Issai Hardy Kiwi Vine

Issai Hardy Kiwi is the self-pollinating kiwi vine that doesn’t need a companion plant to produce fruit. Pop the smooth, grape-sized berries in your mouth whole, no peeling required, and taste the exceptional sweetness that comes from 20% natural sugar content. These are not ordinary kiwi berries: they contain eight times more vitamin C than oranges, and a single mature vine produces up to 100 pounds of fruit annually in late August. Vigorous, heat-tolerant, and bearing in just 2–3 years from planting, Issai is the most accessible and productive kiwi available for home gardeners who want fresh kiwi without the complexity of managing male and female vines.

Self-Pollinating — One Vine, No Companion Needed

Unlike Anna Hardy Kiwi and most other hardy kiwi varieties that require a separate male pollinator plant to set fruit, Issai is genuinely self-pollinating. One vine produces fruit on its own. For gardeners with limited space, limited budget, or simply a preference for simplicity, that self-fertility removes the most common barrier to growing kiwi at home.

Twenty Percent Natural Sugar — Eight Times the Vitamin C of Oranges

The nutritional profile is genuinely extraordinary. Twenty percent natural sugar makes Issai berries exceptionally sweet, with a rich, full kiwi flavor that surpasses commercial kiwi fruit eaten at home-harvest ripeness. Eight times more vitamin C than oranges places it among the most nutritionally dense fruits you can grow, making every harvest as nutritious as it is delicious.

Up to 100 Pounds Per Vine — Vigorous and Productive

A mature Issai vine grows rapidly and responds well to a sturdy trellis, pergola, or fence. Build the support structure before or at planting — the vine grows quickly and benefits from training from the start. Once established, it’s a long-lived, vigorous producer that delivers late August harvests for decades.

Why Growers Choose Issai Hardy Kiwi

• Self-pollinating — one vine produces fruit without a companion, unlike most kiwi varieties
• 20% natural sugar — exceptionally sweet kiwi flavor at late August ripeness
• Eight times more vitamin C than oranges — one of the most nutritious fruits you can grow
• No peeling — smooth-skinned, eat whole like a grape
• Extraordinarily productive — a long-lived vine that delivers for decades
• Bears in 2–3 years — relatively quick reward for a long-lived productive vine