Actinidia 'Jenny' (Jenny Chinese Gooseberry, Jenny Kiwi)


Botanical Information

FamilyActinidiaceae
GenusActinidia
Cultivar'Jenny'
SynonymsActinidia deliciosa
CategoryPerennials, Woody
TypeVine
OriginChina.
Ethnobotanical Uses
Disclaimer
Fruit is edible.

Details

USDA Hardiness Zone7
USDA Hardiness Ref.
Canadian Hardiness Zone6b - 7a
Canada Hardiness Ref.
RHS Hardiness ZoneH6 - H5
RHS Hardiness Ref.
Temperature (°C)-18 - (-12)
Temperature (°F)0 - 10
HeightUp to 6 m
SpreadUp to 4 m
GrowthFast
Flowering PeriodJune

Description and Growing Information

General DescriptionKiwi 'Jenny' is a self-fertile, hardy climbing vine with broad green leaves on red petioles and cup-shaped, cream-coloured flowers that become sweet egg-shaped green-fleshy fruit.
LandscapeIdeal for a fruit or kitchen garden, climbing along a wall, trellis or fence.
CultivationGrow in a sheltered, sunny location in moist, well-drained, fertile soil. Sensitive to unfavourable weather conditions. Incorporate well rotted manure or compost into the soil before planting. Provide appropriate support for the twining stems. Takes about 2 - 3 years to produce fruit, 5 years for best yield.
Notable SpecimensRHS Garden Rosemoor, North Devon, England.
HabitatHorticultural origin.
Flower/Leaf Bud DescriptionGlobose, surrounded by fuzzy, light brown bracts.
Leaf DescriptionBroadly rounded, cordate (heart-shaped at the base with stalk attaching in the cleft), bluntly tipped, venation reticulate (smaller veins forming a network).
Flower DescriptionCup-shaped, with cream-coloured petals and plentiful stamens topped with creamy yellow anthers. Self-fertile.
Fruit DescriptionEgg-shaped, sweet green flesh covered by a thin, fuzzy, light-brown skin, ripening in August and September.

Photographs