North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Mauch1@aol.com]

First in all things kiwi, I would bow to Bob Glanzman or Les Beachy.  But 
here's what I "know":

I suspect that these would be Actinidia kolomitka. 

>My question is that the little guys seem to be full of  >blooms (little 
>white 
>balls among the new leaves).
>Both the supposedly male and female sticks show these, is >that the way they 
>are?
The blooms would eventually open.  You should be able to verify whether the 
male and female are what they are supposed to be there is a difference 
between the flowers (the female has an ovary that will become the fruit):

>Should I painstakingly pick off these blooms to help the >stem and leaf 
>growth.....or just let nature take its course?
When starting new cuttings (of almost anything) I never leave flowers on the 
first year.  I would only leave flowers on to verify the male/female sex of 
your cutting and then remove them after that.  They may not flower for 
several years after this, so this is a good time to verify.

Young kiwis are fairly notorious for not being as hardy when young as when 
they get older (plus I believe they are susceptible to sap rising on warm 
sunny days and then freezing when the temp drops).  You may want to protect 
them this fall and maybe the next year until they're established.

Here's a link that shows the male and female flowers:
http://www.kiwiberry.com/growerresearch.htm

Chris Mauchline
SE PA, zone 6

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