I keep wanting to buy this but I have read that you have to have a male and female. The box doesn't say what it is is there any way to tell?

You do need a male and female. And the only way to tell is when the plant blooms - the male flowers and female flowers are quite different. If the box doesn't say, I wouldn't bother buying it. It may take up to 3 years for those kiwi plants to bloom (and for you to find out).

Unlike other plants that need a pollinator, the kiwis have to be pretty close together so having a neighbor down the road with one won't help you.

In California, I lived in kiwi country. Regular kiwi are cold hardy down to about 10 degrees. Does it get colder than that at your house? They are also incredibly invasive. My mother grew hardy kiwi in Nevada - I don't remember her's being that invasive but she was in zone 2 or something. I do remember their size: Grapes!

Thanks @Daisyl it does get colder than that here usually only a couple of days during the winter but I have seen the cold snaps last a few weeks. I did read where it is invasive and you have to have a strong trellis for them to climb on. I tore down a house a few years ago and left the chimney sanding so I am going to plant them there. I guess I should buy them for someone who knows what there selling.

plantcollector said:I keep wanting to buy this but I have read that you have to have a male and female. The box doesn't say what it is is there any way to tell?

It states "Self-Fertile" on the package. Actinidia Arguta "Issai" is the only hardy kiwi that is self-fertile, but performs better with a male plant. I have 2 Issai, 2 Kolomikta, 2 Flowercloud (Kolomikta x Arguta) males, and 3 female Arguta, and 2 male Arguta; all are only 2 years old so blooms have been sparse.

I paid $30/plant so jump on that bargain! Research Issai; they do not grow as large as regular A. Arguta.

The box actually has the name of the variety. It is a prolific variety hardy kiwi. Prolific is a self pollinating variety and is also capable, unlike Issai, of pollinating female varieties. Prolific will bear heavier crops in the presence of a male also. As this thread is pretty old I don't hold much hope of a response, but if you see this and you bought the plant, is it producing now?

Seems a strange time to be planting kiwi. I would recommend the spring, myself.
VERY important facts to know about kiwis. First, they are late sleepers. Second, it can be very difficult to know they are alive when in the dormant state. They defy the scratch test. I pulled out three kiwis three years in a row because I believed them to be dead. I went to yank out a fourth kiwi, cursing my hard luck, but I got side track. Two, maybe three weeks later, I go back to pull it out and it had woken up and was growing. I felt like such an idiot.

My luck with plants in boxes, is that you have to be there to buy it when it falls off the truck. They get zero care at the nursery/grocery store/wherever you saw it. If you don't know how long the box has been sitting there, don't buy it.

I never did buy the plant. But thay have them every spring and will probably buy one.