How to distinguish male actinidia from female actinidia?
Actinidia is a shrub deciduous vine that produces tasty and healthy fruits. A relative of Kiwi, unlike the latter, is capable of growing even in Siberia (actinidia Kolomikta) and is famous for its unpretentious cultivation. Unusual culture is unknown to the overwhelming majority of compatriots, so the owner of the exotic will always be able to surprise neighbors and guests.
Why know the gender of the flowers?
Despite the fact that actinidia is a rather rare inhabitant of Russian garden plots, a positive dynamics of its popularity growth has been noted. Knowledge about culture is disseminated through web-based descriptions and word of mouth. The owners of the overseas miracle (actinidia native to Southeast Asia) will never part with a green pet. Those who try the fruits of actinidia at least once will definitely want to settle it in their garden.
The plant is characterized by frost resistance, unpretentiousness, resistance to stressful situations caused by weather disasters, and strong immunity. Agrotechnical methods are not complicated, pests and diseases bypass it, and the decorative value is beyond praise. The fruits are characterized by a sweet and sour taste, reminiscent of kiwi, but they are much smaller in size (2-3 cm), as well as a rich chemical composition:
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vitamin C;
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vitamins: B1, B2, PP, A, E, Q (ubiquinone);
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trace elements: potassium, calcium, boron, sodium, magnesium.
However, in order to grow and get a harvest of wonderful fruits, you need to take care of the correct gender set of vines. There should be both "boys" and "girls" in the garden.
Very often, gardeners cannot wait for the fruits precisely because vines of the same sex grow on the site. The optimal combination is 4–5 female plants per male. Fruiting begins only in 3-4 years.
The main differences
It is extremely difficult to distinguish the male actinidia plant from the female (to determine which liana is female and which is male) is extremely difficult at any time of the year, with the exception of the flowering period. It is at this moment that you can clearly see what kind of species is in front of your eyes. Actinidia flowers are arranged in different ways (according to gender).
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Male flowers with many long thin stamens located in the center are folded into three-flowered inflorescences. At the ends of the stamens, yellow tufts of pollen are observed. The ovary is absent, most of the inflorescences quickly fall off.
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In female flowers, the flowering is single, in the center there is an ovary of a light green shade... The stamens are much shorter than the male version. Arranged in two rows, they are not in the center, but are scattered around the perimeter of the flower and are characterized by black tips. On the stigma of the ovary there are also white stamens.
There are varieties whose seedlings differ in foliage color.... The bushes for "girls" are covered with green leaves, for "boys" the ends of the leaves turn white in June and turn red in autumn. Before choosing a vine by sex, you should find out the variety, since the actinidia arguta is unisexual, and the kolomikta and polygamous are dioecious species.
It is necessary to take into account one more factor when buying seedlings: both kolomikta and polygamous vine are capable of self-pollination, however, the presence of a male plant significantly increases the yield.
What if the plant is unisexual?
Sometimes there are such troubles in the garden as the absence of an ovary on the male plant and the sterility of the stamens on the female. In this case, it is impossible to wait for fruiting, and there are two ways out. The first is the inoculation of the opposite sex. The second is planting a bush of the opposite sex next to it.
Such solutions will help to wait for a full harvest.
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