Jenny is a self-fertile fuzzy kiwi that changes the game for gardeners in zones 6-9 who thought they needed two vines to get fruit. This vigorous vine produces fragrant yellow flowers in late spring, followed by sweet, juicy fuzzy brown fruit roughly half the size of a standard kiwi, ripening by late summer or early fall. The green flesh and small edible black seeds deliver that classic kiwi tang with genuine sweetness, and because Jenny pollinates itself, a single vine yields abundant harvests without a pollinator partner.
Full Sun
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6-9
240in H x ?in W
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High
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Jenny's self-pollinating habit eliminates the puzzle of needing male and female vines, making it the rare kiwi that actually works for most home gardeners. The fragrant spring flowers are a bonus, and the abundant yields mean you'll have plenty of sweet, juicy fruit to eat fresh, share, or preserve. Its vigor and cold hardiness to zone 6 open fuzzy kiwi growing to gardeners who thought the climate wouldn't cooperate.
The sweet, juicy fruit is eaten fresh out of hand, the skin peeled away to reveal the green flesh and edible seeds. It's delicious halved and scooped with a spoon, sliced into fruit salads, or used in smoothies. The abundant harvests mean you can preserve fruit through freezing or making preserves.
No timeline data available yet for this variety.
Plant Jenny in spring after the last frost date has passed, when soil has warmed. Choose a location with full sun and sturdy support infrastructure ready before planting. Space the vine with room to expand along its support structure.
Harvest fuzzy brown fruit by late summer or early fall when the fruit yields slightly to gentle pressure and the flavor becomes sweet and full. Pick fruit by gently twisting and detaching from the vine; ripe fruit will come away easily. The abundant harvests mean multiple pickings over the season as fruit ripens.
Prune to train the vigorous vine along its support structure and remove tangled or overcrowded growth. The vine's natural vigor means regular pruning keeps it in bounds and encourages productive fruiting wood.
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“Jenny represents a significant breakthrough in kiwi breeding: a self-fertile fuzzy kiwi cultivar that frees home gardeners from the traditional requirement of planting both male and female vines. Fuzzy kiwi has long been the more cold-hardy relative of smooth kiwi, but the self-fertile trait transforms it from a specialty crop requiring careful planning into a genuinely accessible addition to temperate gardens.”