The fruit is oblong, about 2cm long, tasty, sweet and succulent. The plant can yield up to 10kg of fruit. Cats are very fond of this shrub and can damage it by scratching or biting the leaves, so it’s better to secure the base with a net for the first three years. When fully hardened, it can withstand frost and cold even down to 40 degrees below zero.

There are several varieties known in Poland:

• 'Adam' - a very ornamental Polish male form with beautifully variegated foliage and attractive male flowers; a good pollinator for all cultivars of Actinidia kolomikta. Selected by Szczepan Marczynski and introduced to the market in 2001.

• 'Dr Szymanowski' -  a Polish dioecious variety, remarkable on account of its variegated foliage and tasty fruit. Very prolific, it starts bearing fruit in its fourth or fifth year after planting.

• 'Sentyabraskaya' - a prolific Ukrainian female variety with attractively variegated foliage. In the third or fourth year after planting it starts yielding tasty slightly aromatic fruit that ripens in August.

• 'Vitakola' - an excellent Czech cultivar yielding a bounty of tasty fruit, exceptionally large for this species. With its ornamental leaves and lemon scented flowers it is an attractive feature in any garden.

Actinidias best propagated from stem cuttings taken in midsummer, or by layering. It should be grown in a container for 1-2 years to ensure good rooting before planting it out into its permanent position in the garden.