Silver Lining Kiwi. This is a new variegated Hardy Kiwi that I found at a specialty nursery in Japan. It was sold to us as a variegated Schizophragma hydrangeoides and it was completely dormant with no leaves. When it leafed out the next spring, it was obvious that it wasn't what it was purported to be because the leaves were alternate, not opposite as with Schizophragma. It has white margins to each of its leaves with the margin being wider in the spring than summer. The leaf itself is a pewter green. This species is the most cold hardy of any Kiwi, and it climbs by twining, so it will make a wonderful subject for an arbor or fence. One can expect to get up to 6' or more of growth in a season. When it flowered for the first time, the flowers appear to be a female, because it set some small fruit, but they did not hold to maturity, probably because they were not properly pollinated. So I cannot vouch for the quality of the fruit. Since this plant is dioecious, one needs a male pollinator if one expects good fruiting. This is a first U.S. offering of Actinidia arguta 'Silver Lining', and this is the cultivar name that we gave it.
Zones 4-9
