callosa kiwi

Photo: fagushayata — CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Survives zone 7 through 9

Harvest calendar

Best planted in early spring after your last frost, or in fall before the ground freezes, depending on your climate.

⚠ Essentially unknown in Western horticulture — no commercial cultivars or nursery availability found. Small (18–50mm), grayish-green-skinned fruit described in the literature as having a delicate flavour; eaten fresh or in jams within its native range.

Hardiness

Zone 7–9

Habit

Vine

Edible part

Fruit

Ripens

Autumn

Mature size

Vine to about 10 m on a strong trellis, and reported far longer in the wild

Light

Full sun to partial

Soil pH

5.0–6.5 (slightly acid)

Environment

Montane forest

Native range

Himalaya through Yunnan (China), Taiwan, N. Indochina, Myanmar, Vietnam, south to Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra; 400–2,600 m elevation

Status

Wild

Years to fruit

3–5 yrs

Growth speed

Medium, climbing to about 9 m — some forms reach considerably more.

Spacing

400 cm (157 in) apart — about 16 m² (172 sq ft) per plant

Leaf shape

Oval to oblong, finely and regularly toothed, tapering to a short point, 8–13 cm long, hairless on both surfaces.

Root system

Thick, fleshy and shallow, densest in the top 30–60 cm and spreading sideways rather than down. This is the plant's weak point: fleshy roots plus a very high transpiration rate make it exceptionally intolerant of waterlogging, and saturated soil is exactly what Phytophthora crown and root rot needs. Plant on a slope or a raised bed, never in a hollow.

Fruit description

Egg-shaped to oblong berries, 18–50 mm, green tinged with red and spotted, turning greyish-green when fully ripe; delicate but acidic flavor.

Propagation

Semi-ripe or softwood cuttings under mist, or grafting for named cultivars. Seed germinates readily but is close to useless for a crop: sex is not visible until the vine first flowers, several years on, so a seedling batch is a lottery of males and females.

Pollination

DIOECIOUS — needs male and female plants

The edible parts listed above are a starting point, not a field guide. Identify a plant with certainty — ideally against a local authority — before eating any part of it, and read the full disclaimer. Spotted something wrong? Report it.