No fruit needs watering that much in a decent soil. I'd be inclined to believe you are watering too much and the dying leaves are symptoms of drowning roots. Do you think that is possible? How well does your soil drain? Does it have decent water holding capacity?

The crispy dry leaves happen to me in inland orange county as well. My fuzzy kiwis do the same exact thing when the temps go over low 80s. The kiwi plant comes from a region with higher humidity and less heat. A combination of intense sun and low humidity causes the dry crumbling. Just make sure the soil is moist and not water logged. Then just wait for the temps to lower and humidity to raise.

I would recommend getting some shade cloth. You can also install misters which will improve the surrounding humidity. Otherwise just wait it out until the weather permits a new flush of growth.

Shade cloth and misters are a good idea. But I've read that once the leaves dry and crumble, there's no chance of fruit that year after that happens. Fortunately this usually doesn't happen in the spring. But is this true?

If this was root rot, I don't think the plants would be re-growing new leaves and acting normal(droop goes away within an hour or two after watering). The soil drains well, and I'm not sure about holding capacity, but the drooping occurs before the soil gets dry so I'd guess it's holding enough to prevent that from happening. I keep soil away from the crown so it will dry quickly.

Nullzero, have you used shade cloth and misters on your plants...so that you've actually seen that work to prevent this problem.

jbclem,

I do not use shade cloth or misters, being that I rent and my plants are mostly in containers. I simply move the containers to a partial shaded area (usually under a established tree) during the most intense days of summer. These methods have proven to work however and have been used many times (especially the AZ gardeners). It would be safe to say that the shade cloth would help reduce crispy leaves. The misters are not needed as much but would be of great help, especially for tropical and sub tropical plants.

Using the misters and shade cloth, is a method that is very popular with the Arizona gardeners. It does work and you can see or read the results by searching google. The game plan is all about creating a nice micro climate to suit your plants needs.

Thanks Nullzero, I'm looking for some 70% shade cloth and that'll be much easier to setup than a system of misters.

fruitof76, how are your kiwis doing now, still ok, leaves not shrivelling in summer??? i am in south east bulgaria in what would be US zone 7b close to 8 with hot and very dry summers as in Texas, I guess. I have my kiwis in afternoon shade, soil is black clay, I must water every other day or leaves drool and they still shrivel on the edges. The female plant is weaken than the male, I guess having less roots, too, as it was smaller from the start, so its branch tips are shrivelling and drying too, so not developing fast, it has been 3 years already. Wondering if I should replant them in total shade!!!