Kiwis in Nova Scotia

I have returned from a hiatus in blogging. With three distinctly different weblogs now, I am going to try to keep them all current.

Did you know that kiwi-fruit grow in Nova Scotia? I didn't. When a colleague sent me an image of an unknown vine, I had no idea of the identity of the plant. So I did the next best thing. I contacted a former classmate who manages Halifax Seed in Saint John, NB. She didn't recognize it either.
Back to Halifax Seed in Halifax where a staffer put the name, Arctic Kiwi or Actinidia kolomikta to it. Yesterday, while speaking with Niki Jabbour, the Weekend Gardener, she suggested that the plants need a male and a female vine (more precisely, pollen receptor and pollen donor plants) . Apparently the foliage of the male is quite colourful...splotched with white and purple.

Who knew? Here you see the small fruits developing. They are tasty to eat, resemble commercial kiwis and don't have to be peeled.