Growing kiwifruits from seed is a fun project and will give you a nice ornamental plant. Kiwifruit do not always grow true to type, meaning that your plant may not produce edible fruit like the one it came from. If you want to grow a kiwi plant for its fruit, purchase a grafted plant from a nursery.
2. Obtain kiwifruit seeds.
If you've decided to grow common kiwifruit, getting seeds can be as simple as going to the grocery store and buying a fruit. According to some gardeners, seeds from organic fruits are more likely to germinate and grow hardy adult plants. For more exotic types of kiwi, you can order inexpensive seeds online from a variety of vendors.
3. Sprout your seeds.
Place your seeds in a resealable plastic bag along with a damp paper towel. Zip the bag up and put it in a warm spot. Check your seeds every day until you see that they have sprouted.
4. Plant your germinated seeds.
Prepare and moisten a few pots of seed starter potting mix, one for every three or four seeds. Tear off a section of the moistened paper towel you used to germinate the seeds that has a three to four seedlings clinging to it. Plant this, paper towel piece and all, into one of your pots. Repeat until all seedlings are planted.
5. Place your plants in a spot that gets plenty of light.
Windowsills are generally the best choice unless you have a basement equipped with grow lights.
Part 2 Transplanting Seedlings
1. Find a good spot in your garden for your kiwifruit.
Make sure conditions there are suitable. You will need adequate space for your kiwifruit plants to grow.
2. Build a sturdy trellis for your plants.
Remember that kiwifruits are vine plants that can grow up to 30 feet long and weigh a fair amount. Like other vines, they grow best across vertical structures that provide support and greater access to light.
3. Transplant the young plants.
Transplanting kiwifruit plants is largely the same as other types of plants. The major difference is that you must space your plants so that each is at the base of its own support structure. Simply dig a hole for each plant that is a little bigger than their current pots. Carefully lift each plant out of its pot, including the roots and the dirt they cling to, and place the roots into the holes you just dug. Finish by filling in the edges of the hole with loose dirt.
Part 3 Maintaining Your Plants
1. Protect your kiwifruit from animals.
Even if all other conditions are perfect, your plants may be destroyed by various pests. Kiwifruit plants will be especially vulnerable until they have fully matured.
2. Tie shoots to supports.
As your kiwifruit plant grows, it will begin to send out shoots. You will need to train these shoots to grow on the support by wiring the vines to the trellis. This will ensure that the plant will grow a strong "trunk" section.
3. Prune your plants regularly.
You should prune your kiwifruit plants once a year. Trim excess canes any lateral shoots not supportable by its trellis. Lateral shoots are branches that go off to the sides. Your kiwifruit vines will not be able to support the weight of such shoots on their own until they've reached the top of your trellis. Once the vines reach the top of the trellis, they will be able to grow more horizontally across it.
4. Cull the male plants.
Kiwi plants will usually flower within four or five years of planting. When this happens, you can identify the male plants by the bright yellow, pollen-covered anthers in the flower's center. The female plants have sticky stalks in the center instead, and white ovaries at the base of the flower. Since only the female kiwi vines produce fruit, you'll want one male plant to pollinate every 8 or 9 female plants, rather than an even split between the two. Remove the excess males and space the survivors an equal distance apart among the female vines.
5. Harvest your fruit once it's ripe.
After a few years (or even that same year for hardy and super-hardy kiwi), your plants should start producing fruit. Yields may start out small but typically increase every year as the plant matures.
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