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Actinidiaceae FAMILY

Actinidia deliciosa

Actinidia deliciosa

Edibility
5/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

Generally a very wholesome and healthy food, the fruit does contain relatively high quantities of the highly active proteolytic enzyme actinidin. This does not seem to be a major health hazard for most people, but it can cause damage to the lips (especially at the corners of the mouth) although usually only if very large quantities of fruit are eaten[1]. Peeling large numbers of fresh fruit can result in skin loss if hands are not protected[1]. Some people have a sensitivity to the actinidin and are unable to eat the fruit[1].

Cultivation Details

HabitDeciduous Climber
GrowthMedium

Actinidia deliciosa is a fairly hardy plant, tolerating temperatures down to about -20°c when fully dormant, although young growth in the spring is very subject to damage by late frosts and can be killed back at -2°c[2, 3, 1]. Plants requires a 6 - 8 month frost-free growing season[2, 3]. They also require a winter chilling of 600 - 1,100 hours below 7°c and a long warm summer in order to ripen the fruit[3]. Prefers a sound loamy acid soil, it dislikes alkaline soils and becomes chlorotic at pH 6 or higher[4]. Tolerates a pH in the range 5.5 to 7.3. Succeeds in semi-shade but full sun is best for fruit production[5, 6, 3]. Prefers a sheltered position[3]. Does well when grown into trees[PFAF]. Plants fruit on second year wood or on fruit spurs produced on older wood[6], any pruning is best carried out in the winter[7]. The flowers are sweetly scented[8]. A very ornamental plant[9], it is widely cultivated in warm temperate zones for its edible fruit, there are many named varieties[10, 3]. The fruit can store for up to 9 months at 0°c with a relative humidity of 90%, but under domestic conditions 4 - 6 weeks is optimal[3]. Plants have been seen with very good crops of fruit at the Hillier Arboretum in Hampshire, England in several autumns. These plants had outgrown their planned supports and had climbed 15 metres or more into neighbouring trees. The main problem with them would be how to harvest the fruit, since almost all of it was at the tops of the plant[PFAF]. The female cultivar 'Heywood' is the most commonly cultivated form in Britain (1993), its fruits store well but it tends to flower late and there can be problems with pollination[6]. The cultivar 'Blake' is said to be fast cropping and self-fertile[3]. The male 'Tomurii' is free-flowering and disease-resistant[11]. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[3]. Plants are usually dioecious, but hermaphrodite forms are known. However, the fruit quality and yield of these hermaphrodite forms is usually inferior[4]. Male and female plants must usually be grown if seed is required, one male to five or six females is normally adequate. Female plants produce morphologically perfect flowers with well-developed pistils and stamens, but their stamens produce nonviable pollen; flowers of male plants have small, rudimentary ovaries without viable ovules but their stamens release viable pollen[1].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse[12]. It is probably best if the seed is given 3 months stratification[13], either sow it in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe in late autumn or as soon as it is received. Fresh seed germinates in 2 - 3 months at 10°c, stored seed can take longer[12]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in light shade in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. When the plants are 30cm or more tall, plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts[PFAF]. Most seedlings are male[6]. The seedlings are subject to damping off, they must be kept well ventilated[13]. Cuttings of softwood as soon as ready in spring in a frame[PFAF]. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, mid summer in a frame. Very high percentage[13]. Cuttings of ripe wood, autumn in a frame. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Actinidia+deliciosa>

Pollinators

Bees, Insects

References

  1. [1]Genetic Resources of Kiwifruit: Domestication and Breeding — A. Ross Ferguson; Hongwen Huang · John Wiley & Sons, Inc. · 2007 · ISBN 978-0-471-73214-3 ↩︎A very detailed look at the horticultural prospects of kiwifruits (Actinidia species).
  2. [2]Wonder Crops. 1987. — Natural Food Institute, ↩︎Fascinating reading, this is an annual publication. Some reports do seem somewhat exaggerated though.
  3. [3]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  4. [4]Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. — Bean. W. · Murray · 1981 · ISBN - ↩︎A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.
  5. [5]Growing Unusual Fruit. — Simmons. A. E. · David & Charles; Newton Abbot. · 1972 · ISBN 0-7153-5531-7 ↩︎A very readable book with information on about 100 species that can be grown in Britain (some in greenhouses) and details on how to grow and use them.
  6. [6]The Plantsman. Vol. 6. 1984 - 1985. — ? · Royal Horticultural Society · 1984 · ISBN - ↩︎Excerpts from the periodical giving cultivation details and other notes on some of the useful plants including Actinidia and Wisteria species.
  7. [7]Gardening on Walls — Grey-Wilson. C. & Matthews. V. · Collins · 1983 · ISBN 0-00-219220-0 ↩︎A nice little book about plants for growing against walls and a small section on plants that can grow in walls.
  8. [8]Scented Flora of the World. — Genders. R. · Robert Hale. London. · 1994 · ISBN 0-7090-5440-8 ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.
  9. [9]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  10. [10]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
  11. [11]Climbers and Wall Shrubs. — Davis. B. · Viking. · 1990 · ISBN 0-670-82929-3 ↩︎Contains information on 2,000 species and cultivars, giving details of cultivation requirements. The text is terse but informative.
  12. [12]Growing from Seed. Volume 1. — Rice. G. (Editor) · Thompson and Morgan. · 1987 · ISBN - ↩︎Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation.
  13. [13]The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. — Dirr. M. A. and Heuser. M. W. · Athens Ga. Varsity Press · 1987 · ISBN 0942375009 ↩︎A very detailed book on propagating trees. Not for the casual reader.
  14. [14]Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. — Hedrick. U. P. · Dover Publications · 1972 · ISBN 0-486-20459-6 ↩︎Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
  15. [15]Tanaka's Cyclopedia of Edible Plants of the World. — Tanaka. T. & Nakao S. · Keigaku Publishing; Tokyo · 1976 · ISBN - ↩︎The most comprehensive list of edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
  16. [16]Medicinal Plants of China — Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. · Reference Publications, Inc. · 1985 · ISBN 0-917256-20-4 ↩︎Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.
  17. [17]Fruits of the Earth. — Bianchini. F., Corbetta. F. and Pistoia. M. ↩︎Lovely pictures, a very readable book.
  18. [18]Famine Foods listed in the Chiu-Huang Pen-ts'ao. — Reid. B. E. · Southern Materials Centre; Taipei · 1977 · ISBN - ↩︎A translation of an ancient Chinese book on edible wild foods. Fascinating.
  19. [19]A Barefoot Doctors Manual. — ? · Running Press; Philadelphica. · 1977 · ISBN 0-914294-92-X ↩︎A very readable herbal from China, combining some modern methods with traditional chinese methods.
  20. [20]Chinese Materia Medica. — Stuart. Rev. G. A. · Taipei. Southern Materials Centre · 1911 · ISBN - ↩︎A translation of an ancient Chinese herbal. Fascinating.
  21. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