Growing kiwis in the garden: Climate change makes it possible
Created: 08/08/2022, 02:00 p.m
By: Joana Lück
Small, delicious and exotic: Kiwis are among the most popular fruits.
Thanks to rising temperatures, they can also be grown more and more often in Germany.
Kiwis aren't the first fruit to be associated with gardening.
At least not yet!
Higher temperatures ensure that the exotic plant from the radiant pen family feels more and more at home in Germany.
Growing kiwis in the garden: climate change makes it possible
Kiwis belong to the ray-pen family and come from China.
© Erwin Wodicka/Imago
Hairy on the outside, pithy on the inside: Kiwis are among the most popular exotic fruits.
Thanks to its high content of vitamins C, E and B vitamins, the berry is a real vitamin bomb.
But very few people come up with the idea of growing them in their own garden.
In this country, kiwis require conditions similar to those of grapes.
In addition, the high carbon footprint associated with importing kiwifruit could be a thing of the past, because as
Der Standard
reports, kiwifruit are the frontrunners in terms of emissions, alongside avocados and mangoes.
If they no longer have to be imported from thousands of kilometers away, but are instead grown in this country due to rising temperatures, then this is at least a creative approach to dealing with climate change and even making use of it.
However, there are a few things you should keep in mind if you want to cultivate kiwis in your own garden:
Kiwis do not tolerate frost well and the shoots in particular are very endangered by late frost.
Even if you live in a warm region or in a wine-growing region, your kiwis will thrive best in a place that is sheltered from the wind.
The location must be warm and bright, but not in full sun.
A framework, trellis, pergola or similar is important for kiwis so that the plant can hold on to it.
Another thing to keep in mind is that you need both a female and a male plant when growing.
You can find even more exciting garden topics in the free 24garten.de newsletter, which you can subscribe to here.
But even if a year turns out to be less hot, there are special varieties that get by with more moderate temperatures: The Starella variety (Actinidia deliciosa) can be grown in Central Europe at altitudes of up to 500 meters and produces particularly large fruits.
The smooth-skinned Arguta kiwis, on the other hand, are wind and frost-resistant and can withstand temperatures of up to minus 20 degrees.
Kiwiberries are also absolutely hardy.
