I've not tried nor do I know anyone who has...

But, I saw this blurb:

"A second project is now being developed as a demonstration of adaptability of other berries and small fruits to the climate of the Grand Valley. This will take the form of part of the demonstration garden at the Mesa County Extension office, 2750 US Highway 50, (just south of) Grand Junction, Colorado. A number of cane berries, blueberries, exotic Asian berries, and hardy kiwis will be grown to demonstrate their hardiness and productivity. Most plants will be put in this spring - watch what happens! "

Here is a link that might be useful: blurb was found here

Thanks! I saw that blurb, too, but I didn't see any follow-ups since last year (which may mean it didn't work out too well!).

Hi Kristin,

IÂve never actually seen the fruit, but I used to sell these things, and I wanted to be sure you realize that theyÂre not the same as the kiwis you buy in the food stores. Hardy kiwis are very smallÂonly about the size of grapes, and smooth, not fuzzy. HereÂs a link to the "regular" kiwi so you can compare them. And hereÂs a site with pictures of the different kiwis to give you a visual. Compare #9 to #11.

With our erratic weather in spring and fall, IÂm not sure youÂd be able to get enough frost free days to actually get a ripe crop. I used to think about trying one, one day, and if I had a lot of planting space, IÂd go with a what-have-I-got-to-lose attitude and try one, but unfortunately I have a very small yard. I recommend you consider your space and decide if it would be better used by planting other things, or if you have plenty of room and you might want to give it a try. If you do go for it, let us know if you ever get ripe fruit, and what it tastes like.

Skybird

Hi Skybird,

Thanks for the tips! I did know that these are much smaller and I'd be mainly planting them for the vines (but with the added benefit of possibly getting fruit-- I mostly plant edibles). If I decide to try them, I will be training them on our fence and, based on my reading, I will have to prune them aggressively to keep them from taking over the fence, the house, the neighbors' places, etc. :) I'm hoping that having them off the ground and watching them carefully will keep them from taking too much planting space.

You make a good point about the growing season, though-- I was mainly thinking in terms of zones but not taking into account that we have a shorter, more erratic season than other areas of zone 5. I will keep thinking on this and will keep you posted (in a few years!) if I go for it and get ripe fruit.

Thanks again!

Kristin