Kiwi occupies an important place among exotic fruits and has a pleasant sweet and sour taste. Many plant lovers have learned how to grow kiwi at home. Below we will study in more detail the features of growing kiwi from seeds, consider the stages of planting and care. To get seed, you can simply extract the grains from the pulp of a ripe and healthy fruit.
Growing kiwi from seeds
Kiwi planting
Before you start sowing kiwi seeds, you need to start germinating the seeds. Activities are best done in early spring. Buy ripe kiwi with clean healthy skin. Then it is thoroughly washed, cut into pieces with a knife and the pulp is taken out. Then gently knead with a spoon and cover with water. After a while, the pulp begins to sour, and the seeds are gradually separated. Ripe grains accumulate on the surface of the water. They are laid out on a napkin and wait until they dry out. Dried kiwi seeds are poured onto a plate and covered with a gauze cloth dipped in the form. Tied from above with a piece of film. As a rule, the first shoots appear after a few weeks.
For sowing kiwi seeds, choose a low pot or any other flower container. The bottom is covered with a material that allows air and moisture to pass through. Expanded clay is excellent for these purposes. The remaining volume of the pot is filled with potting soil. It is allowed to use purchased soil or prepare the substrate yourself, taking peat and sand in the same ratio. When the seeds germinate, they are sown in wet soil to a depth of 5 mm.
Special care should be taken when sowing seeds. The sprouts are very fragile and may fall off if handled roughly. Seedlings will not appear in the absence of shoots.
When the kiwi planting was successfully completed, it remains only to spray the substrate with water. The pots are covered with plastic or glass and stored in a warm, lighted room. After the shoots appear, the protective shelter is removed. Crops are regularly sprayed because lack of moisture will affect growth. It is better to pull out underdeveloped sprouts immediately. A healthy plant will not grow out of such "rags" any more. When a pair of strong whole leaves is formed, they begin to pick the seedlings, which are transferred to different pots.
Kiwi care
Caring for kiwi at home requires adherence to certain rules. Entrances need regular and moderate watering. Kiwi is very sensitive to drying out of the soil or excess water, which causes the accumulation of moisture in the root zone. In winter, humidification is carried out twice a month. When the growing season begins, watering is carried out every two days. During drought and heat or during the operation of heating devices, it is necessary to periodically do wet procedures for kiwi leaves using a spray bottle.
The plant prefers warm conditions for development and light. Pots with young seedlings are placed on windowsills located in the east or west direction. The lack of light can be compensated for with artificial light.
Abundant and healthy fruiting is achieved through timely feeding. The plant responds well to compost additives. Subject to all the points of growing kiwi and organizing proper care, after four years of hard work, your plant will be ready to bear its first fruits.
The soil
Kiwi bushes thrive in a soil mix containing black soil, peat and sand. It is important to keep the substrate moist, but not to overdo it with water. Before planting seedlings, the soil must be sterilized. It is also fortified with crushed eggshells or lightly sprinkled with wood ash.
Lighting
As mentioned before, the plant shows a need for light. It is recommended to place the pots on the south side of the building. With the onset of noon, in order not to cause burns to the leaves, the flowerpots are moved away from the sun's rays or darken the window with a light screen, curtain.
Watering and humidity
Kiwi prefers abundant watering, but the excess water flowing onto the pan is drained. If warm dry air prevails in the room, the leaves must be sprayed. With the onset of the cold winter season, watering is reduced to once every two weeks.
Top dressing
An actively growing plant needs feeding, which is arranged several times a month. Both mineral and organic types of fertilizers are suitable for nutrition. Vermicompost has an optimal ratio of nutrients. It is evenly distributed along the dug groove around the circumference of the pot and covered with a layer of soil on top. Every time after watering, the bushes will absorb the necessary amount of nutrients from the decay of humus.
Pruning
Fruit bushes must be pruned in autumn. Remove old branches and leaves. This procedure has a beneficial effect on the growth of new shoots in the spring season. The yield rises markedly.
Bloom
Healthy, well-groomed kiwi flowers for the first time four years after planting. On the stems, wide snow-white inflorescences are formed, which turn yellow after a while. On the bushes, you can see either exclusively female flowers with pistils and stamens, or only male buds, where only stamens are present.
In the case when the kiwi is a male tree, a branch from the female specimen is grafted. The yield increases as a result.
Diseases and pests of kiwi
The kiwi plant is resistant to diseases and insects, but if the recommendations for care are not followed, fungal spores can harm all the ground parts of the bush. Often, the infection spreads to the stems and leaves of kiwi from adjacent flowers and fruit trees. It is important to constantly monitor how the bushes develop. Having found traces of illness or depression, one should, as soon as possible, understand the reason. It is possible to remove insects thanks to insecticidal solutions with which infected specimens are treated. Stop fungal infection and its spread by using fungicidal drugs.
In conclusion, it should be noted that it is quite possible to grow a beautiful fruiting kiwi at home if the plant is provided with proper care and optimal conditions for development are created.
