I wanted to bring this up thread again. I know that the responses so far were overwhelmingly negative. However, I stupidly was unaware that kiwi was not a tropical fruit when I first bought it. I have 2 females and a male at this point. I don't know what cultivars they are, but I know they are the fuzzy variety.
The thing is, despite all that has been said about them having no chance in SFL (much less VERY S.FL.! where it rarely gets below 50F), all 3 are thriving and now need bigger pots (they are still small, in the 1-gallon range). Two of the 3 plants were nearly dead when I got them, and one of them actually lost all its leaves in transport, and yet, it grew back anyway. That one is growing outside in the shade, while the other two are growing inside in several hours of full sun in a very hot somewhat humid room, and yet they seem to love it!
So I guess I thought I would ask this question again. Has anyone currently on the boards tried recently, or have plants currently growing anywhere in FL? I am crazy enough to be fine trying to simulate chill hours, but the way I would do it would depend on their chances of survival outside. If they can grow outside and be happy even if they don't fruit, I will try planting them and then simulate with ice cubes for several weeks, or whatever length they are likely to need, during Jan. and Feb. when it is coldest here. If they have no chance of even living through the year (although I wonder if summer would be so bad since the indoor ones seem to be so happy in 95F and humid, and the outdoor one already gets watered daily), I could transplant them into larger containers indoors and then use ice cubes or stick them in the fridge or freezer daily - but I don't know if they would get big enough to fruit then because of the pots, even though the cold part would be covered.
I realize people will think this idea is a real shot in the dark, but I already have them, and they are currently healthy, and apparently quite a few colder climate people have managed to grow tropical fruit outdoors and keep them going in summers with some extra care, so I figure if these are happy now in the hot and wet, maybe I've got a shot at fruiting them too if I really go out of my way.
Anyone got these things living in Florida soil, or fruiting indoors?