Actinidia kolomikta / Kiwi Vine

Planted in spring 2013.

The male foliage is more strongly variegated, with white and pink leaf tips. (It typically doesn't show the variegation in the first years, though)

In 2013 we put a metal arbor and gate at the entrance to the gravel garden. I got a tiny male kiwi vine from Lazy S (quart container) and planted it to the left side of the arbor, just behind the magnolia in this picture.

6/12/13 the kiwi vine will climb the arbor from the left side

Its base is hidden by the huge purple aromatic asters, but the kiwi vine is there, climbing the metal structure.

10/14/14 -- it's there, on the left side of the arbor

In 2015 the vine came back strongly in spring and flowered in late May.

Leafing out 5/4/15 and flowering 5/22/15

By July it had added lots of climbing growth, well up the arbor. Then it stopped and did not put on any more length for the rest of the season.

 No coloration on the leaves yet as of 2016.

6/14/16

Notes on pruning for size:

This grows to 15 feet.  Kolomikta vines respond to drastic pruning – lop out some of the main framework of branches in winter to a younger sideshoot lower down on the climber.

Prune in summer to control and for shape: cut back terminal growth to 4 - 6 leaves beyond the last flower. This removal may be substantial during the summer.

Established plants should have the previous year’s growth cut back by about half its length, cutting back to an outward-facing bud.