Audrey, I'm interested in getting larger quantities of these things from your trade list. * Alchemilla Mollis (Lady's Mantle) * Campanula glomerata 'Joan Elliot' - (Bellflower) * Lupin - Morello Cherry * Primula Vialii (orchid or poker primrose) * Tomatoes - Brandy Boy (I'd like to try one) I have crocosmia (three varieties but would have to wait for bloom to tell which is which). I can send some from 3 different areas and hope that get them all (Babylon, George Davidson, Lucifer). I think I can get a piece from my panicum 'Shenandoah'. I have lots of daylilies, siberian iris, bearded iris, hosta, (named varieties); probably a bulb of Godzilla orienpet lily that's not too big to mail right now, plus lots of other small lilium which I've can't identify until they bloom (may be asiatic, oriental, trumpet, or orienpet); and I'm having a sale of potted plants right now and can e-mail you the list if you are interested plus will see what else I might be able to divide. With nearly 25 years of gardening here and being a plant nut, I have a lot. Let me know if you're interested please. Thanks - Pat

Good question re bloom time but I *think* any male pollinator will do. Ken's red Female I think can be pollinated by the same male pollinators that pollinate Anna/49er and all the rest of the gang. I think this would suggest they overlap bloom quite nicely--that a male specially for Ken's Red would also pollinate the others then. BTW here's a more specific breakdown of the flavor IMO in case anyone is wondering: -Main difference with hardy kiwis and regular kiwis to me (besides not having to peel them and just popping them in the mouth like berries) is that most hardy kiwis do not have the sometimes harsh acidic after bite taste of a regular kiwi. Of course they are tangy sweet balance but that sometimes flash millisecond uncomfortable intense kiwi bite on the acidic side is missing--I think that's a good thing. I think hardy kiwis overall are superior to big regular kiwis in flavor. Anna and 49er have a beautiful tangy and sweet balance--just excellent. I can't imagine any better tasting hardy kiwis. I taste tested them two seasons in a row on 3 tastings total (with the first one blind to the variety names) and thought the same each time--those two were also the top two favorites of EL owner. Independent, blind, and repeated results agreeing with him is a good sign. Issai was the worst each time having a weird astringent taste afterwards and a bit of that overly acidic bite at the end (don't get me wrong I am in love with acidic fruit--but this is just an annoying astringent acidic weirdo taste). It is still an 7 or 8 out of 10 I'd say though. The rest were all 9's with no differences just a tad of that astringent/acidic bite of a regular kiwi and not as full of a sweet/tart balance in the initial flavor. Anna/49er were clear 10's and I could never choose on any sampling which was the better. Equal 10's. Ken's Red I think was a bit unique but I did not like it too much. Perhaps it tasted like a real kiwi more but without an aftertaste in a bad way--just in a good kiwi way but in that same spirit of a bit more harsh acidic. To me though it defeats the purpose of a hardy kiwi though when you start tasting exactly like a real kiwi... I think the hallmark benefit of these guys is that they are an IMPROVEMENT in flavor to kiwi--not an equal. But if you are really in love with regular kiwis--you may want to avoid Anna/49er possibly. So Ken's Red would be a 9 with a slightly different flavor profile. In summary, Anna/49er the best, then all others including Ken's red with a unique taste I can't quite recall, then Issai. They're not worlds apart in flavor. But I care a lot about nuances in flavor. BTW some do ripen at different times but I don't know if they bloom differently. I'd bet you'll be OK with any male. Hope this helps some get an idea of their flavors without having taste tested them side by side :).

Kristina, as far as I know you can only tell when they bloom, or if you know a plant geneticist who can break it down to chromosomes. Your other option is to take cuttings when the seedlings mature and graft them to a bearing age vine.But I can't comment on how it will work as I haven't tried it....yet. Hopefully my seedlings do well this year and I can graft next year. Glenn

Glenn, It's my first post! I'm in USDA zone 7a in Maryland and I've been very happy with Ken's Red. It is a LOT more vigorous than Issai, so either plan on some heavy duty pruning or make sure you have the room. The fruits are larger and, in my family's opinion, they taste better. You might also want to consider Ananasnaya aka Anna (make sure it's not the Kolomikta, but the Arguta variety) which is the most popular commercial cultivar. Since you've struggled to get fruit in spite of having waited 8 years, you might also consider Geneva. It is very vigorous too, but there are dozens of flowers on my Geneva this year and it's only 2 years old! For any non-Issai variety, that's fast. By comparison, it took 3 years for my Ken's Red to produce a couple fruits. The 4th year, I got maybe 20. The 5th year (which is this year), I counted over 1400 flowers, so I'm going to get a bumper crop! My Issai went through a similar pattern, but started on year 2 - which is not unusual for that clone. Fortunately, it's cranking up the volume. Last year, which was year 4, I had a few hundred and this year there's around 2,000 flowers or so. Of course, the Issai fruits are quite a bit smaller than the Ken's Red, so I should get more lbs out of the Ken's Red this year (I'm guessing 40 lbs or so) and A LOT more next year, since it's still a young plant. All of these varieties are (or at least, were) available at EdibleLandscaping. Considering everything, I'd probably decide between those three based on when I wanted the fruits. Ananasnaya ripens later, about 3 weeks after Ken's Red. Geneva is earlier; it ripens a couple weeks before Issai. For me at least, Ken's Red and Issai ripened around the same time. Any of EdibleLandscaping's male Argutas will pollinate those. I hope that helps answer your question. Good luck! - kiwi_MD