If your kiwi plant does not bear any fruit, this is often due to incorrect pruning. There are a few things to consider here.
As with all fruit-bearing plants, it is also important for the kiwi plant that you prune it regularly. This is not only important to maintain the growth habit, it also always has a positive effect on the crop yield. Prune the plant regularly, finally removing old and diseased wood, which in turn ensures that the plant remains young and strong and the fruit can develop optimally. In order for this to succeed, however, it is important to know when and, above all, how to prune kiwi plants correctly.
When and how are kiwi plants pruned?
In any case, it is advisable to cut kiwis twice a year, whereby the months
are the best times.- July and August (summer cut) and
- February and March (winter cut)
apply. However, there are different cutting times for the winter cut depending on the climate of the region in which the plant is located. So it is advisable to cut the kiwis growing in mild zones as early as January, as there is a risk of bleeding due to the increased juice pressure. In the summertime, however, you don't have to worry about this, because the healing of the cuts is much faster in the warmer months.
How to properly prune kiwi plants
» average in year 1:
Kiwis should always be allowed to grow for the first few years. So you can be absolutely sure that your kiwi plants will also bear fruit. Most people cut wildly right from the start and are then surprised that their kiwis don't bear any fruit. So it's best you don't make a radical cut for the first three years. During this time, however, it is important that you fasten the strongest side shoots on both sides to horizontal tension wires about 80 centimeters apart.
» Average in Year 2:
In the second year, these main shoots will form side shoots, which you will have to shorten to around four to six leaves several times in the summer.
» average in year 3:
In the third year, the fruit shoots form on the side shoots, which in the same year theform the first flower buds. In the summer it will be time to trim them. And so far that behind the last flower bud there are about three to four leaves.
» Cut from the 4th year:
From the 4th year you can always make the winter and summer cut as follows:
Winter Cut:
You must now always remove the fruit shoots that bore fruit in the previous year in February or March. They wouldn't form any new flowers anyway. Only leave the strongest young shoots that have not yet formed fruit. Also, shorten this to five eyes. From this, new fruit-bearing shoots emerge. You have to cut back the other side shoots to 4 eyes.
Now you also have to remove old, diseased and crooked branches. This also applies to susceptible water instincts. These must now be removed. In this way you rejuvenate the plants, which will then reward you with a rich kiwi harvest the following year, because thanks to the pruning they will develop better.
Summer cut:
In summer it is time to shorten the shoots to around eight to ten leaves after flowering. This guarantees that the nutrients get into the fruit and not into the new shoots. You also thin out the kiwi plant, which means that the fruit receives more sunlight and can develop much better.