A Green Thumbs-Up for Kiwi

Roger Meyer: A Kiwi Pioneer in Southern California

In 1969, Roger Meyer, a lover of rare fruits, discovered something unique. A fuzzy brown fruit with an intense green interior caught his attention.

“The kiwi immediately caught my attention,” said Meyer, who owns Valley Vista Kiwi with his wife, Shirley. “I was amazed by the fruit’s wonderful taste and its little black seeds.”

It took Meyer years to find plants, and when he did, supply was limited. However, he decided to turn his passion into a business. He taught himself to graft kiwi plants onto seedling rootstocks he had grown and, six years later, purchased a vineyard in San Diego to cultivate the fruit.

Over the past 26 years, Meyer has introduced new varieties of kiwi into local markets, including yellow and red varieties. He sells the fruit commercially and provides plants to retail customers.

Though kiwi has a tropical-sounding name and look, it’s a deciduous vine that requires winter chilling—a rare situation in California. However, there are varieties that fruit well here, despite warm winters. February and March are the ideal months to buy and plant bare-root kiwi, while established plants can be planted throughout the year.

Why You Should Grow Kiwi in Southern California

If you have the space, Alfredo Chiri encourages planting kiwi vines.

“They are a beautiful vine with large hibiscus-like, dark-green shiny leaves and rose-like, fragrant flowers,” said Chiri, a member of the Orange County Rare Fruit Growers. “You can train the vine on a trellis, fence, arbor, or back wall, and it can look stunning. They also produce a large amount of fruit. We’ve estimated that four vines at the arboretum yield between 200 and 300 kilos (440 to 660 pounds) per season.”

Tips for Growing Kiwi

To have success growing kiwi, keep the following tips in mind:

  • Provide Adequate Space: Kiwi is a large, vigorous vine that can easily reach 20 feet. To produce fruit, plant a male and female plant, as they require cross-pollination. However, you can save space with a grafted plant that contains both genders on the same vine.
  • Choose Varieties Carefully: While ‘Hayward’ kiwi is commonly sold in stores, it requires a lot of winter chilling and doesn’t thrive in Southern California. Varieties that do well here include ‘Elmwood,’ ‘Vincent,’ ‘Matua,’ Chinensis species, ‘Cordifolia,’ ‘Anna,’ ‘Ken’s Red,’ ‘Dumbarton Oaks,’ and ‘Meader.’
  • Plant in Full Sun: Plant kiwi in full sun, in the ground. The soil must be well-draining. For heavy clay soil, improve drainage by adding compost and pumice.
  • Mulch Regularly: Use mulch, but ensure it doesn’t touch the trunk of the plant.
  • Provide Support: Kiwi vines need something substantial to grow on, such as a patio cover, arbor, fence, or large trellis.
  • Watering: Kiwi requires plenty of water during the summer. Without sufficient irrigation, fruit production will decrease, and leaves will turn brown around the edges and fall off in August or September. However, kiwi cannot sit in standing water, especially during winter dormancy, so good drainage is critical.
  • Feeding: Use a fruit fertilizer containing nitrogen, or composted manures (keep away from the trunk). Feed the plant three times between March and July.
  • Prune Properly: Winter pruning is important because kiwi won’t grow on old fruiting wood. Prune out old wood in January or February to encourage new growth. For new plants, train one branch as the main trunk.

When to Harvest Kiwi

Kiwi generally requires three years of growth before it bears fruit. It typically flowers in May or June, sets fruit immediately, and is ready for picking from September through December.

To check if the fruit is ready to harvest, cut one open. If the seeds are black, it’s time to pick. If the seeds are still white, leave the fruit on the vine to ripen further.

Common Kiwi Pests

Kiwi plants are susceptible to a few pests:

  • Snails: These pests consume the new growth buds on young plants.
  • Cats: Kiwi roots and buds attract cats, who can damage the plant by rubbing against the buds.

Where to Find More Information on Kiwi

  • Visit the California Rare Fruit Growers website for more information.
  • The Orange County Rare Fruit Growers meet every third Thursday of the month at 7:30 p.m. at the Centennial Farm Silo Building at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa.
  • Kiwi plants can be found at various Southern California nurseries or by contacting Valley Vista Kiwi at (714) 839-0796 or via email at exoticfruit@95net.com.

Julie Bawden-Davis

Julie Bawden-Davis is a bestselling journalist, novelist, blogger, and YouTuber. A prolific author, Julie writes in several genres. She enjoys creating page-turning suspense served up with a dose of romance, garden books that turn any brown thumb green, and spiritual books meant to enlighten and inspire. Widely published, Julie has written 45 books and more than 4,000 articles for a wide variety of national and international publications. She lives in Southern California, where she enjoys sunny, blue skies most days and year-round gardening. Julie gains inspiration from being surrounded by plants when she writes.