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How to grow a kiwi tree in the UK

Updated: October 2026

You have chosen the plant, or you are about to put a 9 cm pot in the ground, and the vine will not behave like an apple tree. It twines, it fruits on new shoots from last year’s wood, and the fruit often finishes ripening in a bowl indoors. Sex and species stay on the [self-fertile or pair](/hub/trees-and-palms/kiwi-tree/sub/kiwi-tree-self-fertile-or-pair) page. The named shortlist is the [best kiwi tree](/hub/trees-and-palms/kiwi-tree/sub/kiwi-tree-best) page. The [kiwi tree comparison](/hub/trees-and-palms/kiwi-tree) is the six listings. This is the Royal Horticultural Society method, written up on 20 October 2026. There is no crop trial.

You have chosen the plant, or you are about to put a 9 cm pot in the ground, and the vine will not behave like an apple tree.

Our top picks

Carbeth Plants Carbeth Plants kiwi in a 9 cm pot

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Carbeth Plants Carbeth Plants kiwi in a 9 cm pot
6.0/10about £9.99
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Carbeth Plants Carbeth Plants Actinidia Jumbo in a 9 cm pot

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Carbeth Plants Carbeth Plants Actinidia Jumbo in a 9 cm pot
3.9/10about £9.99
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Carbeth Plants Carbeth Plants kiwi 'Jenny' in a 9 cm pot

Rank 3

Carbeth Plants Carbeth Plants kiwi 'Jenny' in a 9 cm pot
7.0/10about £9.99
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On this page
  1. 1.Where it will grow
  2. 2.Planting and the first framework
  3. 3.Summer and winter pruning
  4. 4.Frost, water and picking

Where it will grow

Give it full sun and shelter, on a south- or west-facing wall if you have one. The Jenny listing says the same, and adds well-drained soil. Late frost burns new shoots even when the dormant wood is hardy, so a frost pocket is a poor site. Partial shade on some Carbeth pages is tolerance, not a brief to plant under a dense tree. Use wires you can reach twice a year, about 40–50 cm apart on an RHS espalier. An unpruned kiwi can exceed 8 m. Space two plants about 3–4.5 m apart. A wall base is often a rain shadow. Do not sink the stem in winter wet. Keep mulch off the stem.

Planting and the first framework

Plant in spring, March to May, once the soil has warmed. Set the plant at the same depth it was in the pot, and water it in. None of these listings states a feed rate. Train one stem as a trunk and tie it to a cane, then to the wires. Rub off sideshoots you do not want. When the trunk reaches the lower wire, start the cordons along that wire. A 9 cm plant often arrives leafless. Reviewers of the unnamed Carbeth pot describe that stick, and some saw growth after repotting. If nothing has moved after the spring flush and the stem is brittle and brown all the way down, it is dead. Height on delivery is not a framework.
Carbeth Plants Carbeth Plants kiwi in a 9 cm pot

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Carbeth Plants Carbeth Plants kiwi in a 9 cm pot
6.0/10about £9.99
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Summer and winter pruning

Fruit is carried on new shoots from last year’s wood. A hedge-trimmer pass in August removes the crop. In summer, once flowering is over, pinch fruiting laterals to about four or five leaves beyond the fruit, and non-fruiting laterals to about five leaves. Blackmoor’s guidance uses a different bud count. Do not mix the two on one vine. In winter, before growth starts, cut fruited wood back to about three or four buds. Take out weak, crossing and dead stems. A late cut into active growth can bleed. If you inherited a thicket, spend the first winter making one trunk and a few arms. Tie as you prune, and loosen soft ties before they bite the bark. If you cannot reach the top wire safely, stop and call someone with the right ladder.

Frost, water and picking

Fleece is for new shoots and blossom, held off the flowers, not a winter coat on the dormant rod. Both the fuzzy kiwi and the berry scorch in a May frost. H4 or H5 is the dormant plant. Take the fleece off once the risk has passed. Carbeth listings that state a moisture need say moderate watering. A wall base can stay dry in a wet week. None of the la iberica pages names the fertiliser in the box. Pick firm fruit before a hard autumn frost and ripen it indoors. The RHS says fruit often will not finish on the vine in the UK. August to October on the Jenny page is the window, not a date to strip it green. For honey fungus, Phytophthora, or a quarantine pest, contact the Plant Health and Seeds Inspectorate.

Common questions

When should I plant a kiwi in the UK?
Plant in spring, once the soil is warm, roughly March to May if frost is still a risk you can cover. The RHS and Gardeners' World point to that spring planting. A 9 cm pot set out into cold, wet soil in January is the harder start. Have fleece ready for the first new shoots if a late frost is forecast.
Does it have to be a south-facing wall?
South or west is the RHS preference, and it is what the Jenny listing states: sheltered, full sun to partial shade. You want sun on the wood and protection from the coldest wind. A bright fence that is not a wall can work if the soil is free-draining and you can water it. A shaded north side is the site to avoid if fruit is the point.
How far apart should two kiwi vines be?
About 3–4.5 m, which is the RHS spacing. That gap is there so each vine can carry cordons you can still prune. Closer planting looks thrifty and then forces you to cut one of them out. The distance does not fix a species mismatch. A male berry plant 4 m from a fuzzy female is still the wrong pollen.
Will the fruit ripen on the vine?
Often it will not, in a UK autumn. Pick firm fruit before a hard frost and ripen it indoors, which is the RHS method. Do not leave the crop out for a November freeze because a shop kiwi is soft when you buy it. Softening happens after picking. The August to October line on the Jenny listing is the window to judge, once the vine is old enough to crop.
How often do I water?
Keep a new 9 cm plant moist in dry weather and do not waterlog it. Listings in this set that mention water say moderate watering. On a wall, check the soil at the base, because rain may not reach it. An established vine still wants water in a drought. No listing here gives a litre count, so the test is the compost, not a timer.
What if the 9 cm plant arrives leafless?
It may be dormant. Repot or plant it at the same depth, water it moderately, and wait through the spring flush before you decide it is dead. Reviewers of the unnamed Carbeth pot describe both outcomes: new growth after care, and plants that never shot. A stem that is brittle and lifeless after that flush is a faulty plant. A stem that is merely bare in the box is not, by itself, a reason to throw it away.

Related pages

Kiwi tree buying guide

Kiwi tree

Best kiwi tree for one wall, a pair or a cold plot

Hardy kiwi berry versus a fuzzy kiwi tree in the UK

A self-fertile kiwi tree or a male and female pair

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.

  1. RHS, How to grow kiwi fruit (retrieved October 2026)
  2. RHS, Actinidia deliciosa 'Jenny' (retrieved October 2026)
  3. RHS, Actinidia arguta 'Issai' (retrieved October 2026)
  4. RHS, Actinidia deliciosa Solissimo (retrieved October 2026)
  5. GOV.UK, Issuing plant passports to trade plants in Great Britain (retrieved October 2026)
  6. Defra, Plant passport FAQ (retrieved October 2026)
  7. Gardeners' World, Kiwis grow guide (retrieved October 2026)