseases, and for skin lesions, actinidia is used as a wound-healing and hemostatic agent.

Of course, possible allergic reactions should be indicated as contraindications. People with increased blood clotting and those suffering from atherosclerosis should not eat kiwi. The fruits have a slight laxative effect, so they should not be consumed by people prone to indigestion. 

Reproduction

There are several common ways to propagate actinidia - it can be grown from seeds or obtained vegetatively - by cuttings, grafting or air breeding. It is worth remembering that when grown from seeds, daughter plants often do not inherit the varietal characteristics of the parent bushes. 

Cuttings

When grown from stem cuttings, the first fruits can be obtained within 3 to 4 years. For this method of propagation, semi-ripe or completely covered with bark lignified stem cuttings are used. Semi-ripe cuttings are obtained by pruning plants in late spring or early summer. Completely lignified ones are cut off in late autumn.

Rooting of half-ripe stem cuttings is carried out immediately after cutting. The length of the cuttings should reach 10 - 15 m, each should contain 2 - 3 internodes and 3 - 4 leaf nodes. 

The upper cut is made straight and positioned at 50 mm. above the leaf node, the lower one should pass at an acute angle, immediately under the bud. The lower leaf is completely removed from the cutting, and the upper leaf blades are shortened by a third or even half their length to reduce moisture loss.

The bases of the cuttings are dusted with growth hormones. Rooting is carried out both in open ground - in a greenhouse or greenhouse, and at home, in flower pots.

The cuttings are immersed in a loose nutrient mixture made up of peat, river sand and humus. The depth should be such that the second bud from the bottom is flush with the soil. The cuttings should be located at a slight angle to the surface of the soil, which after planting is lightly compacted.

Plants are watered with warm water. To maintain high air humidity, the cuttings are covered with cut plastic bottles or plastic wrap. Every day the cover is removed for a few minutes and the condensation that appears on it is wiped off.

The fact that rooting was successful can be judged by the young leaves that appear.

Completely lignified cuttings, prepared in the fall, are stored until spring, stuck in boxes with barely damp river sand and placed in a dark and cool place - for example, in a cellar.

The air temperature in the cellar should be from 1 to 5 degrees Celsius. In early spring, cuttings are taken out and rooted in the same way as half-ripe shoots.

Growing from seeds

This method of reproduction has its pros and cons. Seed propagation allows you to obtain a large number of plants, but requires a lot of time and labor. The vines obtained in this way may not inherit the attractive appearance or abundant fruiting that the parent specimens demonstrate. 

Among the advantages, it is believed that plants grown from seeds form a stronger and more extensive root system than specimens obtained using cuttings. Often fruiting is also higher in vines planted with seeds. 

Seed collection

To collect seeds, you can use store-bought fruits or ripe fruits collected from plants. The seeds must be separated from the pulp - even small pieces of it can cause rotting of the planting material.

The pulp of the fruit is rubbed between your fingers, collected in a small gauze bag and washed thoroughly with running water. After washing, the seeds are removed from gauze and dried for 24 hours in a well-ventilated place without direct sun access.

Before sowing, the seeds should be prepared in a special way - soaked for 4 - 5 days in warm water. In order to sow in early spring, preparations should begin in December. 

After soaking, the seeds are placed in wet river sand. Leave the boxes with seeds in a warm place at an air temperature of about 18 degrees Celsius. Every week, the seeds are taken out and washed with running water, preventing them from drying out.

A month later, the box with sand and seeds is sent outside - buried in deep snow or, in the absence of snow cover, stratified in the refrigerator for 7 - 8 weeks. At this time, you should not remove the seeds from the sand.

After stratification, the box is sent to a room with an air temperature of 10 - 12 degrees Celsius. Every week, the sock is taken out, the seeds are ventilated and washed.

Sowing

As soon as the shell of some seeds begins to burst, sowing can be done. For planting, use seedling boxes with lids. Drainage holes are made at the bottom of the boxes and a drainage layer in the form of expanded clay or broken brick is placed.

