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nafex - [NAFEX] Bees Don't Like my Kiwis

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  • From: Alan Haigh <alandhaigh@gmail.com>
  • To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [NAFEX] Bees Don't Like my Kiwis
  • Date: Wed, 8 Jun 2011 16:08:37 -0500

So much in the kiwi literature expounds on the necessity of nearby male
plants for reliable cropping, but I can't help but wonder if this isn't a
misunderstanding of the pollination issues with this fruit.


I have plenty of male argutas in the mix but watching closely the last
couple of years I notice that my various native pollinators are not very
interested in cold hardy kiwis (actinidia arguta).


The funny thing is that it's supposed to be pears that the buzzers avoid but
those blossoms are well tended in my orchard and others I manage.


I don't know if it's because there are more attractive flowers during kiwis
bloom time or what- certainly the multi-flora roses are drawing huge crowds
as did the blackberry blossoms. I can't really eliminate the competition to
find out (although I'm at constant warfare with the multiflora) but almost
everything else is getting some action. The kiwis seem to be the
wallflowers that no one wants to dance with.


Of course, my heroic carpenter bees make a little effort, maybe in the
spirit of keeping the plain girl at the dance from being depressed, but I
suspect this will be another year of very light fruit set. It has been many
years since there's been a bumper crop.


I can prune the plants for tremendous floral display (and they are pretty
and very aromatic flowers, especially on the Rosanna that hangs over the
entrance of my house) and I can make the flowers easy to find, by pruning
away interfering shoots, but I can't make the bees come. The good news is
that I’m not crazy about kiwis anyway and their main function is to hide
things on my property I don’t want to see.




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