Kerry’s Garden

The trials and tribulations of one Kentucky gardener…

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Kiwi, iris, bamboo oh my

May 4th, 2008 · No Comments

Many people are surprised when I tell them I grow kiwi in Kentucky. No, not the fuzzy brown kiwis you can pick up at the local grocery. These are hardy kiwis, specifically Arctic Beauty. They are quite hardy, like the dappled shade and love to climb. A male and a female plant is needed for pollination.

Male Arctic Beauty Kiwi Flowers
This is the male.

Female Arctic Beauty Kiwi Flowers
This is the female.

Notice the difference in flowers between the two. You can click on either image for a larger photo. The wind was blowing a bit so please forgive the slight blurriness in the photos. These were the best out of the 20 or so I took.

Both of these kiwi vines are growing on a trellis near the house. This proved rather beneficial when we had scattered frost a few weeks ago. The vines were just starting to put out flower buds but none were open yet. The problem many people have growing kiwi in this area is that often they wake up earlier than they should for the local climate.

Autumn Circus iris
The iris are doing great this year. These Autumn Circus iris are preparing to bloom. The Lumilites are on their way out and the old yellows haven’t started yet.

Speaking of iris, I finally got Eric’s iris planted near where Donna’s went. The ones below are from Karen and are drying out a bit before planting. They needed some tlc to get them ready to go. This should be fun as I don’t have a clue as to what these are. Kinda like Christmas.

Karen's mixed iris

I recently read that when bamboo is planted it sleeps the first year, creeps the second year and leaps the third year. Guess what year this is.

Leap year

Tags: Flowers · Fruit · Kiwi · Ornamentals

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