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by Debbie J on November 06, 2005 05:45 PM
??? please help ???

I was given a kiwi tree, a lemon tree and a raspberry bush all in pots. I live in Germany and it is very cold. i have some questions.

1) How can I best grow these tree's inside?

2) what soil is best for each plant /tree?

3) how often to water and how much)

4) sun vs. indoor light

5) when is it best to move them outside?

thank you for any information you may have. I am very new at this

Debbie
by Longy on November 07, 2005 02:16 AM
Debbie, do you know the cultivar of the kiwi fruit? Some can be grown in cold conditions and will be OK outside in the ground. They are a vine and can become quite large.

The raspberry is a deciduous cold weather plant and can be grown outside also. It will be OK to plant into the ground in spring . Prepare the soil with compost and well rotted manures. Dig it in and give a week or two to settle then plant the raspberry cane. Mulch and water well.

The lemon requires a top quality potting medium and maximum available sunlight. A bright window inside, then move outside once temperatures rise above freezing. You could move it out thru the day and bring it back in once the warmth has gone out of the sun in the afternoon in spring . A gro light will probably be necessary to keep it healthy thru winter. Regarding water, while inside, you should only water when the top of the soil is dry to a depth of a centimetre or so. If it isn't growing it won't require as much water. Once outside, water well while the plant is growing. Fertilise in spring when fresh growth appears.

I'm not a cold weather gardener so other more experienced gardeners may have some more accurate advice. Good luck and don't worry about being new to gardening. We're all still learning.

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The secret is the soil.
by papito on November 07, 2005 11:16 PM
Add this to the info from Longy:

Growing Lemon Tree Indoor.

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Amor est vitae essentia.
Love is the essence of life.
by Debbie J on November 08, 2005 05:35 PM
Thank you! All the ifo is great. The lemon tree is in great shape, I already have one lemon and it looks to be turning yellow. I might have had more but my 2 yr old picked them. Im trying to save the kiwi and the raspberry, both were given to me in bad shape. We'll see what I can do with the info given.
Thanks again,
Debbie J
by DeepCreekLake on January 15, 2006 10:21 AM
Is the Kiwi a Fuzzy Kiwi or and smooth skin Kiwi plant? Most of the smooth skin kiwis are very cold hardy, Fuzzy are not! You also need two Kiwis plants, one male, one female to produce fruit both for fuzzy, and Hardy Kiwis. The female vines are the only one that will bear fruit, the males are just for pollination. Kiwis can grow quite long and large, and produce alot of fruit (up to 100lbs a vine), growing them in doors is probably not a great idea. Ideally they need a trellis, or something else to grow on, and also require alot of pruning once the vines gets some size to it. Also most Hardy/smooth skin Kiwis need a chilling period to bear fruit- so planting outdoors is ideal for those.
by obywan59 on January 15, 2006 02:28 PM
DeepCreekLake is right on all counts. I have a couple of young kiwi plants, that I am going to be building a trellis for. Here is the basic design:

http://berrygrape.oregonstate.edu/fruitgrowing/berrycrops/kiwi/kiwitrel.htm

I'm going to set 2 posts 15 feet apart and use the single 6 foot crossarms (not the winged) with turnbuckles on each of the 5 wires to keep them tight. My kiwi vines will be trained up to center of the trellis and then 2 main branches will be allowed to grow out to the posts on either side.

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Terry

May the force be with you
by DeepCreekLake on January 16, 2006 08:38 AM
I built and T bar trellis for mine. It has a top bar at 7 feet high, and a lower bar at 3.5 feet on each post. It has 3 posts, spaced at 10 feet apart. Run a good gauge wire at top looping on the ends of the post, on each side, and on the lower bars at at each side. Drill holes in the T bars to run your wires, and give each side of the upper and lower a "fence tensioner" (total of 4). The center post arms just have holes to run wires through. I use pressure treated lumber, and weathersealed those using Thompsons water seal to slow break down of the woods, as well as give it a nicer looks ( matches my deck!) The post are cemented/anchored into the ground. Place your trellis in full sun. I have 6 vines Hardy Kiwi(Antinidia Argutas)4 of them are females , and 2 males.I planted the females on the end and center posts so they can use the post to climb, since they'll will bear more weight from fruit. The males are in the center in between posts, since they will just grow for pollination, You can trim back the male plants, once they are finished flowering,and pollinizing. Once the females reach the top wires, drape the canes over the top wires (can tie them to wires for more support until the vines grab the wires on there own)let them grow down to the bottom wires, and repeat process back up as back up to give more for the vines to grab, in less space. The 4 wire set up on a T bar trellis is good because it allows the sun to penetrate the center, and cause better fruiting and growing etc.
by obywan59 on January 23, 2006 03:48 PM
I finished my kiwi trellis yesterday. I nailed a 15 foot 2x4 between the posts as a brace. Even though had I cemented the posts in, when I went to tighten the wires, the one post started to lean. My posts are cedar and I just used a plain untreated 2x4 for the brace. I don't like using treated lumber around my fruits.

I have 2 argutas and 2 kolimiktas. One male and one female of each. I intend to get one other arguta female. Only the arguta female I have now will have the T-bar trellis. The others will have to make do with a single-top-wire trellis.

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Terry

May the force be with you

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