Kiwifruit · Pyongyang, Pyongyang, North Korea
When to plant kiwifruit in Pyongyang
Main outdoor window
17 Apr - 15 May
The window this page is built around.
Timed from last spring frost
10 April
In Pyongyang, on your chosen risk.
Ready to pick
1 Oct - 30 Nov
If you plant at the start of the window.
The average last frost. Half of all years are later than this.
Step by step in Pyongyang
Each window is a range, not a single day. Earlier in the range buys you a longer season; later in it buys you a safer one.
Plant the vine
17 Apr - 15 May
After the last frost, once the soil has warmed. This crop is never fully dormant, so it cannot be planted bare-root in winter.
Harvest
1 Oct - 30 Nov
Kiwifruit through the year
Against the frost risk in Pyongyang
Why these dates
The dormant vine takes about -12C, but growth starts early and new shoots are killed at -1C, which in a cool climate is what limits it far more than winter cold.
Kiwifruit are planted once and then left in place, so there is no sowing offset to resolve. Nor is there a dormant season to plant into: this crop keeps its leaves and keeps growing through the winter, which is exactly why cold damages it. The window on this page therefore waits until the last frost in Pyongyang has passed and the soil has begun to warm, giving the roots the longest possible run before the cold returns.
Hardiness is not the obstacle here. Pyongyang is zone 7a, comfortably inside the range this crop is rated for, so an established plant should come through an average winter without protection.
Do not expect a crop in the first year. A plant set out now should give its first worthwhile pick around year 4, and will then produce every year after that, which is what makes the planting decision worth getting right the first time.
Also in Pyongyang
Other fruits to time
Growing kiwifruit in Pyongyang
When should I plant kiwifruit in Pyongyang?
Aim for 17 Apr - 15 May in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 28 Apr - 26 May - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.
When will kiwifruit be ready to harvest in Pyongyang?
Expect to start picking around 1 Oct - 30 Nov, based on 150 to 180 days to maturity from the planting date calculated for this location.
How much frost will kiwifruit tolerate?
The dormant vine takes about -12C, but growth starts early and new shoots are killed at -1C, which in a cool climate is what limits it far more than winter cold.