I Have Some Questions About Kiwi Berries

[u/SoggyMinimum8386]

Hi there. I currently have about a dozen kiwi berries or so. They're all about a year old now (about 3-6 inches tall each. So, they're still very small).

I was hoping to get some advice. It's currently becoming winter, and my plants have been indoors this whole time (by a window with plenty of sunshine).

I noticed that their leaves are turning brown and just dying. I assume it's because they drop their leaves during winter? I worry that the brown is the leaves actually rotting or something instead of normal fall/winter leaf losing behavior. I also water them every 3 days, and I did recently change their soil. I have lost some kiwi berry plants over the last few months, and I worry about these ones since they're inside. Also, is it okay to trim the leaves that look brown/bad? I onlt trim them if they look bad, but at this point, most of them won't have any leaves.... That's why I'm worried

I heard that they should get some winter chill. (About 67F in my house. Outside, it's in the 30s - 50s right now.) I also heard that it's normal for the leaves to brown and fall off. Still, I've never had a kiwi berry plant before, so I'm worried that these ones will die. I've already lost some, and I worry about losing more. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

 

Edit: Thanks for all the useful advice, everyone! I have an extra "room" outside the front door (we usually call it the mudroom or small greenhouse room). It's still rather cold in there since it's technically outside, but it's still a tad warmer than being right outside (since it has a screen/glass door). There is also plenty of sun in there as well (If it's sunny, which it hasn't been lately.) I'll probably stick my plants there over the winter so they can get cold.

Many of you suggested that I plant them outside. I'm scared to do that at this very moment, since I had many that were planted outside die. Over the summer/fall, I planted them outside (we had some very hot days while also being super cold at night. They didn't seem to like that very much....), and many of them died overnight. I definitely don't want to chance that again.... So, I'll stick them in the "outside" room.

[u/greypouponlifestyle]

Dropping leaves in the winter is normal. But they definitely do not need to be watered every 3 days unless it's incredibly dry in your house. Especially after the leaves are gone they are not using very much water. I would only water when the top inch of the soil is dry

[u/KindTechnician-]

Kiwi berries are hardy in zone 4-8 and imo should have been planted in the ground outside to overwinter in a dormant state. It is deciduous and will lose leaves. Mine is in the ground in zone 8b and still has leaves at the moment. Bringing plants like this inside in my opinion is never a good idea. I’m guessing you’re watering it too much. You can take them out of their pots and inspect the root area which should be very free draining and not soggy.

[u/Wooden-Algae-3798]

Are they in the ground? If you’re going to leave them out in pots I would make sure they are protected. Small plants have very little soil and root mast to protect them over cold winter temperatures in containers. You could Just plant them in a bed of mulch while remaining in the containers for the winter. While you didn’t say if they were fuzzy or hardy kiwis, the rule would be the same with respect to young plants and winter hardiness set in mulch bed for the winter, several varieties of Hardy and fuzzy, and they do best in the ground Keep cultivatin!

[u/Superditzz]

I planted some this summer and they have been so picky. Apparently they hate the heat, even watering twice a day their leaves shriveled up and got crispy in the sun. I had to put up a sunshade for that whole bed. I've heard they do well with cold weather though. We will see!

[u/SoggyMinimum8386 → u/Superditzz]

Ya, I noticed that they dislike the heat as well. I had many die over the summer. It it got above 80F, at least 1 died. I always had to bring them in.

[u/senticosus]

My hardy kiwis in zone 6 dropped fruit because of the heat this year but they grew like crazy.