How to Grow a Dwarf Kiwi Tree

Fill a 5-gallon planting container with a mixture of potting soil and compost. Kiwi plants require rich, well-drained soils to properly develop. Keeping the plants in a potting container where you can carefully control the soil composition helps improve the chances of the plant surviving its first year.

Place a 4- to 5-feet-tall wooden stake in the soil of the potting container. Kiwi plants produce a fast-growing vine that needs the strong support of a wooden stake to facilitate healthy growth.

Plant a young, healthy kiwi plant in the potting container to the same depth as the nursery container. Gently pack the potting soil and compost mixture around the roots and water thoroughly to settle the roots.

Place the potting container in a bright location with good air circulation and water the kiwi plant regularly to encourage healthy growth. Train the central vine to the wooden stake using twine and prune away secondary shoots that emerge from the base of the vine.

Transplant the kiwi plant to a 10- to 15- gallon potting container and place the plant near a small trellis or arbor system outdoors, or keep the plant in the 5-gallon planting container to maintain a small kiwi vine.

Train the central leader to the trellis system with twine and cut back the tip with pruning shears once the plant reaches the desired height. Encourage a T-shaped vine by pruning all other branches from the vine except two buds closest to the top of the vine.

Train the two top branches that develop from the buds that remain from Step 6 to the trellis using twine and prune the kiwi plant regularly to maintain its shape and size to fit your growing space. Kiwi plants have a rapid growth rate once established and can easily grow over 30 feet long if left alone.

Fertilize kiwi plants each spring with a high-nitrogen fertilizer such as fish meal to encourage fruit production.