Plant · P-477

Arctic Kiwi

Actinidia kolomikta

Arctic Kiwi is the hardiest of the edible kiwi vines, a twining climber from cold parts of eastern Asia that survives dormant winters to about -30 C. Its small, smooth-skinned fruit is sweet and holds several times the vitamin C of blackcurrant, though the vine bears earlier and stays more compact than its relatives, yielding up to 15 lb once established. The pink-and-white variegated foliage is the catch - it scorches in strong sun and wants afternoon and winter shade, which pulls against the full sun that gives the best variegation and heaviest crop, and it also draws cats the way catnip does, so young plants need a guard.