Best kiwi tree for a UK garden
Updated: October 2026
You want one kiwi tree, and best is being used for three different gardens. A warm wall with room for a single vine is not the same job as a pair grown for large fuzzy fruit, and neither is a colder plot that would rather have a smaller berry. By the end you should know which named plant matches your space, and which amazon.co.uk listing in this set can carry that name. The [kiwi tree comparison](/hub/trees-and-palms/kiwi-tree) scores the six kept plants. There is no UK laboratory ranking of these vines, and this page does not invent a taste test.
You want one kiwi tree, and best is being used for three different gardens.
You want one kiwi tree, and best is being used for three different gardens. A warm wall with room for a single vine is not the same job as a pair grown for large fuzzy fruit, and neither is a colder plot that would rather have a smaller berry. By the end you should know which named plant matches your space, and which amazon.co.uk listing in this set can carry that name. The kiwi tree comparison scores the six kept plants. There is no UK laboratory ranking of these vines, and this page does not invent a taste test.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Cultivar | Pollination | Supplied as | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  Carbeth Plants Carbeth Plants kiwi in a 9 cm pot | Not named | Not stated | 9 cm pot | 6.0 | about £9.99 | View offer |
 Carbeth Plants Carbeth Plants kiwi 'Jenny' in a 9 cm pot | Jenny | Self-fertile | 9 cm pot | 7.0 | about £9.99 | View offer | |
| Alternative |  la iberica la iberica female kiwi, 2 years, 150 cm | Not named | Female | 150 cm stated | 1.9 | about £21.75 | View offer |
On this page
Best when you have room for one vine
If you can host one vine on a warm, sheltered wall, Jenny is the fuzzy plant the RHS lists as self-fertile. The profile rates it H4, about -10 to -5°C while the wood is dormant, with hairy fruit, roughly 4–8 m by 2.5–4 m. Carbeth’s 9 cm Jenny at about £9.99 states 6 m by 4 m and a self-fertile claim. It is the only kept ASIN that names Jenny.
Issai is the other one-plant answer: self-fertile Actinidia arguta, H5, about 2.5–4 m, smooth fruit around 2.5 cm eaten whole. Choose it when the garden is colder. Skip it if you want hairy supermarket fruit. The hardy kiwi berry page stays with that species. None of the six amazon plants here is a clean labelled Issai.
Solissimo, also sold as Renact, is the other self-fertile fuzzy name on the RHS database, again H4. If the label does not print the name, you do not have this plant. A 9 cm pot is a liner.
Best when you want the familiar large fruit
Hayward is the female most people mean by a supermarket kiwi. It is not self-fertile. The RHS pairs it with a male such as Tomuri, and Gardeners' World also names Atlas. You need two vines about 3–4.5 m apart. Flowers without a compatible male are a green summer and an empty autumn.
Skip Hayward if you only have one fence panel, or if the only male is a pollinator for baby kiwis. Weiki belongs with arguta females such as Ken's Red, not with Hayward. The Carbeth listing whose title says Jumbo and whose body describes Weiki is that trap, at the same about £9.99. The self-fertile or pair page sets out the names that belong together. The RHS allows three or four years before fruit, and a heavy crop in year one is not an RHS claim.
What this amazon batch can and cannot win
Only Carbeth Jenny, about £9.99, 3.1 from 14 reviews, names a self-fertile cultivar, with a harvest window of August to October. One review describes a plant that looked almost dead, then a couple of green shoots, and a parcel that took about eight weeks. The listing says smooth-skinned fruit. The RHS Jenny profile says hairy fruit. Buy it for the name, and do not treat the skin sentence as settled.
The unnamed Carbeth pot at the same price is the best value line on review volume, 3.8 from 368, and it has no variety. The 150 cm la iberica trees at about £21.75 and about £26.10 state sex and stop. Open the Jenny listing first, and use the kiwi tree buying guide before you substitute a taller unnamed tree.
Who should skip each pick
Skip Jenny if you will not fleece new shoots in a frost pocket, or if you want a grape-sized berry eaten with the skin on. H4 does not mean May growth survives a late frost. Skip Issai if you want shop-sized hairy fruit, and skip Hayward if you cannot plant the male. Skip every unnamed amazon tree if the point was to stop guessing.
Common questions
What is the best kiwi if I can only plant one?
Plant a named self-fertile cultivar. For hairy fruit on a warm UK wall, that is Jenny, with Solissimo as the other RHS self-fertile fuzzy name. For a smaller, hardier dormant vine and smooth fruit, that is Issai. In this amazon set, only the Carbeth Jenny at about £9.99 carries one of those names. An unnamed male or female is not a one-plant solution.
Is Jenny better than Hayward?
Jenny is the better fit when you have room for one vine, because the RHS lists it as self-fertile. Hayward is the better fit when you want the familiar large female fruit and you will plant a male such as Tomuri or Atlas about 3–4.5 m away. Neither name fruits to order in year one. Better here means the plant matches the number of vines you can prune.
Is Issai better in a colder garden?
Issai is the harder dormant wood, H5 rather than the H4 of Jenny, and the vine is smaller, about 2.5–4 m. That is the RHS comparison, not a trial of Scottish winters. Spring shoots of both species still scorch in a late frost, so fleece still matters. It is the wrong pick if you wanted hairy fruit the size of a shop kiwi.
Does the best plant fruit in year one?
Do not expect it to. The RHS says kiwi plants may take three or four years to fruit. The Jenny profile often talks about fruit within three years of planting. A 9 cm pot is the start of that wait. A harvest line of August to October on a listing is the season, once the vine is old enough, not a promise for the first autumn after delivery.
Which of these amazon plants is the best buy?
Among the six kept listings, Carbeth Jenny at about £9.99 is the one that names a self-fertile cultivar and states 6 m by 4 m. The limit is a 3.1 rating from 14 reviews and a smooth-skin line that clashes with the RHS. The unnamed pot at the same price has more reviews and no name. The about £21.75 to about £26.10 trees add height and a sex word, and still omit the cultivar.
Do I still need a male with a self-fertile plant?
Not for Jenny, Issai or Solissimo, if the label really is that cultivar. The RHS treats those as plants that can crop without a partner. Do not add a random male to be sure and expect a published percentage increase. That figure is not in the RHS pages used here. A female that is not one of those names still needs a male of the same species.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources from the research digest, used for this page in October 2026. Prices, stars and review counts are from the amazon.co.uk listings written up on 20 October 2026. This is not a taste test or a hardiness trial.
- RHS, How to grow kiwi fruit (retrieved October 2026)
- RHS, Actinidia deliciosa 'Jenny' (retrieved October 2026)
- RHS, Actinidia arguta 'Issai' (retrieved October 2026)
- RHS, Actinidia deliciosa Solissimo (retrieved October 2026)
- GOV.UK, Issuing plant passports to trade plants in Great Britain (retrieved October 2026)
- Defra, Plant passport FAQ (retrieved October 2026)
- Gardeners' World, Kiwis grow guide (retrieved October 2026)