Actinidia: Planting And Care

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Many people are familiar with such an exotic fruit as kiwi. But few people know that it belongs to the genus actinidium. And it is not so often that you will find this interesting plant in gardeners' personal plots along with currants, gooseberries or raspberries. However, this culture has its advantages and is highly prized for its medicinal properties

Actinidia on a cushion of humus and fertilizers

One of the advantages of actinidia is that it can grow and bear fruit perfectly on almost any soil composition. It is not very sensitive to acidity, but it has high drainage requirements. The high standing of groundwater does not have the best effect on planting. The same applies to areas where flooding occurs.

To provide this plant with the best conditions, on heavy clay soils where water can stagnate, experienced gardeners recommend arranging a so-called planting pillow.

For this:

1. Dig a hole approximately 60 x 60 cm in size.

2. The bottom is lined with drainage from gravel, pebbles; broken brick is also suitable.

3. The remaining volume is filled with humus with the addition of superphosphate and ammonium nitrate.

10 kg of humus will require 100 g of phosphorus and 20 g of nitrogen fertilizers. You can also use compost instead of humus.

After such a filling of the pillows for planting, in the future, on the site with actinidia, the following dressings are applied per 1 square meter:

• superphosphate - 25 g;

• ammonium nitrate - 12 g;

• potassium chloride - 8 g.

If the farm has horn sawdust or bone meal, they are also an excellent fertilizer for vines.

Actinidia care

Actinidia vines grow very strongly. In just one year, they are able to reach a length of 4 m. And if you do not prune and shape, plantings will turn into impassable thickets.

Another feature of actinidia is strong sap flow. And so that pruning does not ruin your beautiful vines, you need to take this subtlety into account and engage in the formation in early spring, before the start of sap flow. You can also carry out this operation in the fall, after harvesting the fruit.

Breeding methods of actinidia

Actinidia can be propagated both by sowing seeds and vegetatively. Sowing is carried out in autumn and spring. The seed is harvested from slightly dried berries. Some fruits and vegetables are left to ferment to collect the seed. But this method is not suitable for actinidia. It will be even better not to get the seeds from the berries, but crush the fruit and place it on the beds in this form.

This method is good for autumn. During the winter months, the seeds will undergo a natural temperature treatment in natural conditions. And in the spring, it is recommended to sow with seeds stratified in artificial conditions. To do this, they are kept for two months at a temperature of about + 18 … + 20 ° C. At the same time, it is necessary to arrange ventilation for them. Then they need to be left in a snow pile for another two months. Even 2 weeks before sowing, the seed is kept at a temperature of + 10 ° C.

For vegetative propagation, cuttings and root layers are used. This method is convenient when you have found a plant far from home and planting material has to be transported from afar. Cut lignified shoots are left in a vessel with water at room conditions near the light source. After about one and a half to two months, the buds should bloom on them, and the green shoot should turn brown. This is a signal to prune it with part of last year's twig and plant it in a container of wet sand for rooting.

To propagate your actinidia by root layers, grooves are dug near the plantings, into which the lower shoots of this year are laid and pinned. They need to be sprinkled with a nutritious mixture of peat with humus. The planting material can be separated from the mother plant after a year.