North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Alan Haigh" <alandhaigh@gmail.com>]

I used to be very enthusiastic about kiwis but have not succeeded in getting reliable annual production out of them.  It may well be a problem of pollination as the bees seem to become scarce some seasons just as they flower for reasons that escape me.  I personally don't find the fruit all that useful although I enjoy quite a few of them directly off the plants but I'm not inspired enough to do the necessary diagnostics to solve the yield problem. 

 

In zone 5 I recommend you stick with arguta and stay away from kolamitka varieties because arguta blooms later and is less likely to have blossoms frozen out.  Birds haven't been a problem for me with kiwis, even with my favorite red fruited plant whose name I've lost.  In my area birds tend to be less of an issue with any fruit that ripens from Sept. on-  grapes being an exception to this.

 

In zone 5 you can grow any of the earlier ripening paw-paws but you may want to experiment with varieties ripening later as they tend to be somewhat richer in my limited experience.  Sunflower fits in this category here.

 

Alan Haigh, The Home Orchard Co., zone 6, southeastern NY