Actinidia polygama - Orange Kiwi, Silver Vine

The fruits on the Actinidia polygama are droplet shaped with orange skin and flesh. Very rare. The fruits are the size of a gooseberry, but completely hairless so can be consumed without peeling. By having sweetly fragranced flowers and a good autumn coloration (yellow) it adds an ornamental value to the plant. Male and female flowers are born on different plants, so both male and female must be planted together to have fruits (there are self-fertile varieties though but the main species is dioecious). The Orange Kiwi takes 2-3 years to mature but from then on you can harvest your own kiwi. It is winter hardy, tolerating temperatures as low as -15 C. The plant develops shoots early in the spring that are sensitive to frost. However, they grow back once the frosts are gone. This species of kiwi is also an extremely vigorously growing vine, requiring a substantial supporting trellis. Despite the challenges, once one has sampled the fruit, kiwi growing seems well worth the trouble. We have fresh seedlings ready to dispatch - their sex is not yet known so you have better chances for both sexes to order 2-3 plants which you can easily propagate yourself by cuttings later, when you know their sex (you need to wait 1 or 2 years for that).