Hardy Kiwi Geneva (self-fertile) - Actinidia arguta

The Self-fertile Issai Kiwi arguta, also known as Kiwi Berry or Actinidia arguta 'Issai', is the only one of its kind that is self-fertile. With just one plant, you will harvest, after two years of cultivation, delicious small kiwi fruits with a smooth, green skin slightly tinged with red. Its flesh is sweeter and more nutritious than that of the kiwi. It is summer flowering with white-green flowers that are pleasantly fragrant. Its small fruits are harvested in autumn. They are eaten with the skin, right after picking. It is an extremely hardy, original, ornamental, delicious vine with beautiful vigour. It can be trained against a trellis, wall, arch, in ordinary soil, in full sun or in partial shade.

The Self-fertile Actinidia arguta Issai belongs to the Actinidiaceae family, just like its cousin Actinidia chinensis. It is the only self-fertile selection of Actinidia arguta, native to China, Japan, and southern Siberia.

'Issai' is a vigorous deciduous climbing vine, but it will never reach the gigantic dimensions of the wild species, whose branches reach 20 metres (66 feet) in length. This one will reach 5 metres (16 feet) in all directions. The stems bear large entire, heart-shaped, glossy leaves, 8 to 10cm (3 to 4in) long, with fine teeth ending in bristles. In early summer (June-July), fragrant and nectar-rich flowers appear, white-green, quite spectacular, with purple anthers, grouped in threes in the axils of the leaves. The flowering is followed by the formation of ovoid berries, smaller than traditional kiwis (2 to 4cm (1 to 2in) in diameter), green, tinged with red when ripe, with a smooth and thin skin. The flesh is also green, rich in chlorophyll, and paler towards the centre where tiny black seeds are found. The taste of the Kiwi Berry is reminiscent of that of the gooseberry. It is sweeter than the usual kiwi, its aroma is more concentrated, and it is also richer in calcium and vitamin C. This vine will give you delicious fruits from the second year of planting. Kiwi Berries can be harvested from the end of September, throughout October. They can then be stored in the refrigerator for about two weeks after harvest.

The beauty of the Issai Kiwi Berry, both in terms of its foliage and its fragrant flowering, makes it a useful ornamental in addition to its fruiting. It is necessary to train this plant on a solid support, such as a wall with sturdy wires, a trellis, a pergola, a tree trunk, or a fence. This fruit is very popular with children because it can be picked and eaten straight from the garden. The fruits can be easily stored in the refrigerator for about two weeks after harvest. Separate them from other fruits so that they do not ripen too quickly. The flavour of the Kiwi Berry is well suited to modern cuisine, enhances the flavour of fruit salads, and lends itself to the preparation of sweet-savoury dishes.

Historical:

Around 1750, the Jesuit father Pierre Le Chéron d'Incarville was the first European to describe this plant. He observed it growing on the edge of forests on both sides of the Yangtze River.
Missionaries introduced Actinidia as an ornamental plant in Florida, New Zealand, and Europe. The fruit was then called "Chinese gooseberry" because of its colour and flavour reminiscent of the gooseberry.
The first plants arrived in France in 1904, near Nice, and in 1920, at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris. The only female plant studied at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris fruited for the first time in 1937, yielding a harvest of 85 kg in October 1940. It is still alive and bears fruit every year!
It wasn't until the 1960s that kiwi cultivation became widespread. Today, it is a common crop in France (especially in the Southwest), the United States, Japan, Italy, Chile, Greece, etc.