As regular readers know, we now have several fruit trees growing in tubs in the garden. Being in tubs I am always concerned that the roots may be damaged if we have keen frosts over winter and so just to give a bit of extra protection during the worst of the winter I wrap the tubs up with bubblewrap.
As colder weather is being forecast I thought that I had better get the winter protection in place and now the tubs have been supplied with their winter jackets.
Each tub has been wrapped in four layers of wrapping which has been tied in position at the top and bottom. Excess wrapping has been tucked around the top of the pot.
Last year we kept the kiwi - Issai in the cold greenhouse but this year we are trying it outdoors. Since buying the plant two years ago. we have been disappointed in that it has never managed to produce mature fruits. Each year things have looked very promising and then each year the plant has suddenly fallen victim to red spider mite. The infestation has been so bad that all the young fruitlets and even all the leaves have fallen. The plant then recovers and grows new leaves but sadly the chance of any fruit has gone.
We are hoping that by keeping the plant outdoors over winter there may be less chance of the red spider mite taking a hold. We will also be on the look-out for the first signs of any spider mite symptoms and try to get on top of any potential attack. Apparently there are biological controls that can be used outdoors and we will have the Savona ready - so spider mites beware.
Before wrapping the kiwi I noticed that the fungus that we noticed growing on the top of the pot earlier in September ...
... and which we maybe should have removed then, had become brown and slimy.
I scraped all this off before wrapping round the bubblewrap.
I know the extremely wet conditions has created just right conditions in which fungus thrives but I do wonder if something in the compost had encouraged the growth of this particular fungus as we haven't found it elsewhere in the garden or in any of the other pots.
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Weird fungus. Hope keeping the Kiwi outside works.
ReplyDeleteSo do I Liz - I'm going to be on the look out for those spider mite - apparently it's a common problem with this plant!
DeleteThat's a good idea to protect the roots. I may have to copy your idea now that I've got more trees in pots, especially as some of them aren't in very big containers.
ReplyDeleteAlways better to be over cautious, Jo.
DeleteMaybe the fungus is edible, and you have a second crop in the one pot!
ReplyDeleteI'll send you some to try if it returns, Mark
DeleteI heard that Kiwi fruit (Actinidia?) are quite hardy. Is yours the same?
ReplyDeleteIssai has mini fruits, Matron and is sometimes called a kiwi berry. We got ours from here It's supposed to be hardy. We have a couple of 'ordinary' kiwis on the plot - a male and a female although as yet the male is reluctant to flower. They are winter hardy but a frost will severely burn the first lot of leaves.
DeleteGood idea to wrap the plants. Red spider might can be such a pain.
ReplyDeleteIt certainly is Kelli - fingers crossed that they get too chilly to survive winter - the spider mites that is.
DeleteSomeone kindly donated a huge amount of bubble wrap to our allotments a few weeks ago so people can start doing this sort of thing.
ReplyDeleteI have found fungi all over this year...also in random pots so I don't think it's something in your compost Sue...I even have it popping up all over my lawn!!
I wish I knew more about it and whether it was safe to harvest as I have seen so many different ones around this year.
It's been a fungus paradise hasn't it, Tanya - the wetter the better for them
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