Fill the container with a mixture of garden soil and river sand, taken in equal proportions. The soil is thoroughly moistened with a spray bottle and planting material is sown. The top of the crops is covered with a layer of soil 3 - 5 mm thick.

The soil is kept evenly moist, and the air temperature in the room is raised to 20 degrees Celsius. In order to speed up the germination process, the seedling boxes are closed on top with a transparent lid or covered with plastic wrap. The seedlings are ventilated daily for several minutes and water condensation is removed from the lid. 

Caring for seedlings

As soon as the first shoots appear, the cover is removed from the boxes. Make sure that young plants are not exposed to direct sunlight. If there is insufficient natural light, use additional lighting using fluorescent or phytolamps.

When each bush can boast 2 true leaves, a dive is carried out. When diving, young bushes are planted in separate flower pots or small cups with drainage holes.

Until summer, the plants are grown in the soil of the same composition in which they were previously located. Planting in the garden is carried out in mid-June, when each plant already has 3-4 leaves.

For 3 - 5 years, such vines are kept in a small “kindergarten” until flowering begins. After the first buds form, it will be possible to determine the sex of the actinidia and plant it in a permanent place.  

Formation of air layers

To form air layering at the end of spring, a side shoot is bent to the surface of the soil, into a specially prepared shallow groove. Fix the branch with pins and sprinkle it with a layer of soil about 10 cm thick on top. The area of ​​soil in this place is mulched. The top of the air layer is left above the soil level for photosynthesis.

Layers can be made either in an arcuate manner - covering only a small part of the shoot, or placed horizontally - covering almost the entire shoot, excluding the tip. In the first case, it receives a small number of daughter bushes, but they will develop faster.

If you place the layering horizontally, you get more daughter plants, but their development will take a long period of time. The soil surface above the layer is kept evenly moist throughout the summer, but not swampy.

After 1 - 1.5 months, you will notice the appearance of young branches in this place - this means that the first roots have appeared under the surface of the soil.

Do not rush to separate the cuttings from the mother plant - give it time to get stronger. Usually the cuttings are left for the winter and separated from the main bush only in the spring. 

Propagation of plants by grafting

With the help of grafting, you can get 2 plants at once on one rootstock - male and female, which saves space on the site. As a result of grafting, the first fruits can form as early as the next year, while in plants grown from seeds or cuttings, the first fruiting occurs only in the 3rd - 4th year.

Actinidia grafting takes place in a special way - conventional copulation or budding is not suitable for this plant. Damage to the bark of the shoots at the moment of sap flow threatens the death of not only the scion, but also the rootstock.

During copulation, young plants 3 to 5 years old are used as a rootstock. As a scion, choose a one-year-old, actively developing stem and pinch it above the 6-8 leaf blade in the second half of May. As a result of this pinching, the branch becomes woody and covered with bark. 

After a certain period of time, the upper buds of such a shoot swell and prepare to awaken. In the first half of June, the scion cuttings are separated from the mother bush and used for grafting using the improved copulation method.

There should be 1 - 2 buds left on the cutting; the leaf blades are cut off from the cutting, leaving only 1/3 of the length of the petiole.

Select a rootstock shoot of suitable diameter and cut it at an acute angle, leaving a small “tongue”. The same manipulations are performed at the base of the scion cutting.

The scion and rootstock are connected, trying to match the layers of bark as much as possible. The graft is secured on top with a special tape or stretch film.

If successful, after 2 - 3 weeks the first signs of development appear on the scion - at this time the film can be removed. After 2 months, the length of the scion increases to 20 - 30 cm, and by autumn it has already gained half a meter of growth.

Bud budding is carried out in the first half of June; a shoot 1 to 2 years old is used as a scion. In spring, this shoot above the grafting site is not pruned.

Before pruning, the sap flow in a given branch is stopped by tightly wrapping it with wire - the shoot is simply pulled over. The top part of the rootstock is cut off only after flowering. 

Diseases and pests

Adult plants that receive proper care rarely suffer from diseases or are attacked by pests. Prolonged cloudy and rainy weather, combined with coolness and insufficient air movement, lead to the appearance of various fungal diseases - for example, powdery mildew, gray and fruit rot, phyllosticosis.

