Thanks for the link, but UC Davis don't send cuttings to Spain. The vegetal stuffs need sanitary certificate to enter in Europe. I know that there are several kiwi varieties out there, but most of them are of limited value. Can be interesting for private growing but not for commercial. I am referring to new varieties with some new valuable and differentiating characteristics, only within reach of highly financed breeding projects like Hort Researchs in New Zealand.

I'm sorry to hear pod your frost damage so I want to encourage you to keep nurturing them and give them a good growing year because the DO get much stronger. Here's my 2 cents about this year's spring growth near Atlanta. We have had a perfect (but extra warm) spring following one of the wettest fall and winters on record. So for not only kiwis but all other frost sensitive fruiting plants this could be a bumper season. I have 12 female varieties and 3 male varieties (all are actinidia arguta = hardy kiwi) and they all pretty much leafed out at exactly the same time. The older plants (with more stored up energy I presume) grew faster but they all initially burst open within a day or two of each other. They are all growing in one "block" of about 40 x 70 feet, and like kiwinut (but couple hundred miles south)we did have a sudden change this spring from cool wet to "summer". In the above picture notice last year's woody growth contrasted with the super elongated current growth (light green and pink) There may be a later budding variety (or species) out there but just thought I'd tell you what I'm seeing here in GA. I think the trigger is some combination of air and soil temp and maybe amount of sunlight. Others have written that kiwi plants may wake up later if planted on the north side of a low fence or building or a north or west slope since it is cooler there. Heavy, light colored mulch like wood chips would also keep the soil cooler longer. To shed light on your second observation: Universities and enthusiasts have been collecting and experimenting with hardy kiwis for many years. NCGR in Corvallis, OR (for example) has many contributed selections with some overlap. I speculate that for some reason a few varieties (like Anna, Ken's Red, Meyer's Cordifolia, Dumbarton Oaks, and others mentioned) became more publicized so a nursery or two decided to start propagating and selling those few. This added even more to their popularity due to their availability. You may have noticed that the descriptions look like they are just copied from one nursery to next. (The same goes for heirloom tomatoes). I hope (nay... intend) to enrich the kiwi taste vocabulary this fall. This is the first year my males have flower buds (not opened yet). ... so if they truly are males, I anticipate a taste test of at least 6 different fruiting varieties. The above picture is (from left to right) "Cornell", "Meader", and "Davis" (127-40) male flower buds. Hopefully the bees will do their job, the weather will cooperate and we will have out long awaited kiwi feast in September or October. Sorry for being so wordy here, but this is my favorite subject lately. -Ron

It will be interesting to see what kind of fruit they produce (larger size of fuzzy with hardiness of issai would be awesome!!) We moved last summer and the location I put my issai's proved to be not a good one. It turned out to be a very wet area and this spring they were not looking to good. I potted the plants to relocate them later (not thinking they would survive) but they slowly came back and new shoots emerged from the base. I have about 20 flower buds just blooming right now but unfortunately no male currently blooming. On a side note, my Arctic Beauty male (also planted in the wet zone) suffered major rot at the base and the bark peeled right off. I noticed the previous years growth still looked okay so I clipped several 8" pieces of those branches and stuck them in a pot after dipping them in rooting hormone and covered with plastic. They all broke out in bud and started growing new vines and actually bloomed flowers all without any roots forming whatsoever on the cuttings!! I've added to my collection now with Meader(f) and Dumbarton's Oaks(f) to go along with my Anna and Issai. Have you had any experience with the 'A. Jumbo' variety???

Alpharetta, I am local to you in Canton. I have had a Hayward Kiwi probably in the ground for probably around 12 years. I will preface my results by stating I have it in a half shadeded area, give it no care anymore, and never established a proper trelis for it. I have never even observed a bloom on it and I pretty gave up on it, Never even bothered replacing the male which I lost years ago due to no blooms on the female Hayward. The vine grew vigorously and was probably 30 feet up a tree as I was neglecting it until last year when I hacked it off from the tree. It is still sprawling all over like an octupus. Again I really have not trained it and have no proper trelis in place. Some years as this year a late frost will kill the early foilage, and leafs right back out.I don't think I ever lose any of the vine to cold, and some years the cold would not be responsible for my lack of blooms, I would think even in the shade I would get some minimal blooms. I have an Issai about the same age, that is more manageable, although I have not trained it very well either as of recent years due to disapointng results as well. It has justed finished blooming and has set small fruit that seemingly 95% of the time seem to abort after a period. I rarely have more than a couple that mature, and after reading prior posts here about improved results with a male I obtained a hardy male last year as well as an Anna, but they are not of blooming size of yet.