Kiwifruit Flowers

Today's the day ....................... for fingers crossed

We've had a kiwifruit vine somewhere in the garden, wherever we've lived for probably the past fifteen years or so - but we have never, ever managed to produce an actual kiwifruit.

The problem no doubt has been because kiwifruit flowers are notoriously difficult to fertilise.  Kiwifruit plants generally are either male or female. The male plants have flowers that produce pollen, the females receive the pollen to fertilize their ovules and grow fruit.  It is possible to get plants like the one above, that are supposedly self-pollinating, but I remain to be convinced.  It could have something to do with the fact that the flowers are not very attractive to honey bees, their main pollinators, mainly because the flowers do not produce nectar and bees quickly learn to prefer flowers with nectar.

We shall see?!  The vine is covered in flowers this year - fingers crossed they turn into fruit .....................