How and when should kiwis be pruned?

You may want to have a kiwi in your garden and have doubts about how to care for it. Pruning is important for the kiwi tree, since it helps to suppress the shoots and branches so that the driest parts are removed and can better stimulate their growth.

To prune kiwis, we have to bear in mind that there are different types of pruning for them and that male and female specimens are not pruned exactly the same. Do you want to know how kiwis are pruned?

How to prune kiwis?

The kiwi is a plant to which two types of pruning are carried out. Let’s get to know each one in detail:

Formation pruning

Training pruning is important so that our plant maintains a strong structure and can support the main branches well. This training pruning is done during the first 3 or 4 years of age of our kiwi and in the winter time. At this time, the plant is inactive and can be guided only on a single trunk and a pair of lateral arms.

In this type of pruning no differentiation between male and female specimens.

Fruiting pruning

This pruning is the most important so that the tree can obtain a good balance between vegetative growth and fruit production. This pruning is carried out both in winter and in summer and is different in the case of male or female specimens.

Winter pruning for female specimens

With this pruning we are defining the level of fruit production given the number of branches and buds of each plant. Kiwifruit only bears fruit on the shoots born in that year on the branches formed the previous year. It never bears fruit where it has already produced.

Therefore, this forces us to make a good distribution of the buds that are fruitful, eliminating the lateral branches that have already produced.

Winter pruning for male specimens

This pruning serves to get the largest number of production companies possible. The oldest and weakest branches or those that shade the female plant have to be removed.

Summer pruning for female plants

This pruning is done to remove some uninteresting shoots for fruiting and vegetation is reduced. In this way it is possible to increase the ventilation and illumination of the renewal shoots. This pruning is done in mid-spring.

Summer pruning of male plants

This pruning is done at the end of flowering and is done to avoid shading female plants after pollination and ensure the necessary and sufficient renewal wood for the next season.

When are kiwis pruned?

As we have commented above, each type of pruning is done at a specific time of the year. For example, training pruning, as it consists of removing entire branches, is done at the end of winter, since that is when the sap still circulates slowly but increasingly faster, something that contributes to the rapid healing of pruning wounds.

On the other hand, summer pruning consists of removing green and therefore thinner stems, so the loss of sap is less.

When are kiwis harvested?

Kiwis are harvested in the fall. In Spain, it is usually between October and November, but it can be earlier or later depending on weather conditions. For example: in warmer climates they ripen earlier than in cooler ones. In any case, we will know that they are ripe if they have reached the right size, that is, more or less 5-6 centimeters long by 3-4 centimeters wide, and if we gently press a little bit, we notice that to be soft

Later, you can consume it directly after having removed the shell, or put it in the fridge where it can remain for up to a month, or in the fruit bowl, although if you choose to leave it there you will have to eat it soon as it spoils quickly.

I hope that with this information you can prune your kiwis without any problem.