It is believed that a species such as actinidia arguta is more susceptible to fungal diseases.

Harmful insects may include lacewings, leaf beetles, moths, bark beetles, and gypsy moths.

Varieties and types of actinidia:

Actinidia kolomikta

This species has become widespread due to its frost resistance. The shoots of the vine reach a length of 6 meters. A distinctive feature of the species is that during the flowering period, the seemingly ordinary green leaves turn white and then pink. The more light the plant receives, the more intense the color of the leaves will be. The flowering period is early - occurs in early May; during flowering, the plants emit a pleasant aroma. The fruits are oblong - green, smooth. Based on this species, many cultivated plant varieties have been bred.

Actinidia Doktor Szymanowski

 Liana reaching a height of 3 - 4 meters. Mature plants change leaf color from green to white and then pink. In young plants aged 3 - 5 years, this feature is often absent. The buds form and open in the first half of May, the formation and ripening of the fruits occurs within 130 days after flowering. Once ripe, the oval, green berries often fall off.

Actinidia arguta

 One of the largest varieties, obegs can reach a height of 9 meters. The species is a fast-growing deciduous vine with oblong-oval, green leaves. Greenish-white, small flowers are formed late - often as early as June and are replaced by smooth green fruits. The berries fully ripen in September - October. often do not exceed the size of large grapes. Plants of this species have a rich, sweetish aroma during flowering.

Actinidia arguta Weiki' famale 

The height of this deciduous perennial often does not exceed 4 meters. Among the plants of this variety there are only male specimens, which serve as pollinators for female plants and decorate the garden. Each adult bush of this variety is capable of pollinating up to 8 female plants (except for Actinidia kolomikta), and in addition, plants of this variety improve the fruiting of Actinidia Isaiah.

Kokuwa

 This species was bred by Japanese breeders and is a large vine that forms fruit regardless of the presence of pollinating plants or pollinating insects. The berries of this variety reach a length of 2 cm and often taste like lemon. Fruit ripening occurs in September - October. When grown in open ground, plants can withstand frosts down to -22 degrees Celsius.

Actinidia acute Issai

 One of the most common varieties of Actinidia acute. These perennials reach a height of 6 meters and form buds only in June. The plants are dioecious - there are female and male specimens, but the flowers are often self-pollinating. The berries are oval, green, smooth. Fruit ripening occurs in mid-autumn.

Actinidia chinensis

The fruits of plants of this species have the sweetest taste and a fairly strong aroma; they often ripen in the second half of October. The flesh of the berries is yellow, with a reddish center. The skin of the fruit, reaching the size of a chicken egg, is covered with slight pubescence. The vines are impressive in size - reaching a height of 7 - 8 meters, forming flowers from May to June.

Actinidia polygama

The shoots of this perennial plant reach a length of 3 - 6 meters and bear numerous light green, heart-shaped leaves. During the flowering period, the tips of the leaves become white, but in August they turn green again. The flowers are white or cream, with a pleasant aroma, appear in early June. Fruits are formed only on female specimens.

Actinidia deliciosa

The fruits of this vine are widely known all over the world - this is kiwi. Plant shoots reach a height of 6 - 9 meters. Numerous cultivars based on plants of this species are distributed throughout the world and are used for commercial fruit production. The leaves are dark green, glossy, broadly oval. The flowers are greenish, often completely hidden by the foliage. Plants are divided into male and female. Female vines form well-known fruits with a sweetish taste and aroma of strawberry and pineapple. The berries ripen in September - October. 

Actinidia deliciosa Hayward

 A fast-growing deciduous vine up to 7 - 8 meters high, adult plants in optimal conditions can reach 10 meters in height. This variety is one of the most common and often used for berry production. Fruiting occurs early - at the age of 2 - 3 years, the berries have a pleasant taste and are stored in the refrigerator for 2 - 3 months. Each adult plant can produce up to 30 kilograms of fragrant fruits per season, which ripen in the second half of autumn.