Kiwi vines are extremely vigorous and abundant vining plants that are originally from eastern Asia. These tropical, relatively cold hardy vines actually do really well in western Oregon. There are two main types of kiwis: Fuzzy and Hardy. The fuzzy kiwi (Actinidia deliciosa) is the one most folks are familiar with. The main cultivar of hardy kiwi sold is the Hayward variety. Hardy kiwis are smaller, smoother and are also referred to as kiwi berries. There are many cultivars of hardy kiwi with a range of cold hardiness. Kiwi vines are dioecious meaning a male and female vine are needed for fruit production. There are some self-fertile cultivars, but they do still benefit from cross pollination.

If you are either thinking about getting some kiwi vines or you already have some, this is a very important blog to read! Kiwi vines are eating homes (ok, ok, snacking on homes) in Portland, Oregon. They are tearing down trellises, growing up roofs, climbing up bamboo and generally larger than life. Kiwi vines can get very overwhelming very fast. We would like to help prevent this from happening or help remedy the situation if your kiwi has already taken on a life of its own. Kiwi can produce up to 100 pounds of fruit on one vine and are beautiful plants. They are more than worth growing - we just want you to have fun while doing it and that starts with proper care.

Preperation

Kiwi vines can produce for more than 20 years so it is imperative to think long term when choosing the location for your vines. A spacious, sunny spot with well-draining soil is ideal. The ideal spacing for your female vine is about 20 feet in length and 6 feet wide. The male vine can be pruned back more vigorously so it will not need as much space. You will need to install an extremely stable arbor or T-trellis with wires for support. Kiwi vines can put on pounds and pounds of fruit so you will want something that can withstand the weight. Your arbor or trellis shouldn’t be taller than 6 feet for ease of harvesting and pruning yearly. Your male and female vines do not have to be close to each other. In fact, it is better to separate them to make pruning easier. The new growth on kiwi vines can grow 10-15 feet in a year and it can become a tangly mess very easily.

How TO train

Establishing a good structure and shape for the vines right when you acquire them will save you so many headaches in the future. You will want to go about training the vine to have one straight(ish) trunk and two cordons in either direction off of that main trunk. When you first plant your vine prune it back to about two buds. Loosely tie the shoot to a stake and attach it to your trellis/arbor with a string. The vine will twist around the stake as it grows. Make sure to gently unravel it from the stake so that the vine can continue to establish a straight trunk. If the vine reaches the top of your trellis in the first growing season you can establish it in one direction on your trellis/arbor. If it doesn’t grow past the top of your trellis/arbor in the first year, head the growth back to about pencil width. The next growing season you can continue to train new growth upwards. Prune off any laterals so that the vine can focus on establishing a nice strong trunk. By the second year you should have two cordons going in either direction. They are likely not long enough. You can continue to train them by choosing a new leader shoot at the tip of the cane. In the winter prune your cordons back to pencil width. Next season, repeat the training of a new leader shoot if your cordons still aren’t the desired length.  The OSU extension site has many pictures and is a great guide to use for establishing your new kiwi vine.

Pruning

It is important to prune your kiwi vine every single year. Kiwi only fruit on new growth from one year old canes so there is also no need to keep the bulk of the growth. For example, one year old growth would be the new laterals that grew during the growing season of 2024, that you pruned back the winter of 2024. These laterals will go on to fruit in 2025. The fruit sets most reliably on the first 1-2 feet of the 10-15 feet of growth that laterals put out and on fruit spurs that stay around 6 inches long. Knowing the fruiting habit of your plants is so important in understanding how to prune them. Kiwi vines are pruned in the winter and summer. Winter pruning is the recommended time to do your big prune where you’ll be removing 50-70% of the vine. This window is from mid-December to March. It is important to note that pruning earlier in the winter is ideal. The vines tend to bleed a sweet liquid when pruning closer to spring that could invite pest and disease. Summer pruning is from June through August and can be done to further keep growth in check. Your goals for pruning are going to be pruning any canes that previously fruited back to a new lateral that is closest to the cordon, creating about 8 inches of space between canes by thinning out canes completely and heading any new growth you’ll be keeping back to 2 feet. You can recognize new growth by its green, sometimes yellowish color. The new growth on hardy kiwis can sometimes be a bit red. Older canes will be brown or gray. You will keep all fruit spurs as they stay small and are very fruitful. The male kiwis are pruned the exact same way, except you can prune a lot more off because you just need the flowers for cross pollination. Maintaining a pruning schedule yearly will help the vine focus on growing bigger, more delicious fruit by redirecting the energy it would have been putting into the vegetative growth of the laterals into growing the fruit. 

Renovation

Renovating a neglected overgrown kiwi vine can take several hours and it can be hard to even know where to start. There is typically a large tangle of dead vines mixed in with old vines that no longer fruit that are also mixed in with the desired growth. There can be multiple trunks, trunks entwined with unintended structures and laterals twisting along cables. It will likely take a couple days if you are doing it by yourself because you will need to be intentional. I would start with shortening everything to two feet even if you aren’t going to keep it in the end. This will remove a lot of unnecessary vegetative growth and allow you to better see what needs to be done. From there, go about thinning out older canes, then newer canes that are too close together. A thinning cut is the complete removal of a cane. If you have multiple trunks, and can realistically remove some, remove the trunks over time. Most kiwi vines we see are not in a perfect two shape with one trunk and two main cordons. It is okay to work with what you have. Kiwi vines are incredibly durable and resilient, but it is always good to respect that the plant is a living organism that doesn’t need to be overly pruned at one time.

We hope this was clarifying and helpful. Wishing you all the best in your fruity endeavors!

Do you have questions or need help?

1. Schedule 1:1 Coaching or Full Service Care with us!

2. Check out the Home Orchard Education Center for workshops and more

3. Find articles and more with the Oregon State University Extension school

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